posted 09-17-2000 05:43 PM            

This first spoon is to my mind the easiest to doubt. It is 5 3/8 " long. As you can see, it has a broad oval handle with a downturned end. The bowl is deep and narrow, and features a raised drop on the reverse. It is marked twice with an intaglio EH in rectangle stamp. Although you can not see from the photos, it is engraved .F.B. in pricked script capitals crossways on the front.

This EH stamp bears a decent resemblance to that assigned to Eliakim Hitchcock of New Haven, CT (1726-1788) by Flynt & Fales, Ensko, and others. The spoon does appear to be late 18th - early 19th century, so the dating could match. When you look at the whole package, though, it definitely appears to be of Continental origin.

The evidence:

1.) The shapes of the bowl, handle and drop are unlike any American spoons of the period that I have examined or seen in books.

2.) The metal has a strange color to it. Although soild silver, it is probably of very low grade. It does not resemble any of my authentic American coin spoons.

3.) PRICKED engraving is rare, if not absent , in American coin silver. Pricked intials are very common in Scandinavian silver.

I think this is a Scandinavian spoon, and that we must look to Scandinanvia as a source of initial-marked silver that can be confused with American.

posted 09-21-2000 01:15 PM            

This teaspoon (5 3/16") is a bit more problematic. It exhibits nice "wriggle" bright cutting in conjunction with roulette-wheel engraving. It also has a stubby, raised, rounded drop. These features ARE found on period American spoons, although the drop form is unusual. It has no visible monogram. The only mark is the RD in a rectangle. From style, the spoon probably dates from 1770 to 1800, perhaps a bit later.

About the only published American silversmith with a similar mark is Robert Douglas of New London, CT. Douglas died in 1776; if this piece were from Douglas, he must have been working in the very latest style.

Alas, I fear that this spoon is also of Scandinavian origin. My reasons:

1.) The bowl is almost a pure oval, which would have been quite old-fashioned at the time and not in keeping with the bright cutting.

2.) The stem is quite broad in relation to the bowl. Most American spoons seem to have much narrower handles near the bowl.

3.) I once saw a Norwegian spoon with almost identical engraving, as well as the same proportions.

posted 09-22-2000 11:58 AM            

Paul.

posted 09-22-2000 09:56 PM            

Thanks for the contribution. If you see any other similar spoons for sale, let me know!

Brent

posted 09-25-2000 09:47 PM            

What characteristics would you say separate English from American featheredge? I am curious to know, and always trying to refine my ID skills.

posted 09-25-2000 10:04 PM            

Well, here is the last example. It is again a modest teaspoon, 5 1/16" long. It is a bit more substantial than the first two spoons. It has nice "wriggle" bright cutting with a cartouche at the top. Within the cartouche is engraved H over T * M in block capitals (not visible). The handle is downturned, with a very slight ridge on the back. It has a very unusual drop; raised double arches, stepped such that the inner arch is higher than the outer. I have never seen a similar drop. The mark is a crude T pellet D in oval.

What to make of this? It has some Anglo-American characteristics, such as the good weight and the "triangular" form of the monogram, as well as the block capitals. The mark seems cruder than most English maker's marks, though, and I have been unable to find a comparable English mark in Jackson or Grimwade. On the other hand, there are darn few listed American smiths with TD initials, especially pre-1800. When I look at the drop, though, I must think Continental, as it is unlike any American or English drop I have seen.

posted 12-15-2003 12:51 PM            

The story ran more or less this way. Skandinavians had poured into the UpperMidwest beginning in the 1820's. By the 1840's, thousands were arriving every year. They brought with them many traditional arts and crafts, among which was metal smithing. These smiths produced a great deal of the traditional copper and pewter as well as some silver. Since they tended to come from rural provinces, the work was usually old fashioned. The customers wanted things that reminded them of home.

So for these lonely Swedes, Danes and Norwegians living on the frozen praries there were a number of smiths who produced copper, pewter and silver items. These were memory pieces (in Swedish: minne). When new they were already out of date. They used traditional Skandinavian forms for a nostalgic clientel. The word 'minne' frequently appears on them: the idea was to use the spoon and remember.

This custom seems to have presevered into the late 19th century. In small towns in MN, WI, IA, IL, MI, NE, SD, ND, CO, UT, WA, OR, CA the local jewler who had learned his trade in Skandinavia could produce these spoons when requested. I have seen a spoon made in Utah by an immigrant Swede with the traditional Skandinavian shape, form, engraving and Mormon motifs.

