(_By courtesy of Messrs. Elkington & Co._)]
[Illustration: CIRCULAR SALT CELLARS IN VOGUE.
Attempt to adopt new forms, Pompeian and others; tripod feet very small.
(_By courtesy of Messrs. Elkington & Co._)]
£ William and Mary, 235s. per oz. 20 William III (3) (1698), 132s. per oz. 60 Queen Anne (2), oval (1708), 165s. per oz. 40 “ (2), circular (1713), 195s. per oz. 28@ George I bring from 60s. to 80s. per oz. George II bring about 30s. to 40s. per oz. Sets of four and six bring higher prices per oz. After this date prices drop considerably.@
Early spoons and their rarity--The Apostle spoon--The seal-top spoon--The slipped-stalk spoon--The Puritan spoon--The Trifid spoon--The lobed-end spoon.
From Elizabeth to the late Georges the range of spoons is a long one, and comprehends, in the early days, classes that are prohibitive in price for the pocket of the average collector. There are spoons and spoons. From the early elaborations in Apostle, or Maidenhead, or _lion-sejant_ forms to the later styles of rat-tail teaspoon or the fanciful caddy-spoon there is choice enough to suit the idiosyncrasies of most collectors. Indeed, it may be said that the collecting of spoons is a thing apart. Silversmiths themselves became specialists when they made spoons; the craftsmen were on a plane by themselves, and so it comes to pass that the collector, following in their wake a couple of centuries afterwards or more, has to give special study to this branch of silver plate.
It is not necessary, to trace the antiquity of the spoon, to revert to Roman days, to enumerate what has been found in Saxon graves, or to wander through the mediæval period to show the use and development of the spoon. It is sufficient, in the present volume, to take spoons as found in the realm of collecting.
Practically this may be said to begin at the reign of Elizabeth, though in 1903 a set of thirteen apostle spoons was sold at Christie’s, of the reign of Henry VIII and having the London hall-mark for 1536, for £4,900. But this is sensational.
There is no doubt that the most popular spoon of the Tudor period, that is including the reigns of Henry VII (1485-1509), Henry VIII (1509-47), Edward VI (1547-53), Mary (1553-58), and Elizabeth (1558-1603), was the well-known apostle spoon. It is rare to find any examples before 1500. The oldest known is dated 1493. They were called apostle spoons because each spoon was surmounted with a figure of one of the apostles with his customary emblems, such as St. Peter with the key, St. John with the cup of sorrow, etc. They were thirteen in number to make a complete set--that is, the twelve apostles and the Master spoon, bearing an image of Jesus Christ, although the thirteenth in some cases was St. Paul. The study of apostle spoons does not begin or end with English silver. They originated on the Continent, and the goldsmiths of Nuremburg and of Paris, of Milan and of Madrid, fashioned them in like form, each according to the traditions and technique of his school.