Souvenir spoon: Salem Witch

1890-1895

Maker

Gorham Manufacturing Co. (1831-1986)
Designed by Daniel Low

Measurements

4-1/4 in x 7/8 in x 5/8 in

Materials

Silver

Credit Line

Historic Odessa Foundation, The David Wilson Mansion, Inc.

Accession Number

1971.1145

Inscription

“SALEM 1692” runs along the handle near the bowl.  “DANIEL LOW” with Gorham touchmarks and “STERLING” are on the back of the bowl near the handle.

Provenance

Ex coll. Mrs. E. Tatnall (Mary Corbit) Warner

Comments

Because the spoon carries the date 1692, when the Salem witches were tried, some researchers have assumed this spoon version celebrated the 300th anniversary.  However, the design, one of two concurrent versions executed by Daniel Low, was published in 1891.  See Anton Hardt’s 1962 reprint entitled Souvenir Spoons of the 90’s:  As Pictured and Described in “The Jewelers’ Circular” & The James Catalogue in 1891 (New York:  the author, 1962), pp. 21, 22.  

The handle forms a broom with the bristles at the tip that support a witch.  She has a broom in hand and steps over a crescent moon.  A coiled rope or other device leads the eye down the handle, past “1692” date, to a snarling cat at the base.  The bowl is plain.

Bibliography

Accumulation & Display:  Mass Marketing Household Goods in America, 1880-1920 (The Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum, 1986), no. 169, pp. 133-134.