The era of the 1890's - 1920's saw the construction of many major hotels and hotel resorts. These resort hotels were often very large and were usually sited in a strategic geographic area. The hotel was more than a place to sleep for the night, it was the destination itself. These major hotels were the place "to see and be seen" and the wealthy class would often spend an entire season at the hotel.
I just returned from a trip to Las Vegas. The magnificent hotels on the strip are justifiably among the finest in the world. Seeing these fantastic modern marvels reminded me of the many spoons which I have in my collection depicting the fabulous edifices of this previous time period.
French Lick Springs, Indiana Hampton Terrace, N. Augusta, S. Carolina
Gayoso Hotel, Memphis, Tennessee Robert E. Lee, Winston-Salem, N. Carolina
I personally like the quality of the engraving in the spoon bowls, so I tend to focus on that area, but as I was working with these hotel images, I again realized the quality and beauty of the handles. So here are some pictures of hotel spoon handles (note: some of the bowls are not shown on this page)
Bright cut engraving; goldenrod Fruits; art Deco; Art Neuvo style
State handle; custom flowers; generic flowers
Burley Hotel, Burley, Idaho Hotel Colorad, Glenwood Springs, Colorado
This is a most unusual spoon. It is labeled Coronado Tent City.
When I bought it all sorts of interesting ideas came to mind, but I really didn't have the foggiest idea what a "tent city" was..
The resources of the library proved quite useful. The world famous Coronado Hotel in San Diego is on Coronado Island. Wealthy visitors would erect tents on the beach next to the hotel during the summer season. This annual tradition continued for several decades.
This beautiful gold washed spoon contains an enamel painting of an elk and a vey nice bright cut engraved picture of the Bay of Naples Inn, Naples, Maine
This spoon is a bright idea by one company to cover multiple Florida hotels. The front has four different hotels shown and the back shows four more. Plus the alligator on the front and oranges on the back complete the Florida symbology.
The following "Grand Hotels" are available . Email by clicking the mailbox. These are not in any particular order:
New Elms, Excelsior Springs, Missouri
French Lick Springs Hotel, French Lick Springs, Indiana
The Franklin, Deadwood, South Dakota
Greycourt Inn, Stamford, New York
Hotel Colorad, Glenwood Springs, Colorado
Pine Grove Springs Hotel, Spofford, New Hampshire
Rangelex Lake Hotel, location unknown
Hotel Wawonda, Liberty, New York
Royal Poinciana, Palm Beach, Florida
The Homestead, Hot Springs, Virginia
Burley Hotel, Burley, Idaho
Coronado Tent City, Coronado Island, San Diego, California
Hampton Terrace, No. Augusta, South Carolina
The Robert E. Lee, Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Artasian Hotel, Sulphur, Oklahoma
Gayoso Hotel, Memphis, Tennessee
Hotel Eastman, Hot Springs, Arkansas
Riverside Hotel, Cambridge Springs, Pa
The Wiscassett, Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania (demi)
Hotel Del Coronado, San Diego, California (demi)
Hotel Royal Palm, Miami, Florida (demi)
Hotel Champlain, Swanton, Vermont (demi)
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