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Author	Topic: davis & moron?
vathek Posts: 966 Registered: Jun 99	posted 02-27-2004 01:22 PM This is from the back of a coffin-ended coin spoon. The last O in Moron looks like a U in the photo, but it is an O. There may be a rubbed letter at the end. Can't find anything close in Belden or Kovel, but can at least date it to c. 1800. Any ideas? thanks. IP: Logged
wev Moderator Posts: 4121 Registered: Apr 99	posted 02-27-2004 02:17 PM The partnership was Thomas Aspinwall Davis and Thomas N. Morong, listed in the Boston Directory for 1820. Though your spoon would seem to indicate an earlier date, Davis was born in 1798 and the partnership c 1820 was at the beginning of his career. Possibly it was a replacement, or old goods bought in and re-sold. IP: Logged
vathek Posts: 966 Registered: Jun 99	posted 02-28-2004 08:07 AM Thanks wev, maybe you could write a book? I wouldn't think someone would want a replacement of a coffin ended spoon made that late - just goes to show how many variables there are in the history of silver. IP: Logged
swarter Moderator Posts: 2920 Registered: May 2003	posted 02-28-2004 12:07 PM Actually, since this spoon appears to be a "coffin fiddle," rather than the original "coffin handle" or "coffin-end Old English," it still could be correct (although on the late side) for the period. Even though both styles were relatively short lived, the modified fiddle appeared somewhat later (probably sometime during the second half of the first decade of the Century) than the modified Old English (which first appeared no later than 1800). It is often easier to pinpoint the appeararance of a style(because none were found before a certain date) than its disappearance (because demand for it usually tapers off more gradually, and can reoccur at any time). IP: Logged
wev Moderator Posts: 4121 Registered: Apr 99	posted 02-28-2004 01:00 PM I agree; end dates can be very fuzzy and very regional. It might be appropriate to add a word of caution as well, though not specific to this case. I have seen many late coffin fiddles that owe their form to a file-weilding collector or dealer rather than the original maker. It is an easy alteration to make and the increased rarity/valuation makes it tempting. Luckily, most who do it seem to have a very bad eye for proportion and balance. IP: Logged
swarter Moderator Posts: 2920 Registered: May 2003	posted 02-28-2004 02:15 PM quote: Luckily, most who do it seem to have a very bad eye for proportion and balance. They also tend to be sloppy, leaving file marks that can be detected under magnification, or by running a fingernail along the edge, although these are harder to detect than on fiddles that have been modified to "Old English", as the thickness of a fiddle is less (flatter) towards the end of the handle. They may also have been heavily buffed, in an attempt to smooth off the roughness left by the file. I, too, have seen a number of once nice pieces ruined this way. IP: Logged
Brent Posts: 1507 Registered: May 99	posted 02-28-2004 06:36 PM On another note, I was wondering if Davis & Morong got along very well. Maybe the missing "g" was an editorial comment. Brent IP: Logged
Brent Posts: 1507 Registered: May 99	posted 03-18-2004 10:48 AM Trefid sends along this interesting coffin-end piece, made during the mid 19th C by Butler & McCarty of Philadelphia. It was likely made as a replacement or fill-in piece for an existing set of coffin-end spoons. Brent IP: Logged
wev Moderator Posts: 4121 Registered: Apr 99	posted 03-18-2004 10:57 AM I posted another by the same maker in the discussion of the cheveron/horsehead maker: maker query - horsehead Perhaps this was a stock pattern for the company, a revival from earlier days? IP: Logged

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