Souvenir spoon: Camp McClellan
United States
c. 1917
Measurements
5-1/8 in x 1-3/8 in x 5/8 in
Materials
Bronze (copper alloy)
Credit Line
Historic Odessa Foundation, The David Wilson Mansion, Inc.
Accession Number
1971.1147
Inscription
"CAMP / McCLELLAN" is across the bowl; “E PLURIBUS / UNUM” is at the base of the handle. “BRONZE” is on the back of the handle along with three maker's touchmarks.
Provenance
Ex coll. Mrs. E. Tatnall (Mary Corbit) Warner
Comments
The shovel-shaped spoon bears the name of Camp McClellan (now Fort McClellan) in Alabama, named for Civil War general George B. McClellan. Established in 1917, the primary purpose of this Army base was to train soldiers for duty in World War I, which the United States had entered that year.
The soldier depicted on the spoon handle wears the uniform of WWI. He stands on a shield with stars and bars that is above “E PLURIBUS / UNUM,” (“out of many, one”) the motto of the United States.
The maker of the spoon is not identified.
Bibliography
Accumulation & Display: Mass Marketing Household Goods in America, 1880-1920 (The Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum, 1986), no. 184, p. 138.
