Souvenir spoon: Kenilworth Inn

Patented 1891

Maker

Howard Sterling Co. (1878-1902)
Asheville retailer, A. M. Field (dates unknown)

Measurements

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

Materials

Silver

Credit Line

Historic Odessa Foundation, The David Wilson Mansion, Inc.

Accession Number

1971.1223

Inscription

“KENILWORTH INN / ASHEVILLE. N.C." is in the bowl.  “M.C.W. / 1893” is engraved on the back of the handle.  The Howard Sterling Co. touchmark (four-leaf clover), “STERLING” and “PAT. JULY 14 ‘91 A.M.FIELD.” are stamped into the back of the handle shaft.

Provenance

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

Comments

The Kenilworth Inn, a large and luxurious shingle style building erected in about 1891, is shown in the bowl.  Although research does not reveal a precise date for the hotel, the patent date on this spoon argues that the building existed in 1891.  It burned to the ground in 1909 and was replaced soon thereafter by the present structure.

The handle depicts an Indian in full feather headdress and an ear of corn, a generic image on souvenir spoons.  The back of the spoon handle shows a hatchet, bow, and quiver.  It also bears the engraved initials of Mary Corbit Warner along with the date 1893.