Anyone that has seen Gosford Park or knows about table settings....>>
 

There was a instrument that George the footman(Richard E. Grant) used in the movie while setting the dinner table. It looks like he used this to space the utensils and plates in perfect order and spacing from one another. Any idea what the instrument was or was it just some type of ruler?

Ask Rahul. He probably has a diamond encrusted one. :-)

Ok. RAHUL! Do you know the answer?

Yes, of course, it's...
 

I'm not telling you, freak! :-p

Damn you!...>>
 

You don't know, do you?

While Rahul searches frantically....jk!
 

I don't believe its a specific instrument as such, but rather a tool, akin to a measuring caliper, that a butler would use to ensure that all the silverware at each place setting were within milimeters of one another. You could try search on the Butler's Guild website though for a proper response.<ul><li><a href="http://www.butlersguild.com">http://www.butlersguild.com</a></li></ul>

Actually....
 

I don't :-(

The only rule of etiquette, which I think might apply here, is that the bottom of the last plate (or more probably the charger) should be in-line with the bottom of the silver. I could imagine he might've used one of those little crumble-scrapey things to do that (?) I was not aware that there should be a measurement between pieces - egad!

WWMS? (What would Martha say?)

I was assuming he was just using the crumble-scrapey thing too.

"crumble-scrapey thing" - that's probably a technical term we aren't expected to know ;)

For which, one should not know the proper name, unless he wishes to be called "garcon!"
 

"crumble-scrapey thing" will suffice