The spoon is older than history. There is, perhaps, no article or
utensil of common use today that can trace an earlier origin. The
evolution and development of the spoon into the graceful and beautiful
forms in use on our tables is fascinating and instructive.
Primitive men of the Stone Age used an implement that might by courtesy
be called a spoon. From then on down through the Egyptian, Greek and
Roman civilizations it can be clearly traced in varying forms and
substances--wood, shell, flint, bone, ivory, bronze and the precious
metals, gold and silver.
A witty Frenchman has said that spoons, if not as old as the world, are
certainly as old as soup.
In the Bible is the first recorded mention of the use of spoons made of
precious metal. This reference is the twenty-fifth chapter of the Book
of Exodus, wherein the Lord commanded Moses to make golden spoons for
the Tabernacle.
Excavations in Egypt have brought to light early examples of spoons of
various materials, and it is certain that the early Greeks and Romans
used gold and silver spoons, both at the table and in the Temple. Early
specimens of spoons made of wood, ivory, bronze, silver and gold are
preserved in the museums of Europe and Egypt.
During the early Christian and medieval eras spoons were in common use.
Saxon and Early English examples are to be seen in the English museums
today.
The medieval spoon was of silver, horn or wood, etc. On the Continent,
silver spoons were made much earlier than in England. In Italy they were
in use probably long before 1000 A. D.
During the Tudor and Stuart reigns a fashionable gift at christenings
was the apostle, so called because at the end of the handle was the
figure of an apostle. Sometimes a thirteenth spoon was added, called the
“Master” spoon, because it bore the figure of Christ. A complete set was
a very valuable gift, and could only be afforded by the rich.
Folks of limited means used copper, pewter, latten or alchemy spoons;
the latter two materials being somewhat like brass, examples of which
are sometimes found in this country in the graves of Indians of the
sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, showing their intercourse with
early English traders.
At this period the stems were hexagonal, ending in an acorn, a bird or a
ball, while the bowls were fig shape. Later the stems were baluster
shape with a seal top, and at the time of the Commonwealth the stem
became flat and perfectly plain. These latter are called “Puritan”
spoons.
Naturally, the early New England colonists brought with them the spoons
they had used at home, and the early Colonial silversmiths followed
closely the designs which they found at hand or which were later
imported from England. In fact, within a few years after a certain type
had become popular in the mother country, it was adopted in this country
as the fashionable style. It is, therefore, easy to date, approximately,
an American-made spoon, because it follows so closely in style the dated
or hall-marked English spoon.
During the last quarter of the seventeenth century, both in England and
America, spoons were generally of a style now known as rat-tail. From
the end of the handle, down the back of the bowl to about the middle,
ran a ridge shaped like a rat-tail. This is sometimes thought to have
been an attempt to strengthen the spoon, but its use must have been
purely ornamental, for it adds little strength to these strongly made
spoons. Sometimes the rat-tail was shaped like a long V and grooved,
while on each side were elaborate scrolls. The bowl was perfectly oval
in shape, while the end of the handle was notched or trifid.
This style of spoon was continued, with modifications, through the first
third of the eighteenth century. Then the bowl became ovoid, or
egg-shaped, and the end of the handle was rounded, without the notch.
The rat-tail was gradually replaced by what is known as the drop, or
double drop, frequently terminating in a conventionalized flower or
shell, or anthemion, while down the front of the handle ran a rib.
Later, the bowl became more pointed, the drop was replaced by a tongue,
and the handle, after 1760, instead of slightly curving to the front at
the end, reversed the position. Somewhat later, the handle became
pointed, and was engraved with bright, cut ornaments and a cartouch at
the end in which were engraved the initials of the owner.
During the first ten years of the nineteenth century a popular style was
the so-called coffin-shaped handle, succeeded, probably about 1810, by a
handle with a shoulder just above the junction with the bowl, while the
end became fiddle-shaped or of a style now known as tipped, shapes
produced to this day.
Until about 1770, spoons were of three sizes: the teaspoon, as small as
an after-dinner coffee spoon; the porringer spoon, a little smaller than
our present dessert size; and the tablespoon, with a handle somewhat
shorter than that of today.
