Souvenir spoon: 1901 Pan American Exposition

1901

Maker

American Souvenir Co. (1895-c. 1999)

Measurements

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

Materials

Silver with a gold-washed bowl

Credit Line

Historic Odessa Foundation, The David Wilson Mansion, Inc.

Accession Number

1971.1203

Inscription

“EXPOSITION / 1901 / PAN AMERICAN” is in raised lettering on the handle; “ELECTRIC TOWER” is on opposite edges of the bowl.  “OFFICIAL” and “AMERICAN SOUVENIR CO. PAT.” in raised letters is on the back of the handle.

Provenance

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

Comments

This spoon shows a buffalo atop a globe at the tip of the handle, which identifies it as a souvenir of the 1901 Pan American Exposition held in Buffalo.  The bowl shows an image of the Electric Tower, a tall centerpiece of the fair that was illuminated by thousands of incandescent bulbs and powered by alternating current from Niagara Falls.  It was dismantled following the fair.  Niagara Falls is shown on the back of the handle below the buffalo.

The American Souvenir Co., founded in Boston, Massachusetts, relocated to Buffalo in 1899 to produce souvenir spoons for the 1891 exposition.  It closed its Buffalo operations in 1902 but continued in the souvenir business until about 1999.

For another spoon made by the same company dfor this exposition, see accession no. 1971.1204.