Featured Spoons...

I bet there’s tons of bargains to be found, people not in the know would overlook a spoon everyday of the week. Carry on spoon brother

 

I got a pile of 19th century Latvian ones once in some bags of silverplate. They had full hallmarks, but those bagging up the silverplate for the rummage sale couldn't read them.

 

Definately keep my eye out. The Nuremberg iron maiden spoon is so cool and the mummy too.

 

Here's a first bunch of my sterling souvenir spoons. I still pick them up occasionally mixed in with thrift-store stainless and silver plate. The second set shows an authentic sterling 1893 Columbian exhibition spoon with a plated unauthorized ones for comparison (plus a PanAm exhibition I think is plated but I'm not sure). The "U.S. Sterling" one had me fooled for quite a while - it looked silverplate but I tried to believe it was sterling because it is the only spoon I've run across that had a Sterling mark that wasn't.

 

Nice, Jeff!

Don't have many of my souvenir spoon books available at the moment, but can give you a bit of info (if you don't already have it).

There were numerous Columbian Exposition spoons, most without any authorization from fair officials, but your spoon, was made by Alvin, and designed by Wm. H. Jamouneau (President of Alvin) and Justus Verschuur, the patent #D22499, issued June 6, 1893, was assigned to B.F. Norris, Alister & Co., Chicago wholesale jewelers who held the concession for the 'official' spoon, though a few other spoons were sanctioned by particular exhibits.

Am sure the U.S. Sterling mark was intended to deceive - and the mark on the Buffalo Pan-Am silverplate spoon may also be for U.S. Sterling Co., or it might be the United States Silver Co., though that firm is usually referenced as dating no earlier than the 1940s, have had some doubt about that over the years, just never really took the time to research - my favorite Buffalo Pan-Am spoon, with well-worn plating, has a bison pictured in a frying pan shaped bowl, was made by the same company.

Have always liked the Washington Masonic sword spoon (Oct. 3, 1911 patent #D41815), and that really nice figural Teddy Roosevelt Rough Rider spoon, can't see the mark, but want to say it was made by Shepard?

Love the little spoons with the applied seashells, etc., and have a couple of similar spoons in my collection too. The Knickerbocker spoon with the sturgeon (Albany beef), patent #D20948, issued July 21, 1891, was designed by Benjamin Marsh and sold at his Albany jewelry store, Marsh & Hoffman.

Post some more when you can, always happy to see nice spoons...

~Cheryl

 

A trio of David-Andersen enamel spoons, ranging from 4⅜" to 4⅞", all in sterling, with the late 19th-early 20th century 'hammer & tongs' mark. The first, in a 'Russian style' design; the second with hand-painted pink and blue flowers, gold leaves and butterfly; and the third is plique-à-jour with an unusual Dragestil bowl featuring a polka-dotted serpent with a man in his mouth (maybe Jörmungandr and Thor?)

~Cheryl

 

Wow...stunning spoons! Thanks for sharing.

 

Such Vibrant colors! Thanks for sharing!

 

As always, Cheryl, those are absolutely stunning! I've always loved David Andersen
enameled stuff... I have way too much of it, but it's still all packed away, Sigh.

 

Traditional Norwegian looped handle sugar spoon with champlevé and plique-à-jour enamel work, late 19th-early 20th century, marked only '900', but the same design is found with Marius Hammer marks.

~Cheryl

 

WOW!!!!!

 

Cheryl, the enamel work on that is lovely.

You're saying that the "looped handle" is traditional? I had no idea. (Do you have any idea WHY they "loop" it like that? It's very interesting.)

p.s. It's been a while... How are Bart & Lisa & their Mom doing? I'm a sucker for photos of that family!

