posted 01-18-2005 09:29 AM            

Hello,

I have a spoon and fork that I'm trying to identify.

These are engraved on the back with "David Sept.6,1868"

Also on the front of both pieces there is a mark at the end of the handle before it goes into the spoon and fork part. This mark is different on each piece and is barely discernible by the naked eye. On the spoon it appears to be a cricket, and on the fork it looks almost like ants. These marks have nothing to do with the rest of the pattern. I wish I could get a better picture. Anyway these pieces have really sparked my curiosity so any information would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you,
sletc9.

posted 01-18-2005 07:12 PM            

The only Parisian maker of the period with the initials "IT" was Isaac Tiller (registered 1863) but this is not his mark. (He was only a repairman from what I gather anyway.) There are two possibilities: 1) that you have misread the mark (though your representation of them seems quite good!) or 2) the piece is Provincial, not Parisian.

You can tell the difference by the Minerva's head mark identified by nihontochicken. On Parisian items, there is nothing at all under her chin. On Provincial items, there is a distinctive mint-mark unique to the office where the piece was assayed. This mark is often very cryptic (a foreign letter, astronomical symbol), but at the very least if some peculiar mark is there, then it indicates a Provincial origin. If you can make out the symbol, the assay office and possibly maker can be identified.

posted 01-19-2005 08:13 PM            

The tradition of giving a spoon or place setting as a Christening gift came from the 19th Century notion that, in centuries past, the only silver a person of modest means would ever own was an individual place setting that he or she would use his or her entire life, and that it was given at birth. However true or false this romantic notion may have been, for this reason 19th century “adult size” Christening sets were not at all uncommon – they had to last a lifetime. Of course, this was pure Victorian romanticism even then; the presenter harbored no illusion that recipient would use the set as his sole eating utensils for the rest of his life. (Frankly, that is another reason I think this is a Christening set. Since these sets were mostly symbolic - used neither used to feed the child nor in the place of ordinary cutlery as an adult - they tended to just stay in their box as a showy memento and, consequently, generally survive in very good condition, as this one has.)

Still, given that both French Christening and dessert sets were richly ornamented and that 19th century French place settings tended to be quite large, there’s really no way to tell. At the end of the day, it’s a fork and a spoon; all else is speculation.

posted 01-20-2005 03:56 PM            

I remember a beautiful 19th French set of a timbale (tumbler) and napkin ring, exquisitely fluted and gilt, in a case marked "Bébé" (Awww . . .) And an Edwardian napkin ring, egg cup and egg spoon set had me totally puzzled for some time until an older lady explained to me that coddled eggs were traditional baby fodder of the time.

posted 01-21-2005 02:56 PM            

An illustration of a bigorne (Small French cup - Part 1) was posted recently at the end of a very long thread involving, coincidentally, what is probably a fake bigorne mark.