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Description:
Silver/Silverplate. This is a busy little spoon from the Pan-American Exposition in 1901 and shows beautiful craftsmanship. In the bowl is an emboss of the US Government Building. At the crown of the handle is an Indian in full feathered headdress. Coming down the handle is an emboss of Niagara Falls. On the reverse of the handle is an emboss of the Electric Tower 391 Fleet High embossed underneath the tower, with BUFFALO along the back of the stem. Makers mark: USSC. Plating is wearing thin on the back of the bowl and around the letters (can be seen with a jewelers loupe) from over a century of polishing, but Excellent condition. Polishes up beautifully and is one of the finest souvenir spoons I’ve seen. Measures 4.44 in length.
HISTORY: The Pan-American Expo was a poorly attended fair until President McKinley was shot, and then, after the President's death, the fair became a popular destination. The above silver spoon commemorates this event.
Cities, towns and communities were much smaller around the turn of the century, and only three cities exceeded 1m in population. With a smaller city, there were fewer buildings and large impressive structures. The establishment of a post office or a major building was a source of great local pride and a major event. Around 1891, travelers returning from Europe discussed a phenomenon of unusual spoons being produced and sold there. These spoons were typically from the Netherlands and Germany and were highly decorated with cast figurals and detailed workmanship. A jeweler, Daniel Low of Salem, Massachusetts, designed a spoon featuring a witch (to symbolize) the Salem witch trials. This particular spoon became very sought after and tens of thousands were sold. Within six months an unprecedented demand for highly decorated and unusual spoons swept across the nation. Also, during the late 1800s life’s important events and vacation trips were commemorated. Local jewelers arranged for a few sterling silver spoons to be made to honor these events. Only the wealthier members of the public could afford to buy these items, so therefore, not too many spoons were made for any one event and many are rare, since the local jeweler would commission just enough to meet expected demand. Many of these pieces and the history behind them were lost, misplaced, melted down, or damaged. During the twentieth century, we have had two major wars, which required vast resources and citizens were urged to gather any unneeded metal and give it to the government so that it could be remelted and reused for the war effort. There was also a devastating depression. Many fortunes were lost and many pieces of silver were sold to scrap metal dealers for cash to feed families. During the 1970's the price of silver was artificially elevated by a silver futures trading cartel, and silver of all types was not a popular collectible, and tens of millions of ounces of silver objects were consigned to the melting pot. A number of these beautiful commemorative and souvenir spoons have survived, yet there are very few pieces from any given event. The souvenir spoon frenzy lasted through a major financial panic and reached its zenith in 1896, but continued on a lesser scale for the next 20-30 years years. During that time, tens of thousands of very interesting designs were made into sterling silver and silverplated spoons, and are very collectable today.
All items are offered “AS IS”. The best “in good faith” descriptions and pictures are given, along with history, (if possible and if known) based on comparables and research available at the time of listing.
First Class (or best rate) packaging/handling, insurance quoted at time of purchase according to zone. Seller will combine shipping on multiple items.
Please note: Payment is due within 7 days. Non-payment is reported to GoAntiques. Seller accepts: Personal Checks, Credit Card Checks only (NO Credit Cards), Money Orders, Travelers Checks.
Absolutely NO PayPal.
| Status: For Sale |
Reference#: SL043 |
| Condition:
Excellent Condition |
Year:
1901
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| Country:
USA |
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| Title:
PAN AM/ Buffalo Souvenir Spoon (1901) |
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| Materials:
Silverplate |
Type:
Pan Am/Buffalo |
Dealer Policies: East West Tradewinds Policy Details
Dealer Accepts:  
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