Presentation silver can be in any shape or form. Over the centuries silver objects
were created in various imaginative and beautiful designs to honor many people and
events. In the 1800's massive trophies were created for many special events such as
honoring Admiral Dewey, the hero of the Spanish American War. Trophies, cups, vases,
flatware etc. were made to honor the winners of yacht races or horse races or to honor a
local hero, or an important businessman or politician.
During the "gilded age" the presentation items of silver grew larger and larger and
much more extravagant than ever before in history. Soon the cost of creating these
fantastic trophies became prohibitive for all except the most wealthy organizations. The
tradition of giving a piece of valuable silver for special events was well established and
was considered "de rigeur" for many of life's transitions. The dedication of a monument, a
new building, a new bridge, for example, were important events in the life of a small
community. American society was undergoing radical and intensive changes, and it was
important to try to maintain continuity. Tradition demanded that the event(s) be celebrated
in an appropriate way and remembrances made out of precious silver were a necessary
part of the celebration. The choice of a more moderately priced sterling silver spoon was
not accidental. Since the 1500's, babies were gifted with spoons at their baptism. These
spoons typically bore a cast figure of an apostle. In European tradition one did not
celebrate one's own birthday. One celebrated the passing of a year by celebrating on one's
apostle day. The start of a new life was an important event to the family and to the
community. The spoon was associated with food and of course food is essential to life. A
silver spoon was a precious possession and was often kept for life and it was only used by
its designated owner. The phrase "to be born with a silver spoon" stems from this
tradition.
Next we must consider who would want to buy such an object. As in all artwork,
the customer must be willing to pay not only for the raw materials but for the time,
overhead and the all important profit to the seller. Some of these costs are known and
some are unknown and we can only make an educated guess based upon what we know of
the economy. A more detailed cost breakdown is included in the appendix. We can guess
that most of these silver spoons sold, at retail, for between $2.00 and $6.00 during the
1890 - 1920 time period. Based upon a skilled workers salary of 25 cents per hour
(laborers were paid less than 10 cents an hour) that means an average skilled worker
would have to work between 10 and 24 hours to obtain enough money to buy one of these
spoons. If we could put those dollar figures into 1990's terms, an average skilled worker
today makes about $12 hour thus in terms of work that spoon would be worth $96 to
$240. That is hardly "pin" money.
Why would an ordinary citizen spend that much money on a "souvenir". Most
likely they wouldn't unless it was of great importance. Thus we must come to the
conclusion that the events and places commemorated by these spoons were of great
importance not only to the individual and, by inference, the community and the nation.
Eventually the spoon came to symbolize more than food serving. It came to
symbolize the beginning of life and from there the beginning of anything new. In some
cultures a spoon became part of the marriage ceremony which obviously was the
beginning of a new life for the participants.
A few spoons were even made for funerals,which we believe were used to symbolize the start of a new life in heaven. For more information on funeral spoons click here.
Thus it is just a short step to make a spoon symbolize a new building, a new post
office, a new library, or an important piece of the culture.
A photographic picture or a drawing would not be sufficient. A gift of precious metal was required. Gold was usually
too expensive; therefore silver was the logical choice. Traditionally trophies and
presentation pieces were engraved and skilled engravers and chasers were highly paid. The
big expense of the metallic silver, the engraving, gilding and enameling would be borne
cheerfully because the ornamentation and engraved initials and dates made the silver much
more valuable and, by inference, made the events depicted much more important.
Cities, towns and communities were much smaller around the turn of the century
than we imagine today. Only three cities exceeded 1,000,000 population. In today's terms,
that is a small city, but at the turn of the century New York only had about 1,200,000
people. This is important because with a smaller city, obviously there were fewer buildings
and other structures. The establishment of a post office, for example, was a source of
great local pride. It meant that the town had "arrived". Recognition of your status by the
large Federal Government was an important milestone. Today the establishment of a new
post office would barely rate a story on the front page of the local paper, but at that time it
was a major event. A local holiday was declared by the mayor. Everyone would get
dressed in their Sunday clothes and go to the new building which would be gaily
decorated. Sometimes the state governor or other important officials would attend the
ceremony and there would be speeches and opening ceremonies. The local band would
march through town playing their instruments. There would be public and private parties.
