posted 03-29-2001 08:36 AM            

Here is one of a set of 12 tiny enamelled spoons. They are just over three inches long. Could they be demitasse spoons, or salt spoons? They are certainly smaller than most demitasse. Also, has anyone seen other Gorham enamel pieces in this style? Gorham made a wide variety of enamelled flatware, but this design is new to me. Any ideas would be appreciated.

posted 04-28-2001 10:43 PM            

They look, shapewise, more like demitasse spoons than salt, but they are small. I think I read somewhere that sometimes companies made spoons that were sort of "collectors' series" or something like that--just a set of spoons for decorative purposes. The patterns of such spoons, I would imagine, would be not-full-line (and possibly specific just to the spoons) as well as rather distinctive looking, as are yours. Could these be such a thing, I wonder?

You and I have also pondered over the purpose of the Gorham spoons with Palmer Cox's Brownie figures on them (click here). These were the same size as your enameled spoons. Perhaps they were not children's spoons but in fact a collectors' series.

I have a set of 12 Gorham spoons in a presentation case that are demitasse-sized, and there are 2 each of six different patterns--the patterns are all geometric--some just twisted handles, others have spheres, etc. I have not seen any other forms with the same pattern. They are in really good shape, so, especially with the box considered, I surmise that these were just presented as a gift or something, and were generally display or collection pieces, rather than actual utensils. So they were kind of like souvenir spoons, without actually being a souvenir of anywhere.

Gorham did do a bunch of enameled flatware in the same style--I cannot say whether I have seen that exact design before. The designs, and enameling techniques, are Russian-inspired, and I thought I read taht Russian enamelists did, or supervised, the enameling of these spoons.

I hope these ideas help out.