Posted 12 years ago
BHock45
(807 items)
Here are three new photos of the spoon after some cleaning/polishing. It is clear that the bottom metal is not silver, but a broze color. I hope this helps so that we can ID this.
the mark is clear it is a stamp that reads
"MBC"
Hi, all. Just checked my email and saw this. Yes, hallmark looks like one used by Meriden Britannia Co. The reference I had consulted when I first saw this spoon gave the Meriden Brit. Co. mark as middle 1860's, not earlier. This is a very early form of spoon, and I wouldn't have thought that Meriden would produce it in the 1860's. I see from Sterling Flatware Fashions that Meriden produced silver plated wares as early as 1855. Thanks for the link, AR8Jason!
http://www.sterlingflatwarefashions.com/Silversmiths/SilversmithsM6.html
http://www.925-1000.com/silverplate_M.html
Just want to thank you guys for your time spent helping me solve this one. Have a great week!
You're most welcome, sir! Thanks for the great job you did posting this spoon and documenting the progress! Hope your week is splendid!
Please excuse my ignorance here, this is all new to me. To correctly ID this piece. It is a circa 1850 piece of Britannia-ware made by Meriden Britannia Company? Obviously it is in terrible condition, thus, it would not be collectible? Thanks.
Ok, great. Just wanted the knowledge. Thanks for your help again! Take care.
Hi, gentlemen! The thing that looks very old on this spoon is the shoulder. The shoulders are in the junction between the bowl and handle. FYI, follows a link to a diagram of the anatomy of a spoon.
http://www.google.com/imgres?hl=en&sa=X&tbo=d&biw=1366&bih=622&tbm=isch&tbnid=6kUvhU0nWTHQ1M:&imgrefurl=http://www.925-1000.com/a_spoonanatomy.html&docid=XiRPrxTEQf5FsM&imgurl=http://www.925-1000.com/glos/A_SpoonAnatomy.jpg&w=699&h=221&ei=U5uqUPGxHITbyAHCtoHgBg&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=2&vpy=172&dur=724&hovh=126&hovw=400&tx=204&ty=55&sig=117829367177864580229&page=1&tbnh=77&tbnw=219&start=0&ndsp=23&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0,i:74
From about 1800-1805 in America, spoons developed a sharp shoulder, and afterwards a rounded shoulder. These rounded shoulders began to disappear after circa 1850. My MBC hallmark was 1868, which seemed too old for this shape. I don't doubt that AR8Jason has seen some of these spoons in plate, but prior to this posting, I had not seen one. I have seen this shape in coin silver and in pewter only. BHock45, this spoon is historically interesting, even if it's not of much commercial value. I think that it's a very nice find. If it’s 9 inches, it’s a big one! I personally love these old ‘coin silver shape’ spoons. : )
After reading AR8Jason's most recent posting, I consulted Noel D. Turner’s “American Silver Flatware 1837 -1910” (Newbury N. J.: A. S. Barnes and Company, Inc., 1972, first edition), and did not find one single spoon from Meriden or Rogers with this exact, dramatic shoulder. I found some patterns with flourishes in this area, but none in this pattern with shoulders exactly like this. The closest I got was in the Section entitled “Standard Patterns” (p.85). Sixteen ‘standard’ patterns are given in this section. Of those, only two are closely similar to yours’ and neither of these is an exact match. To make sure I’m on the same page, BHock45, in your spoon, the design on the tip is on reverse of the spoon, isn’t it? If so, Turner refers to this pattern as “Reverse Tip (French Tip)”. If the design on the tip is on the front, Turner refers to this pattern as “Plain Tipped (Tipped, Tip’t)”. No dates are given. To be fair, I must say that one must expect some 'abstraction' in a 'standard patterns' gallery, so the fact that your spoon doesn't exactly correspond to the closest spoon in the 'standard patterns' gallery doesn't mean that your spoon doesn't fit this pattern/category.
Hope your Thanksgiving observances are splendid, gentlemen!