This sterling silver coffee spoon was made by Gorham c. 1890. It measures 4 3/4" long and weighs nearly .5 T. oz. which is quite heavy for a piece this size. It has a cast handle that portrays perhaps daisies or asters with leaves and stems. The die struck bowl also has a floral and leaf theme, but also incorporates a free-form scroll and swirl element as well. This is suggestive of an aesthetic influence at work in the overall design...

Made by Weidlich, this c. 1900 sterling silver spoon measures 5" long and weighs approximately .7 T. oz. It is an attractive floral design, perhaps goldenrod, exhibiting fine die work and finishing, and has a satin gold wash over the entire piece. The front interior of the bowl reads "Cornell College Chapel," and "Cornell," for the Iowa school, and is engraved with a precisely rendered image of the chapel. The backside is engraved "Bachelor Maids" in script...

Adapted from a 5 5/8" long, .7 T. oz. Durgin "Fairfax" teaspoon, this piece is a commemorative item for one of the United States' highest profile, independent boarding schools, Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts. It has an applied silver and enamel facsimile of the school seal on the end of the handle...

This 4 1/4" long coffee spoon is marked with a first standard .950 purity (slightly more than sterling) French Minerva, a bigorne, and the maker's stamp, which is an "L" and "M" flanking either side of a dome shape set at a cant. The handle is three dimensional and imprinted with a hanging leaf and berry design. The end of the handle has a cast knight astride a horse. He looks something in the manner of a crusader figure, with an upraised sword in his right hand...

This popular souvenir spoon was originally produced by Gorham in the 1890's and reissued as late as the 1970's or 80's. The dating on this 4 1/4" long, relatively heavy .4 T. oz., example is uncertain, although it has qualities that suggest age. The handle retains a sharply defined pattern front and back sides and in the bowl of the spoon. The elements of the design are highly detailed and not murky...

This 5 7/8" long, weighty, 1.0 T. oz., teaspoon is three items in one. Made by International, it is "December" in a series of month spoons. Second, it is an extremely attractive pattern piece portraying holly in a high relief, sculpted manner. The design appears on both front and back sides of the handle. Third, it is a souvenir spoon, engraved "McPherson Kan" in the bowl in a fancy script...

General Israel Putnam was a fabled Revolutionary War figure whose name and exploits were well known in the late 19th century, the period of this piece. The specific subject of this 5 1/2" long teaspoon was his encounter with a marauding she wolf in the northeastern Connecticut town of Pomfret. The neighboring town of Putnam is named for him...

Stamped "Sterling" and "Mermod & Jaccard." for the premier St. Louis jewelry and silver firm, this 5 3/8" long, .7 T. oz., souvenir spoon has two identifiers. One is the obvious "1838" imprinted in the gold washed bowl. The second is disguised in the reticulated design of the handle. On the surface lattice-like, the pattern actually portrays letters spelling out "Monticello." Presumably this is a reference to a small city in Illinois east of St...

Produced by Gorham's renowned Antoine Heller, Coligni stands alongside such other commanding figural patterns as Versailles, Fontainebleau, Mythologique, and Old Medici offered by that firm and designer in the late 19th century. Of all those designs, it may be the one with a look most likely to have gone toe-to-toe with Tiffany's Olympian of the same period. This 6" long, heavy, just over 1.0 T. oz., teaspoon features two draped female figures carrying baskets filled with flowers and/or fruit,...

Durgin's Heraldic nearly represents a compendium of heraldry. It incorporates a crown, a lion, a shield, a horse, and possibly a castle tower in a single assemblage. The end result is actually quite impressive and makes for a design that invites inspection. This 5 3/4" long and weighty item is variously identified as an orange, fruit, or melon spoon, and sometimes misidentified as a pap spoon. The bowl is a form favored by Durgin. It has a bulbous bowl with a slightly asymmetrical funnel ti...

This 5 1/2" long, sterling silver souvenir spoon is stamped "E. Mehesy," who was the maker or retailer. It is a commemorative of Salt Lake City, with the dominant element being the figure of the Angel Moroni blowing a horn. This has a die-struck decorated bowl that portrays the "Saltair Beach and Pavilion." Other examples of this spoon show the Mormon Tabernacle in the bowl. This portraiture may be a less common one. The backside is engraved "KVT" in script. It is in immaculate condition a...

One of a line of several figural Art Nouveau designs issued by Unger around the turn of the 20th century, "Cupid's Nosegay" disguises the faces of four cherubic figures set amidst an array of iris blossoms and leaves. This example is a 5 3/4" long, just under 1.0 T. oz., teaspoon. It is in flawless condition, and absent a monogram or removal. Marks are "Copyright 1904" and "Sterling." The Unger Brothers emblem is impressed right at the heel where the handle joins at an angle, and is some obs...