posted 07-23-2018 06:20 PM            

These are two stuffing spoons sometimes called rice spoons. The long one (a little over 14” long) is by Conning and I put it here just for comparison to a nice Shiebler spoon. The Shiebler is only 12 ¼” long. The Shiebler weights 188 grams whereas the Conning while long weight only 157 grams. The Kings pattern is a very traditional pattern for Shiebler to make and I think that they must have brought another company that made this and then just decided to continue its production.

posted 07-24-2018 03:08 PM            

This 11 ½ “ long Kirk spoon is another form that I think of as a stuffing spoon. This one is interesting as it has a fluted bowl and was made during the time period that Baltimore had an assay office. This spoon has the assay mark of Samuel Steele and I think would be dated to 1834 or 1835. It is also marked with Kirk’s 11 over 12 to indicate it has 11 parts silver out of 12 parts. (.9166 Silver whereas sterling is .925) This spoon weights 107 grams so it is considerable lighter than the Conning or Shiebler spoons. This spoon is not quite sterling, but I thought I would add it here as it fits in with the other spoons for use.

I was prompted to look for these spoons because in another thread I recommended checking stored silver every 6 months. I must admit that I had all but forgotten these spoons, but they were tucked away in a box that must have been airtight as they were not tarnished.

posted 07-24-2018 06:38 PM            

The spoon above was sold to us as a cracker scoop. We have not used this for some time, but when we did we used it as either rice spoon or just a large serving spoon. It is about 10 inches long so it is shorter than most rice spoons.

This one is interesting for all the marks on it. It is marked for Bailey and Co., but it also has in one area a lion, the letter S, a shield and a star. In the middle of the shell on the back of the bowl they added another good looking lion, just for good measure. These marks signified that the silver was of sterling quality; a standard Bailey introduced in 1855. They discontinued in house silver manufacture in 1862. George Sharp was in charge of their silver manufacturing and design during these years.

The George Sharp of Bailey should not be confused with the George Sharp Jr. of Kentucky and Georgia.

posted 07-27-2018 11:36 PM            

Here is another serving spoon; except instead of being called a stuffing spoon it is often referred to as a platter spoon. The large hook on the reverse of the spoon catches the edge of the platter so that the spoon does not slide into the platter.

This spoon was retailed by William Adams of New York City and has the well worn manufacturers’ marks for Henry Hebbard of the same city. It also has the French importation marks for 800 silver that was used between June 1, 1864 and June 30, 1893. This spoon weighs 162 grams and is 13 inches long. This spoon is not sterling, but I put it with the other stuffing spoons just for comparison.

William Adams was the silversmith commissioned to make a silver mace for the original mace of the U.S. House of Representatives in 1841. It appears that the original mace was destroyed by the British during the War of 1812.