[Illustration: LATTEN SPOONS
One found in an Indian grave at Deerfield, Mass., and the other in an
Indian grave at Hadley, Mass. Period of about 1660. Actual size, 6
inches and 6-1/4 inches.]
So few silver forks have been found in collections of old silver that it
forces the belief that they were generally made of steel, with bone
handles. There seems no reason why, if in general use, silver forks
should not now be as common as spoons.
In the great silver exhibition recently held in the Museum of Fine Arts,
Boston, of more than one thousand pieces, there were only two forks to
be found.
Great skill was developed by the early silversmiths of England and
America. The purity and gracefulness of design in many cases remain as
standards for our best craftsmen today. It is, however, erroneous to
suppose that all of the ornamentation was done by hand.
Ornaments on the back of spoon bowls and handles were impressed by dies
forced together by drop presses or under screw pressure. This is
absolutely proven by the exact duplication of the pattern on sets of
spoons. Accurate measurements show that these ornaments were not
handwork, for there is not the slightest deviation in dimensions.
But, however beautiful the silver of our forbears and however valuable
now, from a historic standpoint, there are few of us who, if given the
choice, would not decide in favor of the product of the twentieth
century silversmith, who brings to his creations all of the good of the
old masters, and who has the facilities for turning out work more
perfect in line and detail and uniformity than was ever dreamed of by
the silver worker of old.
[Illustration: FRONTS AND BACKS OF TWO EARLY AMERICAN SPOONS OF THE
RAT-TAIL TYPE
The spoon in the center is the earliest of that type, made about 1690.
The other dates about 1695.]
We admire the beautiful silverware that we see in the shop windows, we
derive satisfaction and pleasure from the daily use of silver on our
tables, but few people have any understanding how silver plate is made;
and there is, perhaps, still less knowledge of its interesting history.
The combining of two separate metals--that is, the plating of a base
metal with a finer one--was, until the eighteenth century, a lost art of
the ancients.
The application of one metal upon another was practiced by the
Assyrians, who overlapped iron with bronze; copper implements and
ornaments coated with silver have been found at Herculaneum, while many
ancient Roman specimens of harness and armor are found to be ornamented
with silver on copper. The Aztecs of Mexico and the Incas of Peru used
the process of fixing two metals together by the action of heat, before
making up. The method was also known to the old Celts, as shown by
specimens found in Iceland. It seems, however, to have been a lost art
in Europe, probably because up to the thirteenth century the Church had
control of the arts and crafts in England, and the finer metal work was
used only for church vessels, the household implements being very simple
and mostly of wood and cheap metal.
Horace Walpole, writing in 1760, states: “I passed through Sheffield, a
business town in a charming situation, with 22,000 inhabitants, and they
remit £11,000 a week to London. One man there has discovered the art of
plating copper with silver.”
The inventor to whom the quotation refers was Thomas Bolsover, a skilled
silversmith, who, in the year 1742, it is traditionally reported, while
repairing a thin layer of silver on the copper handle of a knife,
evolved the idea of combining copper with silver in layers ready for
manufacture into any desired form.
[Illustration: TABLE AND TEASPOON WITH THE SO-CALLED COFFIN-SHAPED
HANDLE
A shape peculiar to America. This type common from 1800 to 1815.
Reductions about one-half.]
Bolsover himself apparently did not appreciate the importance of this
invention, and it remained for Joseph Hancock, one of his apprentices,
to develop the idea to a commercial success. He vigorously encouraged
the trade in Sheffield, Birmingham and other manufacturing centers, and
finally constructed a rolling-mill and made his fortune by supplying the
plate to the silversmiths.
The earlier specimens of this Sheffield plate, as it came to be known,
had the silver on one side of the copper only, but later attempts were
made to improve the appearance of finer pieces by covering the underside
of the copper with tin.
Crude as this idea and the old methods of manufacture may seem, compared
with modern processes, this old plate found a ready sale. It replaced in
many households pewter ware which, until the introduction of Sheffield
plate, was the best substitute for sterling silver. It became
fashionable for everyday use by the nobility and wealthier families, who
put aside their solid silverware to be used on state occasions only. The
name “plate,” which is from the Spanish word _platte_, came to be used
generally to designate the imitation of solid silver.