 

Have had quite a few of these over the years and still have three or four packed away somewhere (though this is my first enamel), and have a weakness for the twist-stem Scandinavian spoons, especially Norwegian, but have never really found the roots of that looped stem, and don't believe I've seen any examples earlier than the last few decades of the 19th century. Was told decades ago that it was a common wedding gift, and have heard the same since, with one Norwegian lady telling me a little verse that might be included, "The path of love may be twisted, but the end is sweet." They look odd (and have seen quite a few that someone 'straightened'), but they actually feel comfortable in the hand - the bowls are in the shape of a birch leaf, with some also having leaf shaped dangles (not exclusive to this form).

This is an old and not very good quality picture of two variants:



1902 ad from Norsk Filigransfabrik mentioning 'national designs' and showing a looped sugar spoon:



Regarding Bart, Lisa, and the lovely Mama-Kitty - they are all healthy and happy, joined by a sweet, and now quite chubby, tabby tom formerly known as Fat-headed Uncle, renamed Uncle Joe (he's a movin' kind of slow at the junction - Petticoat Junction). Will take some new pics when I get a chance...

~Cheryl

 

I like the sentiment that Norwegian lady passed along! Very cool info and photos, by the way. Thanks for taking the time to post that.

I'm glad Bart, Lisa and all are doing okay. I just remember those gorgeous kitten photos & think about them often! I'll be waiting for those new pictures!

 

For SBSVC: Couple of quick pics from today - the family piled up together in an after breakfast groom-fest, and Uncle Joe relaxing.




~Cheryl

 

Thanks for the updated pics, Cheryl!

"The family" looks happy & healthy. Mama is so pretty & fluffy, and "the kids" are gorgeous as ever! They're all so lucky they have you to take care of them.

"Uncle Joe" is a riot! What a puss on that puss! He's delightful!

Thanks again!
-C-

 

Uncle Joe looks a tad ticked off that you interrupted his relaxing for the photo shoot.

 

Some wooden spoons:

The humongous spoon is almost certainly Norwegian, believe it has some decent age to it, perhaps late to early 19th century, maybe a betrothal/wedding spoon, or a display piece by the carver, or perhaps just a novelty - have seen others of similar size, but not really sure of their purpose. Regardless, it is well-carved, with a bit less attention to the interior of the bowl and that side of the handle, it's intended to hang with the back of the spoon displayed, nicely done flowers, an acanthus motif on the sides, and several little dangles - interestingly, the lone flower carved on the back (front on a normal spoon) shows the back of a flower, with stem and sepal. It measures almost 20' long including the dangles, the bowl a whopping 8½" x 5¾". The smaller piece (11½" long) is a beautifully carved spoon, most likely a mid 19th century betrothal spoon - might also be Norwegian, but I suspect Swedish...







These are Norwegian and almost certainly 'Totenskjeer', birch spoons from the Toten region of Norway - there was a large cottage industry in spoon carving there from the mid 19th to the early 20th century, with the spoons sold throughout Scandinavia. The two smaller spoons, at 7" and 7¼", were used for eating and are fairly common, the decoration (floral on one, and a bird on the other) was also typical, though not all were decorated - the technique used is 'kolrosing', with the tip of a knife used to incise the design, a dark powder like coal dust or ground bark was rubbed into the lines, the spoons then treated with oil. The large 15½" spoon was most likely made as a special gift, it has a detailed portrait of a lady in the bowl and a checked handle, with a flower, the initials 'FH' and the date '1900' on the back - it's an uncommon piece.







These are more modern, three mid 20th century decorative Norwegian spoons, and one recent piece from Sweden - the first a 10½" hand-painted souvenir of Storberget with trolls on front and back, dated 1944; the 12¾" blue one is decorated with Telemark style rosemaling, the small 5" spoon is by a Swedish carver, his kolrosing design darkened with cocoa powder; and the classic acanthus carved piece measures 10¼".






~Cheryl

 

Absolutely delightful, Cheryl! (You certainly don't see spoons like THOSE every day!)

 

Love the one with the troll on it! The others are pretty, but that's the one to hang on the wall over the computer.