posted 05-03-2012 02:08 PM            

I know my topics are all over the place...but I have had a lot of silver questions on my mind the last few months and am excited to have this forum to pose them in. Bear with me!

One of my (many) questions regards this Gorham bon bon spoon marked H223 that I picked up about a year ago. It is a generously weighted cast piece that features a realistic depiction of a leaf. I had contacted Sam Hough to see if there was any information in the Gorham archives about this item and he was able to provide a treasure trove of information regarding when it was produced, what it was originally priced at, etc. What the records failed to illuminate, however, is the type of leaf displayed in the bowl.

Here are some photos of the front and reverse of the spoon:

And a close up of the leaf in question:

I know next to nothing about leaves and would love any input any of you might have regarding what this leaf might be. The person I purchased it from called it a "Virginia Creeper Leaf." I have looked up what these leaves are supposed to look like and the image above is a likely match. However, I haven't found any Virginia Creeper Leaf images with berries on the branches...and this spoon definitely has berries all over the bowl. Any ideas as to what could be going on? Was Gorham known to have added unrealistic details to otherwise accurate depictions of plants? Maybe to make it look more festive?

Any thoughts are appreciated.

posted 05-03-2012 03:03 PM            

It's a lovely piece, perhaps you might share the information from the archives?

~Cheryl

From the National Park Service site:

posted 05-03-2012 03:04 PM            

Try a search for Virginia creeper berries.
That might be it.

Hope this helps.
BTW lovely spoon, nice find!

posted 05-03-2012 06:42 PM            

~Cheryl

posted 05-04-2012 08:32 AM            

Now after seeing the photos of Virginia Creeper leaves with the berries I can see that the seller most likely identified it correctly.

I will be sure to post some of the information from the archives later tonight.

David

posted 05-09-2012 09:36 AM            

Sorry it has taken me so long to follow up to your question regarding Sam Hough's findings. Here is part of what he sent me:

"The H223 Bon Bon Spoon is entered in the Sterling Flatware costing book number 10 (vol. 30 in the costing series), page 252. These were made in batches of a dozen, the first being produced 1 July 1908.

Twelve spoons contained 15 troy oz. of silver valued at $10.50. The silver was cast, which took four hours at a labor cost of $2 for a dozen. A silversmith worked on the castings for seven and a half hours at a labor cost of $2.63 (somewhat over half an hour each) to make them into spoons.

Polishing consisted of bobbing, which took an hour and three quarters at $0.44 for the dozen. Finishing of fifteen minutes – a little more than a minute each – cost $0.08.

The total of silver and labor costs came to $15.60. To this were added 20% overhead, $3.13; 30% profit, $4.64; and 7.5% administrative costs, $1.17, for a sum of $24.64 for the dozen or $2.05 each.

The net factory price was set at $2 each, with $0.25 added for gilding each one.

It appears that these were made over a period of years and the price raised to reflect inflation from the First World War, rising to $5 each by the 1920’s."

It is amazing what that man can dig up. I honestly didn't expect anything to come of my contacting him, but he really surprised me.

The only thing I question is how many of these were actually made. I have scanned sales for the last few years and I could only find one other ever having been sold on there. It doesn't seem as though anyone else I've talked to has ever come across one either. It really is a beautiful piece and I am thrilled to have found it. I paid a great price for it too!

David