posted 02-11-2006 06:04 PM            

The two spoons:

The bowl of the small spoon:

The bowl of the large spoon:

The serving spoon that I've always had was given to my mother as a wedding present from an elderly neighbor in 1952. She assumed it was new at that time. I have never been sure of that because of the marks, but it is certainly quite possible (isn't it?).

The small spoon I found yesterday has the same mark, save for the punch stamp that shows in the larger piece:

The small spoon:

The large spoon:

My basic question is:
How old are these? In the online research and in various books it places S.Kirk and Son as 1846-1861 and then again 1868-1890. After those dates the book says that "Co." was added and then "Inc." was added. If that is the case then both of these spoons are 19th century, but I am not convinced they are. I know the company was bought by Steiff. Did Steiff use the original S.Kirk and Son stamp on Kirk copies and these are from the 1950's? I would not be at all surprised or disappointed, but I'd like to know.

Are these really late 19th century?

Why are the repousse patterns different?

posted 02-11-2006 06:28 PM            

Kirk Repousse is one of those patterns where you can continually find pieces in sizes and shapes you have not seen before. The bowl decorations on your two pieces are standard for those pieces, but I would not be surprised to see a different one someday.

When I was first starting out collecting, I found that I was always getting hung up on minute details (Why this mark and not that?). As I went on, I learned that for every "rule" you find in a reference book, there is almost always an exception. One would think that manufactured items would be consistent in most details, but they often aren't, especially when it comes to application of marks. Anyway, it may seem frustrating now, but you too will learn when to trust the books and when to "throw them away".

Anyway, you have two of the most popular serving pieces of Repousse. The bowl decoration really makes them special.

Hope this helps!

posted 02-11-2006 07:48 PM            

It is amazing how much run of the mill silver is out there. This estate sale had a lot of silver, but none of it seemed very interesting and most of it was mid century plate.

My gut feelings were that these were mid 20th century, but the books, etc. that I have been referring to seemed to contradict that. Why don't they tell you that the Co. was dropped? Hmm. I have a Rainwater coming in the mail. Maybe that will help.

Because I am a beginner (making me prone to big bungles) I want to be careful and very picky, but at the same time get what I like. In the case of the little spoon I knew that I would use it when I use the other one. It is an interesting shape and a cute size. I don't feel at all bad about it and I like it! That's the most important.

posted 02-12-2006 10:37 AM            

The marks shown above are identical (or very similar at least) to the ones used by the firm 1868-96, but they seem not to have used a 'sterling' mark at that time (they used either 1015 or 925/1000). Perhaps in the 1930s they began using the actual old punches, or perhaps they just made new ones that looked similar, but with the addition of the sterling punch (which seems to have been added c.1925).