Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1905-09-21
ANTIQUITY OF SPOONS
THEY ARE LlNEAL DESCENDANTS OF
ANCIENT SHELL SCOOPS.
Metal spoons Were In Use In Biblical
Days-Anointing spoons Are as Old
as the Time when Prophet Nathan
Anointed King Solomon.

A French scholar says: spoons are
old. | do not claim that they are as
old as the world, but they are certainly
MS old as soup" After which it is easy
TO believe that for the last five or six
centuries no self respecting family, Of
Ioweyer humble station. but could
boast at least one spoon TO its name,
whether of silver, pewter or even
wood.
That spoons are the direct lineal de-
scendants of the shell and horn scoops
with which our ancestors We're wont to
convey fluid food to their mouths would
seem a 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
as the old English word "spon' meant
a small piece of wood.
That metal spoons were used IN bibli-
cal days is certain, for in Exodus the
Lord tells Moses to 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
Pompeii and Herculaneum.
Amounting spoons are as old as the
time when Nathan, the prophet, anoint-
ed Solomon as the ruler Of Israel, and
they have been used to anoint kings
from that time TO the present day. The
spoon with which Englands rulers are
anointed by the archbishop of Canter-
bury Is at least 600 years old and has
been used for the purpose of amounting
the kings of England ever since it was
remade for the coronation ceremonies
Of Charles III.
Another spoon of great antiquity is
the "Pudsey spoon" given by Henry
VI. to his friend and protector, Sir
Ralph Pudsey, in 1445, at the time
when he was concealed in Sir Ralph's
house after the battle of Hexam. This
spoon has the pear shaped bowl Of the
usual form of all ancient spoons pre-
vious to the restoration. The handle Is
octagonaI and at the end is hattened
oct to form seal, on which Is carved
the kings badge, a single rose Inside
the bowl, near the shaft, is the hall
mark Of the thirteenth century sterling
silver. leopard's head, and on the
back of the bowl is the mark of the
maker, 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 elongate toward the
egg shaped spoon of the present time
Up to the seventeenth century all
spoons were large and closely resem
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. The stem and
handle became fat and broad and at
the extremity were divided into points.
or scallops, and slightly turned up.
When this great change first began
teaspoons were made as 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, at the beginning of the eight
zenith century the handles showed
still further change in that where the
sides were straight they had curves
and the shaft itself became slightly
undulated. At this same time were
also seen some innovations in the
shape of spoons for specific purposes,
one being a spoon having a perforated
bowl. with straight stem, which was
presumably intended to clean the
spout of teapot, while the bowl was
for the removal of floating tea leaves
from the cup.
This was undoubtedly the forerun-
ner Of the tea strainer. Another spoon
was the snuff spoon, and besides this
the marrow spoon made its appear
ance. This first marrow spoon was a
crude affair indeed, but 1t was not
very long before 1t reached the form
In which it 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,
which came into fashion In the six-
teenth century. 1t was an English
custom at that time for sponsors to
give these spoons to the children for
whom they made themselves respon-
sible as baptismal gifts. A wealthy
godparent gave complete set Of thir-
teen, but poor one generally content
ed himself with but one. that having
on II the figure of the child's patron
saint. to make up for the lack Of the
others. The complete set had Mas
ter spoon and twelve others. the Mas
ter spoon having q figure Of Christ