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 American Silver before sterling
 Our spoons are numbered. But why?
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| Author | Topic: Our spoons are numbered. But why? |
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Polly Posts: 1970 |
posted 11-15-2012 02:46 PM
  
I bought this nice little coin silver teaspoon in an online auction. It's marked WB. It's engraved with a monogram and a number--3--and it had two sisters, identical spoons numbered 1 and 2. Spoons 1 and 2 sold to other bidders, but I got 3. I was sad to see the set broken up. But it got me to thinking about the practice of numbering spoons or other items in a set. What would be the advantage of numbering items rather than just counting them? Also, my little spoon is marked WB. Anyone know who this maker was? It doesn't look quite like any of the WB marks I've seen. Stylistically, I'm guessing my spoon is from c. 1790s-1800s. IP: Logged |
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agphile Posts: 798 |
posted 11-15-2012 06:34 PM
I would only be guessing if I offered a reason why some owners chose to number their silver where this occurs other than on teaspoons, but I think there was a practical reason in the case of teaspoons. The numbering helped keep track of which cup, saucer and spoon belonged to which guest when cups wre being refilled. At least, that is the reason I have seen given for the numbered sets of scottish teaspoons that exist. It might also help identify which guest walked off with a spoon after the teaparty! Afraid I can't help with the mark. IP: Logged |
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ahwt Posts: 2334 |
posted 11-15-2012 06:35 PM
Your WB looks like mark b in Belden for William Ball of Philadelphia. No working dates are given by Belden, but Mr. Ball did advertize in the Pennsylvania Journal in Nov of 1759. Also the Philadelphia Museum of Art has one of his account books dated 1763. The numbers may have been used for the same reason that some men wear belts and suspenders at the same time or it may be that the diners were expected to use the same spoon day after day. Either way its adds a bit of mystery to your spoon. Nice find. IP: Logged |
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Polly Posts: 1970 |
posted 11-15-2012 07:39 PM
Ah, that makes sense, Agphile. Ahwt, thanks for the possible attribution. Poking around with search engines I see that Mr. Ball's dates are given in one source as 1729-1810, so if I'm guessing right about the date of this spoon, he could plausibly have made it. Now I wish I'd bid more vigorously for the other two spoons. It was a charity auction, so it would have been money to a good cause, too. If the new owner of Spoon 1 or Spoon 2 is lurking out there, please chime in! IP: Logged |
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jersey Posts: 1203 |
posted 11-15-2012 07:40 PM
Hi Polly, Did you check Wev's list? Jersey IP: Logged |
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Polly Posts: 1970 |
posted 11-15-2012 08:10 PM
Jersey, I did, and none of the marks looked quite right to me. But perhaps I'm not looking at them the right way. IP: Logged |
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wev Moderator Posts: 4121 |
posted 11-15-2012 08:16 PM
Somewhere around here, I have a coffin end teaspoon by Robert Evans engraved on the backside "No. 23". It was given to me by a lady who had a handful of them with various numbers up to, as I remember, 27. She believed, from family history, that they came from some sort of church society that a ancestor had been involved with. I don't think your mark is Philadelphia Ball; his initial marks are quite distinctive in their tight letterspacing and sloped B. IP: Logged |
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jersey Posts: 1203 |
posted 11-15-2012 08:23 PM
Wev, William Breed perhaps? Jersey IP: Logged |
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wev Moderator Posts: 4121 |
posted 11-15-2012 08:34 PM
The spoon is much too late for his dates. IP: Logged |
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ahwt Posts: 2334 |
posted 11-15-2012 09:15 PM
 These are the two marks in Belden for Ball. I am not very good at picking out marks - never did like details - but mark b has the same crossed middle legs. This is one you can judge for yourself. IP: Logged |
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Polly Posts: 1970 |
posted 11-15-2012 09:22 PM
The mark on my spoon is actually quite wide and elongated along the horizontal axis, if you know what I mean--as shown in my photo. I think the William Ball mark is much squarer. IP: Logged |
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swarter Moderator Posts: 2920 |
posted 11-15-2012 10:17 PM
The letter spacing and squashed shapes look quite different. There is always the possibility that the mark is distorted, but I wouldn't bet on it. This is one of those things that just go into the drawer until a better match cam be found. I always heard that the numbering was for the benefit of the servants, to help them get them all back after the meal and/or into the drawer after washing, simply to keep THEM honest! IP: Logged |
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