Rare Tablespoon by Joseph Hopkins Waterbury CT c. 1770

Colonial tablespoon by Joseph W. Hopkins (1730-1801), a Waterbury, Connecticut, silversmith whose work is quite scarce. It has a short midrib with a flat rounded end and a rounded drop. It is similar in form to a Hopkins spoon in the Yale University collection. The oval bowl shows very slight tipwear. There is a scratch in the bottom of the bowl which is visible in the photograph. The spoon is 8 1/4 inches long and has an interesting pricked monogram, K over S+L.