There does not seem to be much information about these. Unfortuneatley, my copy of Arts and Crafts in Early Illinois is in storage now. Beyond that, the museums and cultural centers might have some information. The Norwegians have a major one in Decorah IA. The Swedes are at North Park College in Chicago and in Minneapolis. Also the Lutheran colleges sometimes keep records on the immigrant communities. Augustana in Rock Island IL might be a good place to start.

So, I would say the story on this spoon runs this way. Ole, the generic immigrant, was a younger son of a jeweler. He learned the trade in his father's shop in Öland, like Randahl. Born in 1815, by 1845 he sees no hope of being anything beyond his brother'a assistant. Then he decides to go off to Nord Amerika. He heads for the mild sunny winters of Minnesota. Finds a small town, opens a shop. Every now and then someone asks him to make some silver. They want what they remember from Grandma's house. His skills and designs were old fashioned in the 1830's. Which is what is needed. So he makes these up.

I have seen a number of larger table spoon pieces that feature a creeping in of English words. The first to appear is the replacement of the Skandinavian 'de' after the number with the English 'th'. Instead of '9de Nov' it becomes '9th Dec'.

posted 12-15-2003 01:08 PM            

The most likely source for information on the silver would be a study of early Midwestern Lutheran liturgical silver. Is there such a thing?

Skandinavia produced a great many silversmiths who migrated to the US. Look at the lists of workmen for Kalo, LeBoldt or any of the upper Midwestern makers and there is a long list of Swedes, Danes and Norwegians. Interestingly, the list for Faberge St Petersburg also shows this.

My guess on your spoon would be this. It is a Skandinavian spoon produced in the Upper Midwest in the 1840's or 1850's. I really don't know if this qualifies as American coin silver or not. There is little consistent research on these workers. What there is, tends to be lumped into community and cultural research, not silver. It would be found Lutheran church by Lutheran church. A reference to so and so who made the communion silver. Lutherans used to put an occupation after each member's name: the word would be 'smed'.

posted 12-15-2003 02:58 PM            

• Vesterheim Museum

• A Quest for Norwegian Folk Art in America
  by Tora Bøhn (Volume 19: Page 116)

'The main museum, which unfortunately is an impractical old firetrap, is filled with a rich collection of pioneer relics, some brought from Norway, some made in America. The exhibit is dominated by a large collection of chests and other wooden containers; but tools, textiles, and silver are also well represented, as well as more or less valuable small objects. Most of the collections have been assembled from individual gifts, but large bequests from private collectors, such as the P. Pedersen Collection from Eau Claire, also play a prominent part. If this museum could receive financial support, it would undoubtedly be a natural center for preservation of the material aspect of Norwegian immigrant culture.'

'There is also a Norwegian Lutheran school less known to Norwegians, Clifton Junior College in Texas, where a small immigrant museum has been started, very modest in extent. I did not visit the latter place, but correspondence with the school made it clear that the collection consists of quite ordinary examples within the usual groups: chests, tools, and kitchen utensils of various kinds, besides some smaller silver objects. Nor does it appear that there are any important relics in private hands, even though Clifton itself has great interest as the site of a colony founded by Cleng Peerson, who is buried there.

• The Leather and Silver Art of Edward H. Bohlin

posted 12-15-2003 03:17 PM            

• Immigrant Artefacts as Aids to Genealogical Research

Another immigrant artefact, much easier to identify, is also a silver snuff box, the origin of which we find in Chicago, IL. It is a beautiful item made of coin silver and housed in a handsome velvet lined leather case, made by an early Swedish silversmith in Chicago by the name of L. F. Hussander, born in Levide Parish on the Swedish island of Gotland. He had arrived in America in 1868 and had opened a silversmithy in Chicago in 1870. (Not 3) The snuff box in question was a custom made job to honor the president of the Svea Society of Chicago, J. M. Sch�nbeck, one of the founders of the society in 1857, who on April 25, 1873 celebrated his 57th birthday. The snuff box was suitably engraved for the occasion.

posted 12-17-2003 10:19 PM            

What did surprise me was the mention of Hussander in Chicago. He does not appear in any of the books I have handy. Has anyone seen references to him and his work? Here we have someone who had a smithery in a major city, did commissioned work, and the reference comes from a history of the Svea Församling, not a silver scholar.

I would imagine this scenario holds for just about any immigrant group. It can be both humbling and illuminating to suddenly discover the 1850's Bohemian fork was made in Berwyn IL in 1910.

posted 12-18-2003 10:21 AM            

Thanks again for opening the door!