Chancellor Livingston probably acquired this set of dessert knives in Paris during his diplomatic residence there from 1801 to 1804. Following European custom, dessert was served as a separate course and required distinct sets of knives and forks. Matching sets of dessert knives became stylish among wealthy Americans during the late eighteenth century. Knives such as these, with steel blades and ivory handles, were typical of those manufactured in England and France during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.