Souvenir spoon: Old Swedes, Wilmington, Delaware

1895-1915

Maker

Alvin Manufacturing Co. (1886-1928)

Measurements

5-1/8 in x 1-1/8 in x 3/4 in

Materials

Silver

Credit Line

Historic Odessa Foundation, The David Wilson Mansion, Inc.

Accession Number

1971.1200

Inscription

“OLD SWEDE’S / WILMINGTON, DE. / ERECTED 1698” is in the bowl.  “PATENT”, the Alvan Corp. touchmark, and “STERLING” are stamped into the back of the handle.

Provenance

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

Comments

Old Swedes Church, erected in 1698-99, is one of the earliest and most important survivals of Swedish (and Finnish) settlements along the Delaware River, which began in 1638.  The church, known as Holy Trinity, was originally Swedish Lutheran.  By 1795, the congregation had adopted the English language and customs and became an Episcopal parish, as it remains today.

Bibliography

Accumulation & Display:  Mass Marketing Household Goods in America, 1880-1920 (The Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum, 1986), no. 198, p. 142.