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Antiques & Collecting
May 1986
pg 73-75

The Spoons of War
by Phillip Krumholz

One may find it difficult to associate a spoon with a war- indeed, a spoon is one of mankind's most innocuous tools. Spoons are considered "safe" and are the utensils given to babies as their first eating tools. On the other end of the spectrum, spoons are the only utensils some infirm folk of advanced age are allowed to use, for fear that they may harm themselves with knives or forks. How then, does such an innocent item become associated with such a violent, abhorrent action of man?

Those actively engaged in collecting spoons may run across one now and then that is not a souvenir of or a commemorative of cities, fairs, or entertainment characters. Why anyone would produce a spoon to commemorate a war is beyond me, but consider this: Wm. Rogers & Son produced a solid silver spoon of very elaborate design that carries the legend "War declared April 6, 1917" and "Liberty for all." The obverse handle carries an eagle with outstretched wings atop a finely wrought Liberty Bell. Crossed rifles and shields are also evident On the reverse is an aeroplane, a pitched army tent, and "USA." It is speculated that the spoon was created for a dual purpose; to raise money for some loan drive and to generate patriotism.

A similar circumstance may have accounted for the production of the "Battleship Maine" commemorative shown with this article. This spoon is of lesser quality than the one previously described, as it was produced of brass with a thin (and now badly worn) plating of silver. The bowl of the spoon carries an illustration of the MAINE, along with the words "Battleship Maine - Destroyed February 15, 1898." On the obverse handle is a bust of Captain Sigsbee in high relief, along with a fouled anchor and shield The reverse handle is marked "Standard."

Many spoons of war are more utilitarian. Pictured here are several that saw service in the field. A World War II example from Germany is the steel folding spoon/fork combination found in Wehrmacht (Armed Forces) mess kits on all fronts - these were also made of aluminum. The reverse handle is stamped "H.H.L. 41." Another German field utensil is the aluminum Luftwaffe (Air Force) spoon, which is quite pitted from impurities in the metal at the time of manufacture. It is stamped with the Luftwafe symbol: a flying eagle grasping a swastika, on the obverse handle, and "F.L.U.V." and "H.M.Z. 41" on the reverse.

A plain stamped steel United States army spoon of World War I vintage carries the manufacturer's marking and the date 1913 on the reverse. Early U.S. spoons were commonly produced of lead or lead bearing pewter, sometimes not marked "US" and! or supplied by the soldiers themselves.

Early soldiers in the field (and I'm speaking of .the European wars of the 17th through 19th centuries), particularly soldiers of more substantial means, may have used a spoon from the so-called "traveler's sets." Many variations exist for these sets, from clip-together spoon! fork or spoon/fork/knife combinations to folding combinations. Most of these were well made and contained in a fine leather carrying case. An example is illustrated elsewhere.

Utilitarian war spoons need not be plain or cheap. For the collector with the "where-with-all," rare and beautiful (and well-documented) pieces can be obtained which belonged to high government officials. Of special interest are the following spoons from Nazi Germany which were looted during or shortly after World War II. Three pluses favor collectors:

• The government fell, because of war, which allowed the items to fall into the hands of the common man.
  
• The Nazi leadership loved to personally monogram their high-quality possessions.
  
• Finally, many of these items were well-documented as they came into this country.

A Formal Pattern silver spoon is pictured which came from Adolf Hitler's home at Berchtesgaden, Germany. The spoon carries the personal monogram of Hitler, which is the national symbol (an eagle grasping a wreathed swastika) with initials A and H on either side of the wreath. The handle is bordered by an elegant scroll motif. Markings include manufacturer's hallmark in the shape of an acorn, .800, and a tiny Imperial German eagle.

The next two pieces were "liberated" from the famous FuhrerBau (Fuhrer Building) in Munich. The first spoon, another Hitler pattern, was recovered by the now-famous "Sgt. Joseph." who has been written about in several publications. For more information on his acquisitions, a good source is WORLD WAR II GERMAN WAR BOOTY by T.M. Johnson. This silver spoon is known as Pattern or Type I, and is typified by "AH" engraved in large block letters on the obverse handle. On the reverse is marked "90" and the manufacturer "Art. Krupp, Berndorf" in a circle. This item was found stored in the FuhrerBau, but probably saw service in Hitler's Munich apartment.

The silver spoon liberated by the late Robert Weaver from the FuhrerBau was used on the premises, and is characterized by "FB" engraved in large block letters on the obverse handle. The reverse handle is marked "90" and "Hutschenreuter." A contemporary German publication described the FuhrerBau as one of two "Honor Temples" of the Eternal Watch, and states:

"In the Fuhrer Building, which serves as the representative of the Fuhrer's duty in the capitol city of the movement, we find only a few offices; the rooms are used mainly for receptions by the Fuhrer.

"The Fuhrer's working room lies on the west corner of the house where it has a view of the Konigsplatz; it is the room in which the well-known Munich Conference took place between the Fuhrer, the Duce, Chamberlain, and Daladier on September 29, 1938. The entire room is immersed in an atmosphere of great dignity and ease with its red brown (marble) flooring, the leather wall coverings in the same red-brown, the paneling of nut tree wood, the furniture and the marble fireplace. It corresponds so entirely to the demands employed by the Fuhrer and the great decisions made in the room." Perhaps one of the traits I've observed of collectors is that they have much imagination and speculative instinct, much more so than non-collectors. It is fun to speculate that such a spoon may have been handled by Hitler, Mussolini, Chamberlain, or Daladier- high representatives of four powerful countries - or maybe it was used by ALL of them! After all, the conferences lasted several days!

Perhaps one could find, with enough money or time, a well-documented spoon or traveler's set that belonged to Napoleon. Or George Washington!

Militaria and spoon collectors alike may find that one or more examples covered by this article has "whetted their appetite" for spoons of war. Indeed, these collectors may "hunger" after an example for their own collections.

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