Inkwells
Not all that long ago evey desk had at least one inkwell on it. This included the desks of the rich and powerful. As an advertising method the gift of an expensive inkwell had the chance of putting your product name in a place where an executive would see it several times a minute as he worked at his desk. Is it any wonder inkwells were manufactured in expensive varieties?
Silver is well suited for finely crafted inkwells because it is easy to work and the normal tarnishing process makes stains from dripped ink fit into the pattern. Silver can be cast into ornate shapes and has always had the ambience of luxury about it. As a result there were lots of silver inkwells created and some of them are rare and expensive.