Featured Help with a silver spring spoon and 2 tongs

Hi silver lovers.

I have 3 pieces a friend wants me to sell and I need some help with them. I will tell my meager research info for each, please feel free to correct or add to my info. Any help will be very much appreciated

#1 is a serving spoon, it measures 17-1/2" long, the bowl is 3-1/4" long x 2-1/4".

From the marks I think it was made by A. Stowell from Boston (1865-1094). I have searched including Replacements silverware forms and can't figure out what kind of serving spoon it is, does anyone have any ideas? I also searched the maker's patterns and can not find the pattern, any thoughts?








#2 are tongs, very simple, no design on the them except for a monogram on the top. The only mark is "ROB GRAY" on the inside. I found the mark is from 1813-1860 from Portsmouth NH.

Would there be a pattern name for something so plain?

They measure 5-3/4" long, the bowls of the tongs are 1" x 7/8". What are these made for?







#3 are also tongs, they measure 4-3/8" long, the bowls are oval, 15/16" x 5/8".

These are British, I think the marks are Birmingham, Sterling David & Lionel Spiers (1875-1900). I can try for better photos of the marks if asked, it is tough tough though because they're on the inside of the top curve. But ask and I will try.

What are these tongs for, any ideas on a pattern name?

 

I think #1 is a Knowles mark and Stowell is probably the retailer. I think the pattern is Apollo.

https://www.925-1000.com/americansilver_K2.html

 

Grandmother used her spoon like yours for serving cranberry jelly or mint jelly. Don't know if that was the intended use.

 

17 and 1/2 inches? I hope you really meant 7 1/2. Jelly server does seem logical.

 

I've always liked Knowles, they made some nice patterns, as S_I_S suggests, it is their 'Apollo' pattern: https://www.925-1000.com/ax_knowles.html Also, like Bakersgma, am assuming it is only 7-1/2" long, you refer to it as a spoon and having a bowl, and the pics seem to show a definite cup - it's a proportionally large bowl, really, overall, a bit large for jelly/jam server/spoon (or blade if flat). If it's really a 'bowl' shape, then might be a small vegetable spoon (some larger casserole spoons were also made in a similar shape), or if the shape is flatter so that it could slice an aspic or serve a helping of a thickened sauce (like cranberry), then would more likely be a jelly knife. Should mention that the same or similar pieces of many types could be found in old catalogs and ads as intended for different purposes...

#2 sugar tongs are 'Fiddle' pattern American coin silver, the mark is actually 'ROBT GRAY' - here is some information on the maker: http://freepages.rootsweb.com/~silversmiths/genealogy/makers/silversmiths/119382.htm

#3 sugar tongs are meant to resemble an 18th century Hanoverian Rat Tail spoon, with engraved decoration on the bow (I'd use 'Rat Tail' as keywords) - you have the correct maker, won't get an exact date without the letter, but they registered their marks in 1879 and since there's a duty mark, will date prior to 1890. https://www.silvermakersmarks.co.uk/Makers/Birmingham-D.html

~Cheryl

 

Thank you SIS, the old retailer mark has tripped me up more than once

OMG, you are so right, thank you so much!

Cheryl, thank you so much for all the information. #1 must be a jelly spoon as there is slight cupping, not a flat blade. But I will search the pattern to try and match it.

I didn't even notice that tiny T on #2!

Thank you all, you are the best!!!!!!

Adding more info, I tried polishing the marks on #3 with a Sunshine cloth and can now see a partial lowercase Gothic "p" in a circular shape. Looking at 925-1000'S Birmingham marks that should be for 1889

 

My mom and grandmom both called #1 cranberry servers.

 

I dunno... Robert Gray was a name of the clown Pennywise in Stephen King's "It".

 

From Osterberg's 'Sterling Silver Flatware for Dining Elegance' (1994)...

These are jelly spoons/servers - notice the difference from yours in both the smaller size and their proportion:




These are jelly knives, if your piece is relatively flat, that's probably what it is:




Here are vegetable spoons, they are generally a bit larger than your piece, but if the working end has a definite 'bowl' shape to it, then it's likely some sort of serving spoon:




~Cheryl

 

I tried to get a shot from the side, do you think jelly knife is closest?

 

I have a similar one used by my ex-husband's grandmother for cranberry jelly also.

 

Looks to me like a jelly knife that's been 'adjusted' a bit...

~Cheryl

 

So a former owner bent it slightly? That’s possible.

Hi Bev, yep, I guess it would be a “take out the good stuff for Thanksgiving” piece

 

Couldn't find a side-shot of a Knowles jelly knife, but believe you can see in this pic how the blade should look:




Here is a side-shot of a similarly shaped Gorham jelly knife:




And here's a different type Knowles jelly knife that I just want:




~Cheryl

 

So someone flattened the side and curved the blade a little, well that puts a crimp in trying to sell it online!

Thank you so much Cheryl for the research and finding all those images for me, it is truly appreciated!

 

Possibly for ice cream too. Considering the size.

 

Eh, it's only 7.5" long - way too small for an ice cream knife/slice/server...

~Cheryl