Anniversary of world famous cutlery designed by Sheffield-born David Mellor celebrated with £3,800 canteen

David Mellor’s Pride design is judged to be up with the Mini, Anglepoise lamp and Tube map for iconic post-war designs. He created it in 1953 while still a student at the Royal College of Art. It has been in continuous production ever since and is still the Hathersage-based firm’s best-seller.

Now, son Corin is marking the 70th anniversary with 20 limited-edition sets featuring Rosewood handles and mirror-polished blades. Starting at £1,400 for a six-place set, the most expensive is £3,800 for an 88-piece, 12-place canteen of silver-plated forks and spoons.

David Mellor is also famous for changing the face of Britain with street furniture, including the traffic lights we stop at every day. He died in 2009.

A spokesman said: “No design has embodied Britain’s own brand of understated modernism better than David Mellor’s Pride cutlery. Forged in the fires of post-war optimism, it is as emblematic of British design as the Mini, the Anglepoise lamp or the Tube map.

“Pride is 70 years old this year and was originally manufactured by Walker & Hall on the site of what’s now the Winter Gardens & Millennium Gallery in the centre of Sheffield.

“An acknowledged modern classic, the delicate curves and refined proportions give Pride its exceptional beauty and understated elegance. It is used in many prestigious restaurants worldwide and is included in the collections of the V&A Museum, the Design Museum and MoMA as a prime example of 20th century modernist design.”