Despite the fact that the English hallmarking system is ancient and well-tested, it cannot be relied upon purely for the authenticity of a piece. Its very reputation, respected and revered the world over, makes it vulnerable to dishonest use by fakers and forgers. Transposing marks from one object to another is not an uncommon practice and can be very lucrative when the piece is sold for a high price. Genuine marks may also be removed from an older, damaged object and `married’ to a far later example. This is why experts will sometimes breathe on a piece for, by doing so, the outline of the joins which are invisible to the naked eye should reveal themselves. Certainly when the object is oxidised the let-in silver usually shows fairly clearly. This practice of transposition is not a new one and has been used for many years. (more…)

A few years after the turn of the eighteenth century the spoon eventually developed into the utensil which we use today. By 1720 its stem had become gracefully curved and terminated in a flat, rounded end which turned forward or upward and upon which it was rested on the table, so that the back of the bowl was uppermost in the French way. This Hanoverian rat-tail spoon continued in fashion for a few more years, the rat-tail gradually disappearing to be replaced by small droplets, either one or two, at the back of the bowl, or the increasingly fashionable scallop-shell, typical of the rococo period. The stem evolved into a flatter form, terminating by the 1760s in a curve which turned in the opposite direction to its predecessor, ie backward instead of forward, so that the spoon could be placed on the table with the interior of its bowl showing,as is still the custom in England and elsewhere today. This is termed the `Old English’ pattern and has been the basic form for spoons ever since. (more…)

In the twentieth century it is difficult to imagine eating meals without the aid of cutlery, yet it was not until the eighteenth century that it became the general custom to use forks, knives and spoons. The habit spread only gradually. Towards the later years of the seventeenth century a host might be expected to provide cutlery at table and although this tendency increased, many travellers carried with them their own personal set of a fork, knife and spoon, in a case often made of tooled leather, until as late as around the middle of the eighteenth century. (more…)

Although the tea strainer was among the numerous pieces of domestic silver which did not generally make their appearance until the very final years of the eighteenth century and beginning of the nineteenth century, the English tea table was not devoid of a utensil for a similar purpose. The tea strainer bore little resemblance to this predecessor and can in no way be said to be a development of it, unlike so many other items which evolved into utensils which we use today. Its forerunner was an extraordinary little implement called the mote skimmer, which was usually a little longer than a tea spoon. Its bowl was pierced in a simple pattern and its rounded, slender tapering stem ended in a point. (more…)

The jockey cap is a design which is seen frequently since it has been copied many times over the years. It is much prized by collectors who usually prefer the hallmarks to be punched on the visor, which is the handle. Make sure that hallmarks are of the right period, if you think the rest of the spoon looks genuine, because reproductions will have modern marks. Some jockey caps are fairly plain, perhaps engraved or bright-cut on the visor, while others may have a ribbed cap and peak or be engraved all over with a simple pattern. There are, aswell, those which are die-stamped and decorated with geometric patterns. (more…)

Caddy spoons have long been avidly collected, and certainly the numerous styles and designs in which they were made vary enough to suit most tastes. They were produced in large numbers from approximately the last decade or so of the eighteenth century. Early tea canisters which had round, domed caps did not need a caddy spoon since, as has been mentioned, the cap was often used to measure the tea into the pot. When these small caps were superseded by larger lids, some sort of small ladle or spoon was required for the job. Gradually a small spoon with a short stem evolved and was kept in the canister with the tea. The bowl of the spoon was commonly in the shape of a shell, originating possibly from the fact that large sea-shells intended for use as ladles had often been packed in tea-chests by the Chinese. The caddy spoon as we know it did not appear in any great quantity before approximately 1790, but by the end of the century thousands were being produced in Birmingham, where silversmiths specialised in small objects. This trend continued for the following 50 years or more. (more…)

I know many people who love to poke about in the trays of junk shops picking up odd silver spoons. Some hostesses like to put nice odd coffee cups or odd glasses in front of people: after all, it gives them something to talk about. So why not odd spoons, particularly tea-spoons?

There is certainly any amount of variety in shape, and most of them by now have a trade or traditional name. (I am, of course, leaving out the very early Apostle or Maidenhead spoons which are such rarities nowadays, and talking about things which really can be found by the modest collector.) A spoon has a bowl, a stem and a finial or handle, and each of these can vary in all sorts of ways, from the quite flat to the highly ornate. (more…)