Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1905-09-17
.ORIGIN, ANTIQUITY AND
DEVELOPMENT OF SPOONS
-incal Descendants of Ancient Shell Scoops
Those Made OF Metal Came Into Use
i'll Biblical Days Amounting Spoons
Ancient Institution.

A French scholar says: spoons are
old. do not claim that they are ms
old as the world, bmt they are certainly
as old rs soup" After which 1T Is easy
TO believe that for the last five or six
centuries no self respecting family, OF
however humble station, but could
boast mt least one spoon to It's name,
whether of silver, pewter or even
wood
Tint spoons are the direct lincal dc.
scen,tlnts OF the shell and horn scoops
with which our ancestors were wont to
convey fluid food to their mouths would
seem IL safe assumption. Many exam.
pies of these ancient spoons are seen in
museums and also of the spoon OF
wood. which was the next step toward
the spoon OF today. 1t is from the
wooden spoon that the word is derived,
ms the old English word "spon" meant
Il small piece of wood
That metal spoons were used IN hlbli-
cal days is certain. for in Exodus the
Lord tells Moses 10 make spoons OF
gold for use In the tabernacle, and to-
day there are TO be seen in the British
Museum spoons Which certainly were
used in the early days OF Christianity,
besides others found In the ruins OF
Pompcii and IIcrculuncum.
Amounting spoons are as old as tho
time when Nathan The prophet, anoint-
nI ,
they have been used 10 anoint kings
from that time to the present day. The
spoon with which I;nglnnd'S rulers are
nnointcd by the archbishop Of Cantor
bury Is ut lrnst GOO years old and has
been used for the purpose of amounting
the kings of England ever since 1t was
remnde for the coronation ceremonies
of Charles II.
Another spoon of great antiquity Is
the "Pudscy spoon given by Henry
VI. TO his friend ana protector Sir
Rnlph Pudscy, in lilo, mt the time
when he was concealed in Sir Ralph's
house after The battle of IIcXam This
spoon has the pear shaped howl OF tho
usual form Of all ANCIENT spoons pre-
yiouS TO the restoration. The handle Is
octagonal and at the end is nattcned
out 10 form seal, on which is carved
the kings badge. a single rose. Inside
the bowl, hear the shaft, is tlrr han
mark of the thirteenth century sterling
silver. ieopard'S head. and on the
back Of the bowl Is the mark of the
maker, IL heart in outline.
This spoon is the most ancient
known piece Of silver in existence that
bears the indisputably authentic hall
mark OF the English "GoldsmithS' com
pany."
All the earliest spoons have pear
shaped bowls. 1t was not until the lat
ter part of the seventeenth century
that they began to clongatc toward the
egg shaped spoon of the present time.
Up to the seventeenth century all
spoons were large and closely rcscm-
bled the modern soup spoon, the bowl
being very deep.
The handles of the early specimens
were straight and rather heavy. but
about the time mentioned their shape
was entirely changed. Tho stem and
handle became fiat and broad and Mt
the extremity were divided into points,
or scallops, and slightly turned up.
When this great change first began
teaspoons were made MS small as The
after dinner coffee spoon of modern
times, but as the art OF making them
advanced they became larger and lar
ger until they attained the size they
are now.
Again, Mt the beginning of the eight
eenth century the handles showed n
still further change In that where the
sides were straight they had curves
and the shaft itself became slightly
unduatcd. At this same time were
also seen some innovations in the
shape of spoons for specific purposes,
onS being n spoon having n perforated
bowl, with straight stem, which was
presumably intended to clean the
spout OF IL teapot. while the bowl was
for the removal OF floating tea leaves
from the cup.
This was undoubtedly the forcrun-
ner OF the tea strainer. Another spoon
was the snuff spoon. and besides this
the marrow spoon made its appear
ancc. This first marrow spoon was Il
crude affair indeed. but it was not
very long before it reached the form
In which ii Is seen even nowadays
that is, with the two ends of different
sizes, one for the large bones and the
other for the very small ones.
Probably none OF the old spoons
equals in interest the apostle spoons,