Postby blakstone » Sat Aug 30, 2008 12:15 am
Your excellent photo shows that the piece is not Parisian, but provincial. You'll note in front of Minerva's forehead the little mark that looks like two inverted parentheses: )( That's the différent, a mark used to indicate a particular provincial office. Here, its the astrological sign of Pisces, for the assay office in Strasbourg, Bas-Rhin départment.
Unfortunately, the only books I know of on Strausbourg silver don't cover any makers after the First Empire.
It is worth noting, however, the the assay office was not operational 1871-1919, when the city was annexed by the German Empire (between the Franco-Prussian War and World War One). Given the style, your spoon is almost certainly dates before 1871.