Catalog: Silver: Sterling: Flatware

Dating from 1870, John Wendt's Florentine is an intricately detailed and finely rendered, Renaissance Revival, design with Moorish undertones.

This 7" long, relatively weighty 1.32 T. oz., preserve or jelly spoon is a particularly fine example in pristine condition.

It has a generously proportioned, 2 1/2" long, 1 5/8" at the widest, 1/2" deep, shell form bowl with scalloped edges and a ribbed interior, all finished in a pale, satin matte, gold wash front and back sides...

Measuring 7 3/4" long overall, with a 2 1/4" diameter by 1" deep bowl, and weighing 2.06 T. oz., this is a generously proportioned, solid silver, gravy ladle.

The pattern is Union, made by John Wendt, and in this case retailed by "Starr & Marcus," New York, as stamped on the handle backside, along with "Sterling" and "Patent."

Introduced in 1862, Union is a period design that is similar enough to Gibney by F.H...

An Indo-Persian pattern, Gorham's Hindostanee was issued in 1878, as indicated by the "Pat. 78" that appears on the handle backside of this 7 3/4" long, 1.77 T. oz., serving spoon.

Other marks include the company's "lion, anchor, G" emblem, "Sterling," and the word "Gorham," which may indicate the piece was sold in the company's New York City store, or it may simply be a redundant mark...

Matching pieces, each of these four silver teaspoons measures 5 3/4" long, with the set weighing 1.64 T. oz.

The pattern is Fiddle Tipt which is a mid 19th century design. Each one is engraved with a fancy, feathered script, "A. R." monogram set sideways on the handle front.

These are marked "Sterling" when coin would be expected for this style, so whether they are early sterling examples, or later production pieces of an older design is uncertain...

This piece measures 5 7/8" long and weighs a substantial 1.2 T. oz.

It is an original production example of Reed & Barton's Love Disarmed, issued in 1899, and is marked with the company's "eagle, R, lion" emblem, "Sterling," and "Pat. Appl'd For," all in very fine lettering.

All the details are exactly as they should be on an old example save that, significantly, the floral tip on the pattern is missing...

Along with several other artisans, Horace Potter was a founder of the "Cleveland School of Arts and Crafts" in 1898.

There is ample biographical material about him available online, including the site "chicagosilver," which notes that he graduated from the "Cleveland School of Art" in 1898 and maintained strong ties with Boston where he studied further and worked briefly...

Florals seem to have been the favorite theme used in American Art Nouveau silver design in the years just before and following 1900, with fruits also popular.

This group of spoons illustrate three patterns representative of the period and include two florals and one fruit.

The are, left to right in the above image, Reed & Barton's Les Cinq Fleurs, International's Cloeta (Grape), and Whiting's Lily.

At 5 7/8" long, 1.06 T...