Souvenir spoon: Richmond
Providence, Rhode Island
1891
Maker
Gorham Manufacturing Co. (1831-1986)
Measurements
5-3/8 in x 1-3/8 in x 1/2 in
Materials
Silver and gold-wash bowl
Credit Line
Historic Odessa Foundation, The David Wilson Mansion, Inc.
Accession Number
1971.1063
Inscription
“SIC SEMPER TYRANNIS / VIRGINIA” in raised lettering border the inside of the bowl. “MCW / 1892” are engraved on the outside of the bowl. “16” and “STERLING” with touchmarks are on the back of the handle.
Provenance
Ex coll. Mrs. E. Tatnall (Mary Corbit) Warner
Comments
The spoon bowl shows the State Seal of Virginia. “SIC SEMPER TYRANNIS” (“thus always to tyrants”) is the Virginia State motto. The image, one of several variations throughout the 19th century, shows Virtus, the Roman goddess of courage, standing victoriously over a fallen tyrant.
The end of the handle is an accurate and detailed representation of the Robert E. Lee Monument installed on Monument Avenue in 1890. The bronze sculpture and marble plinth was removed by the state in 2022.
This spoon is illustrated and discussed in Anton Hardt, Souvenir Spoons of America (1891), p. 69; and Souvenir Spoons. Containing Descriptions and Illustrations of the Principal Designs Produced in the United States, comp. George B. James, Jr. (1891), p. 140. Both publications identify the spoon as "Richmond," although the city name does not occur.
Bibliography
Accumulation & Display: Mass Marketing Household Goods in America, 1880-1920 (The Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum, 1986), no. 202, p. 144.
