Souvenir spoon: Digby, Nova Scotia

1895-1915

Maker

Possibly P.W. Ellis & Co (1877-1928)

Measurements

4-3/8 in x 7/8 in x 3/8 in

Materials

Silver with a gold-washed bowl

Credit Line

Historic Odessa Foundation, The David Wilson Mansion, Inc.

Accession Number

1971.1215

Inscription

“Digby / N.S. is inside the bowl; “MISS.CANADA” is across a maple leaf that has been applied to the handle below the figure of a young woman.  “STERLING” with an unidentified touchmark is stamped into the bowl at the attachment of the handle.

Condition Notes

The handle is discolored by tarnish.

Provenance

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

Comments

The spoon has a twisted handle with a large shallow-sculpted figure of a young woman at the tip.  A second piece of silver shaped as a maple leaf with a banner across it declaring "MISS.CANADA" overlays the lower extremities of the figure.  The bowl bears the name of Digby, Nova Scotia.  Digby, named in 1783, was known for fishing and boat-building.  In the 1890s, train connections with steamships transformed the town into a transportation center.  The young woman figure is a puzzle, only made more so by the Miss Canada banner.  

The possible link to P.W. Ellis & Co stems from another souvenir spoon of the same handle design bearing their mark on the underside of the bowl (an unusual location).  The bowl shows the Parliament buildings of Ottawa.  For another P.W. Ellis & Co. souvenir spoon, accession no. 1971.1169.

 

Bibliography

Accumulation & Display:  Mass Marketing Household Goods in America, 1880-1920 (The Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum, 1986), no. 177, p. 135.