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 SMP Silver Salon Forums
 A Curator's Viewpoint
 Unusual Sterling Spoon? Purpose? Makers Mark ID
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| Author | Topic: Unusual Sterling Spoon? Purpose? Makers Mark ID |
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rose Posts: 18 |
posted 10-27-2002 06:40 AM
  
Hi!! Need some help please... have an unusual sterling spoon 6ľ" long w/ a Birmingham hallmark - appears to be c1883 ... the stem is fashioned as a stirrer and straw - pierced bowl is similar to an olive spoon however with the stirrer/straw stem am not certain what is its proper name/usage is... couldn't find any similar spoons while researching and was wondering if used perhaps as a toddy,lemonade or claret spoon .... also has a Maker's Mark "M X" that I have been unable to identify ....  ....any help or input is most sincerely appreciated - thank you, rose IP: Logged |
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Scott Martin Forum Master Posts: 11520 |
posted 10-27-2002 08:58 AM
If you look a little closer at the marks you will see that it is "lion anchor G". Following the "G" you can just make out the letters "STE" which is for sterling.  The straw is not from Birmingham, England. It is American, made by Gorham Silversmiths. Its hard to make out the "MX" but it seems to be apart of another number. This is most likely a production number used by Gorham. Maybe Ulysses or someone else has some additional comments? IP: Logged |
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rose Posts: 18 |
posted 10-27-2002 11:03 AM
THANK YOU Scott!!! Your help is greatly appreciated!!! Have looked through Dolan's book to see if the pattern is listed with Gorham category however no match found. Any ideas on its use??? Thanks again, Rose IP: Logged |
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Ulysses Dietz Moderator Posts: 1265 |
posted 10-28-2002 09:14 AM
This novelty spoon would have been for lemonade (not, I think, iced tea). Imagine sipping through the stem, and then using the pierced spoon to scoop up strawberries (we don't think to put strawberries in lemondade nowadays). It would most likely date from the 1890s to the 1910s, when there was the greatest proliferation of specialty forms in sterling in this country. Think wedding gift, and you'll be able to see beautifully presented gift boxes of a dozen lemonade spoons (or whatever). I doubt it actually matches any of GOrham's standard patterns, but I could be wrong. By the way, I'm sure Gorham adopted the anchor mark to psychologically link itself with Birmingham, likewise the anchor, the English sterling mark. IP: Logged |
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rose Posts: 18 |
posted 10-28-2002 11:38 AM
THANK YOU Ulysses!!! greatly appreciate your input and makes perfect sense - very Victorian in its concept... again many thanks, rose IP: Logged |
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Richard Kurtzman Moderator Posts: 768 |
posted 10-28-2002 12:44 PM
Hi Ulysses, Regarding Gorham's use of the anchor, somewhere in my library is a piece of Gorham nineteenth century promotional material that includes a description on the origins of their trademark. The lion stood for silver. The G is obvious and the anchor was for the State symbol of Rhode Island. I'm sure that the fact that these three together look like an English hallmark was not an insignificant part of their decision to make this their trademark.
IP: Logged |
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