This plate, being such a close imitation of solid silver, was not
permitted by the laws of England to bear any stamp whatever prior to
1773, when the town of Sheffield was specially privileged to put upon
its product the marks of the makers. These marks, however, were not to
bear any resemblance of the lion or leopard’s head, these being the
hall-marks of England.
It was not until 1785 that this privilege was extended to the town of
Birmingham and other manufacturing centers.
It is curious to note that this law against the imitation of silver,
which really dated from the fifteenth century, made a special exception
to articles made for the Church.
Sometimes this old Sheffield plate, in addition to bearing the maker’s
name, bore the name of the lord or earl for whom it was made, and today
these old pieces are more highly valued by their owners than silver
which is intrinsically more valuable.
Much of the charm of old plate was in its beauty of form and design, for
the work attracted the best of English artisans. It would appear, too,
that they were fairly well paid for their labor, as Pepys, in his
“Diary,” refers to a present made him of a pair of flagons which cost
£100. “They are said to be worth five shillings, some say ten shillings,
an ounce for the fashion.”
[Illustration: MODERN DESIGNS]
The first notable improvement over the Sheffield work came toward the
middle of the nineteenth century, when electro-silver plating was first
practiced and, in 1847, commercially perfected, by Rogers Brothers of
Hartford, Conn.
The marvelous force of electricity was brought to bear on the making of
silver-plated knives, forks, spoons, etc., as well as hollow-ware
articles, such as coffee and tea pots, water pitchers, sugar bowls and
platters. Instead of these articles being made of sheets of rolled
copper and silver, a silver plate of any desired thickness is applied to
the base metal by electricity.
This quick and less expensive method of manufacture rendered silver
plate available to all classes, and the Sheffield plate was quickly
superseded, the old method of manufacture becoming obsolete.
While the process of manufacture was cheapened, the newer craftsmen
wisely held to the art standards of the old masters. With the new
process came the perfection of modern construction, and the cost is so
much less than in the old days that a perfect table service of authentic
design, of quality beyond question and guaranteed in every respect, is
within the reach of any well-to-do family. Many of the old family pieces
of Sheffield have found their way into the melting pot in exchange for
the modern electro-plated silverware.
The making of silver-plated flatware is an interesting process and one
that requires a great amount of skill and care. The finished teaspoon,
as it lies in the show-case or chest, is the result of over thirty
distinct operations, while a plain silver-plated steel knife has passed
through thirty-six stages in its evolution from the bit of steel rod, in
which shape it begins its journey. Some of the more important steps in
the making of a spoon are briefly described below:
The Blank.
The metal underlying the silver plate of the best plated teaspoons is of
nickel silver, a trade name for a metal composed of nickel, copper and
zinc. This metal is procured in sheet form of varying lengths. From this
sheet is cut a blank, which bears little resemblance to a spoon, being
about half the length of the finished article and very much wider.
Squeezed.
The blank is then “squeezed,” which gives to the part that is to become
the handle a little more of the appearance that it will have later.
Rolling.
This “squeezed” blank is then passed through a series of steel rolls,
giving length to the handle and width to the bowl, and distributing the
metal according to the correct thickness--that is, the bowl will be thin
and the shank thick.
Clipping.
The next process is termed “clipping,” the spoon being cut out from the
blank in the correct outline of the pattern.
Annealing.
The process of rolling the metal has so compressed the latter that it
cannot be readily worked. It is necessary, therefore, that the spoon be
annealed--that is, the shaped blanks are placed in an oven and brought
to a red heat, which renders them malleable.
The Evolution of a Spoon.
From the crude blank of nickel silver to the finished spoon, there are
over thirty distinct operations necessary, a few of the more important
stages being illustrated. When the spoon emerges from the plating
solution (see No. 8), it is perfectly white and looks as if it had been
treated with a heavy coat of enamel. It is then scratch-brushed,
burnished and, in some patterns, the handle is greyed. After this, the
spoon is buffed and finished.
