What-is-it question CLXXVII

[dognose]

Hi,

I acquired this piece as a jeweller's display item and was quite happy with that thought, but now a few seeds of doubt are starting to creep into my mind as to whether this was the original purpose of this item.



The spoon 5 1/2" (14cm) in length, it stands nicely on the convex plinth base 1" (2.5cm) across. I assumed this piece was supplied by Deykin & Sons, due to the right facing gondola mark, and given to a Mr Turnbull of Blyth to display in his shop. However, if the piece was displayed in the upright position, Mr Turnbull's name is perhaps a bit awkward to read, also I doubt the very elongated bowl would not be of true of the bowl shape of Deykin & Sons's spoons.



There are no maker's marks on the back of the spoon, just a Victorian design registration mark indicating a date of June 1883.



My thoughts are straying into the realms of another purpose for this spoon and I think I may have the answer, but I'm just guessing. Before I reveal what I think may be a possible use for the spoon, it would be good to read the thoughts of others (that way I can dodge the laughter caused by my dumb possible answer).





Trev.

[silverly]

Sales display is the only thing that comes to my mind.

[dognose]

Thanks Pat, I'm sure you're correct.

It did cross my mind that this spoon may have been a Victorian device for forcing children to ingest that foul tasting cure-all, castor oil. The concave disc would be used to force the tongue back and a quick twist of the wrist would deposit the contents of the bowl into the poor souls mouth.

A jeweller's display piece is a much nicer thought.

Regards Trev.

[JLDoggett]

A display piece is the only use I can come up with.

Trev, you have a very warped and twisted mind... not a bad thing... but...

[dognose]

Well, it was just a guess...I'm just a bit stumped as to why the retailer's name was orientated to that position, it seems awkward to me for a display piece.

I came across another regular teaspoon marked in a similar fashion, but this time the retailer's name is applied in the position one would expect on a display piece.



This one appears to be supplied by Atkin Brothers of Sheffield to a Mr Taylor, silversmith of Rochdale. The mark on this one is on the back of the spoon and like the earlier example it lacks the usual plater's marks.

Trev.

[JLDoggett]

Trev, it could be that the maker used the largest stamp he already had (maybe for marking larger pieces, like trays) and applied it side-ways because that is the way it fit on the handle. Making a new stamp just for the display items would have been a bit pricy for a shop.

It is interesting that in both your examples the sellers stamps are for "silversmiths" which implies they were manufacturing sterling items. Or is that a difference in language between the two sides of the pond?

[dognose]

Hi Jim,

I believe both Turnbull and Taylor would have been retail silversmiths only. The marks, I suspect, would have been struck by the manufacturers, Deykin & Sons for the Turnbull example and Atkin Brothers for the Taylor one.

I've seen several examples of these spoons over the years and suspect they were given to the retailer gratis after the manufacturer receiving a certain size order from them, but as to why they lack the usual plater's marks is unknown to me.

Regards Trev.

[JLDoggett]

Since I know you love a mystery... you might be able to discover how stamping a retailer's mark was handled in England. Here, to have a seller's mark struck on a piece you did have to place an order large enough that the manufacturer would order that retailer’s stamp made and applied (I have seen pieces so struck for large retailers like Shreve, Crump & Low of Boston back when I worked for Towel), but the order would usually be a very large one and regular. Other retailers stamped the pieces after they were delivered, a very risky task indeed (though the examples I own or have seen were [url]mostly[/url] well done).

This could produce a nice scholarly paper on the economics of small scale versus large plant flatware manufacturing.

[dognose]

Just to say that I have noted another near identical example of the original spoon posted in this topic. On the recently seen example is struck the name of another retail silversmith; A. WOOD, Ramsbottom.

So, no longer a mystery, it is a display piece.

Trev.