It was truly a memorable occasion. For more information on commemorative courthouse spoons or library spoons.
It is altogether fitting and proper based upon established tradition to commemorate
life's important events and travels in sterling silver. For many of the events or local
attractions, the local jewelers had arranged for a few sterling silver spoons to be made to
honor the local community. Only the wealthier members of the public could afford to buy
these more expensive commemorative momento's. Most of the community could only
afford the penny postcards that pictured their new edifice or on occasion other smaller less
expensive souvenirs.
It is proper at this point to consider the rarity of these spoons. Not too many
spoons were made for any one event. The local jeweler would commission just enough to
meet expected demand and he did not want to over order first, because of the initial
expense and second, he would not want any "dead stock". Over the intervening years,
many of these pieces, and the history behind them, were lost, misplaced, melted, or
damaged. During the twentieth century we have had two major wars which required vast
resources and citizens were urged to gather any unneeded metal and give it to the
government so that it could be remelted and reused. There was also a devastating
depression. Many fortunes were lost and many pieces of silver were sold to scrap metal
dealers for cash and thus consigned to the melting pots. In addition during the 1970's the
price of silver was artificially elevated by a silver futures trading cartel and at that point in
time silver of all types was not a popular collectible, thus tens of millions of ounces of
silver objects were consigned to the melting pot.
A number of these beautiful commemorative and souvenir spoons did escape all
the perils, however, and have survived. There are very few pieces from any given event,
but the total number of events which were commemorated in silver was large, thus a
number of fine pieces are available to today's collectors.
Around 1891, travelers returning from Europe discussed a phenomenon of unusual
spoons being produced and sold there. These spoons were typically from the Netherlands
and Germany and were highly decorated with cast figurals and detailed workmanship. A
jeweler, Daniel Low of Salem, Massachusetts, designed a spoon featuring a witch (to
symbolize) the Salem witch trials. For some unknown reason, this spoon became very
sought after and tens of thousands were sold. Within six months an unprecedented
demand for highly decorated and unusual spoons swept across the nation. The souvenir
spoon frenzy lasted through a major financial panic and reached its zenith in 1896, but
continued on a lesser scale for the next 20+ years. During that time, tens of thousands of
very interesting designs were made into sterling silver spoons.
We have both commemorative and souvenir spoons from the same time period.
Obviously the purpose of a souvenir and a commemorative piece is much the same, and
that is to trigger a memory. But the difference is that a souvenir is designed for a person
from another area who is usually on vacation and represents a very important facet of the
local scene, whereas a commemorative piece is designed for a local resident who has a
vested interest in the specific event. Sometimes it is not possible to determine whether a
piece was meant to be a souvenir or a commemorative piece and elements of both are
contained in the same piece. In that case, we will leave it to your discretion. It is highly
unlikely, for example, for a visitor to be significantly concerned (and spend a lot of money)
with a small library in a small town. But to the local resident that library represents a
universe of knowledge and a means of educating the next generation. A Romanesque
courthouse in a small county is of great importance to the local populace, but would be of
little importance to a traveler. The visitor, however, would want to remember the
important things which he had seen, and those spoons would celebrate the local events of
broader national interest. The combination of the two types of spoons presents a vivid
account of the American way of life in fine sterling silver.
There is no reason to suppose that a mere spoon was not accorded a significant
place in the family home. Even though silver was not as valuable as it used to be, the
possession of a finely designed silver spoon was still worthy of a place of honor and it was
proudly displayed.
Remember that these highly polished silver spoons are merely a reflection of
society itself and we must understand the culture to understand the meaning behind the
spoon. Examine the intricate designs, read the text to understand the times that produced
these fine objects and hopefully develop a similar collection to preserve this aspect of our
American heritage.
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