Every operation is performed with the utmost care, and not until the
piece is actually finished can this vigilance be relaxed, as it is the
final processes that make the plating of pure silver an actual part of
the spoon and insure its wearing qualities.
_Striking and Bowling._--The pattern is then stamped on the handle and
the bowl is shaped.
_Trimming, etc._--After the pattern and the bowl have been struck, there
is usually a small burr left where the metal has oozed out between the
dies. This is removed by trimming. The trademark is then stamped on the
back of the handle.
_Polishing._--The goods are put through various operations of polishing
until they are brought to a high finish.
_Plating._--The articles to be plated are suspended in a frame in the
silver solution. This frame is connected with the negative pole of a
magneto-electro machine, while the silver is suspended in the solution
from bars and connected with the positive or opposite pole of the
machine, thereby forming a circuit for the electricity through the
solution.
[Illustration: 1. The blank. 2. Squeezed. 3. Blank rolled. 4. Spoon cut
from blank. 5. Design struck. 6. Bowl raised. 7. Trade-mark stamped. 8.
After plating. 9. The finished spoon.]
A patent automatic scale, designed to weigh the silver while depositing,
is balanced to the exact weight of silver to be deposited on the
article. The circuit is completed by turning a switch and the plating
begins.
As soon as the articles receive the proper weight of silver, the scale
beam rises, thus making a separate connection with the electro-magnet,
which springs the switch, breaking the electric current and stopping the
plating at the same instant, also ringing an alarm bell to notify the
workman that the articles have received the proper weight of silver.
_Quality._--Standard silver-plated spoons are made in two grades of
plate--triple and quintuple. The former, however, is the one generally
used and answers all ordinary requirements. The quintuple grade is
designed more particularly for hotels, restaurants, clubs and other
institutions where the wear is especially severe.
The Evolution of a Knife.
There are thirty-six stages in the evolution of a plain steel knife. At
one end of the journey we see the cylindrical bar of steel, black and
unlovely; at the other, the silver-plated knife, light, well-balanced
and heavily plated with pure silver. In the case of other than plain
knives, the work involves also the stamping of the pattern.
_Double Burnishing._--The thickness of the silver deposited, however, is
not the only requisite to insure quality. The plating must be hard as
well as thick. This is accomplished by means of a double-burnishing
process after the article is plated and before it receives its final
buffed finish.
The first burnishing is on machines and this is followed by hand
burnishing. This process produces a hard plate.
[Illustration: 1. Steel cut to length. 2. Handle formed by 1,000-pound
blow. 3. Handle margin, or flash, removed. 4. Blade drawn out through a
pair of rolls. 5. Blade cut out to shape. 6. Knife roughed with coarse
emery. 7. Trade-mark etched. 8. After plating. 9. The finished knife.]
No matter how heavy the plate, if it is not properly burnished or
hardened after plating, the article will not give satisfaction in long
wear. When manufacturers treat their wares to as little burnishing as
possible, practically relying upon the buff alone for their finish after
plating, the result is most unsatisfactory. The buff finish looks all
right, but it does not harden the silver sufficiently and in consequence
the latter does not wear well. When the article comes out of the plating
bath the silver deposited is in a comparatively porous and “fluffy”
state. The buffing will hit the high spots but the proper process turns
the minute edges, closes the pores and makes the silver hard and
compact, vastly increasing the wearing quality.
The silver thus deposited, is absolutely pure--finer, in fact, than any
articles of sterling silver. Sterling is but .925 fine, requiring an
alloy to stiffen it, whereas silver for plating can be used .999 fine.
* * * * *
How do Chimes Strike the Hour?
Chimes are ordinarily produced mechanically by the strokes of hammers
against a series of bells, tuned agreeably to a given musical scale.
The hammers are lifted by levers acted upon by metallic pins or wooden
pegs stuck in a large barrel, which is made to revolve by clockwork, and
is so connected with the striking part of the clock mechanism that it is
set in motion by it at certain intervals of time, usually every hour or
every quarter of an hour.
The chime mechanism is sometimes so constructed that it may be played
like a piano, but with the fist instead of the fingers.
[Illustration: _Courtesy of the Niagara Falls Power Co._