Spoons
Spoons might well have been mentioned in the section on SILVER, for most spoons are made of silver or silver plate, and spoons are the cheapest silver objects to collect. Most spoon collectors, however, are interested only in spoons, and they don't seem to care whether or not the spoons are antiques, or whether they are made of silver, gold, pewter, tin, or wood.The one exception are those who concentrate on demitasse spoons, particularly the souvenir items that feature the name and some symbol of the place where they were bought. These spoons are usually made of silver and are frequently adorned by colored enamel. Souvenir demitasse spoons are generally about the same size, a practical size to use for after-dinner coffee. They are more interesting, however, than a matching set, and the symbolic decorations make good conversation pieces.
These are a few of the spoon decorations we have seen: 'New York, Empire State Building; Atlantic City, a bathing beauty; Paris, the Eiffel Tower; London, Big Ben; Hawaii, a hula dancer; Australia, a kangaroo; Florida, a tarpon; Boston, Bunker Hill Monument; Fiji, a tribal chief; Norway, a windjammer.
People who collect old silver or silver plate spoons usually display them on cabinets shelves. But the souvenir spoon collectors generally keep them out of sight, anticipating the reactions of their guests when the spoons are finally used in the living-room with the after-dinner coffee.
May 13, 2008