The spoon is going home

[HungryGhost]

I found this silver spoon in July on a former property of James Burt and have been trying to find a proper home for it. I was thinking the local historical society, but something better has come up. Next weekend the spoon is going to be given to the descendants of James Burt who still live in the area. They can decide from there what they want to do with it. Sure is a lot better than sitting in a box in my house!

 

[davemill]

Nice!

 

[bottlecap4u]

Outstanding item and praise to you for connecting that item to those closest to the ancestor that owned it.

 

[LatentDigger]

Super plan great job

 

[Tom_in_CA]

Love those md'r repatriation reunion stories. Good on you !

 

[Eastender]

An excellent find that I fully appreciate being a colonial detectorist in the NE. And it's great that you arranged for a homecoming. Karma is real and I'm sure that you will be rewarded by the ancestors with future finds.

I have found so many iron and copper eating utensils while out detecting. I so want to find a piece of silver tableware from my town's most famous silversmith. Silversmiths were the apex of artists of their time and silver tableware was considered to be part of the wealth of a family. When you hold an example you realize the artistic and monetary value. Status pieces of convertible wealth and family heirlooms.

For years I have tracked auctions around the country to obtain some silver tableware pieces made by my town's most prominent Silversmith, David Hedges (1779-1856), who produced silver and gold pieces between 1801-1830. Hedges began serving as a NYS Assemblyman in 1825 so his silver work taped off. In post-Revolutionary War Long Island, small local Silversmiths were being put out of business by shops in NYC.

Thus far I have only found these two pictured and bought them in separate auctions for just under $300. I went to the old local graveyard next to an early church and matched the initials to families on headstones. I had planned to give them to my local Historical Society, but they are acting like totally uninterested ingrates. The Hedges Family Compound and shop is now a high-end Inn with no connection to the original family so I have no interest in gifting wealthy people my belongings.

I enjoy seeing this craftsmanship and every once in a while will hold them.

 

[HungryGhost]

An excellent find that I fully appreciate being a colonial detectorist in the NE. And it's great that you arranged for a homecoming. Karma is real and I'm sure that you will be rewarded by the ancestors with future finds.

I have found so many iron and copper eating utensils while out detecting. I so want to find a piece of silver tableware from my town's most famous silversmith. Silversmiths were the apex of artists of their time and silver tableware was considered to be part of the wealth of a family. When you hold an example you realize the artistic and monetary value. Status pieces of convertible wealth and family heirlooms.

For years I have tracked auctions around the country to obtain some silver tableware pieces made by my town's most prominent Silversmith, David Hedges (1779-1856), who produced silver and gold pieces between 1801-1830. Hedges began serving as a NYS Assemblyman in 1825 so his silver work taped off. In post-Revolutionary War Long Island, small local Silversmiths were being put out of business by shops in NYC.

Thus far I have only found these two pictured and bought them in separate auctions for just under $300. I went to the old local graveyard next to an early church and matched the initials to families on headstones. I had planned to give them to my local Historical Society, but they are acting like totally uninterested ingrates. The Hedges Family Compound and shop is now a high-end Inn with no connection to the original family so I have no interest in gifting wealthy people my belongings.

I enjoy seeing this craftsmanship and every once in a while will hold them.

I found the same attitude from the ingrates at the local historical society where the spoon was recovered. I thought I’d rather put it back in the ground than give it to them. One of the guys I detect with lives in the area that I found the spoon and knows the family and they are excited to have it.

 

[markinmichigan]

I'm sure you'll get some permissions out of that return. Best of luck!

Mark in Michigan

 

[hoser]

First off congrats on a great old find. The fact you are going to give it to the descendants is awesome as well. You got a bunch of karma points coming your way.

 

[Kansashunter]

Very cool, love the intention!

 

[MasonDixonMding]

Good job. Cool spoon.

 

[Eastender]

Curious if there is a silversmith maker's mark on the back neck?

 

[HungryGhost]

Curious if there is a silversmith maker's mark on the back neck?

 

[Eastender]

View attachment 619581

That's an interesting mystery. The only matching silversmith's mark that I could find is a slightly different spelling with a W instead of a U in Lawrence. But the unique serrated box trademark pattern is very similar between the two. In the 1938 book: "MARKS of Early American Silversmiths" by Earnest M. Currier, you can see his recorded mark for a Martin M. Lawrence, a watchmaker in New York, NY who apparently died sometime between 1832-1840. A watchmaker would definitely have the expertise, tools, and materials at hand to fabricate silverware. I could not find a match to this M.M. Laurence maker's mark in either British or American silversmith records, which are pretty meticulous.

 

[HungryGhost]

That's an interesting mystery. The only matching silversmith's mark that I could find is a slightly different spelling with a W instead of a U in Lawrence. But the unique serrated box trademark pattern is very similar between the two. In the 1938 book: "MARKS of Early American Silversmiths" by Earnest M. Currier, you can see his recorded mark for a Martin M. Lawrence, a watchmaker in New York, NY who apparently died sometime between 1832-1840. A watchmaker would definitely have the expertise, tools, and materials at hand to fabricate silverware. I could not find a match to this M.M. Laurence maker's mark in either British or American silversmith records, which are pretty meticulous.

I was stumped as well by the different spellings. Thanks for looking into it. Counterfeit spoon?

 

[Eastender]

I was stumped as well by the different spellings. Thanks for looking into it. Counterfeit spoon?

It's intriguing. During that period, many silversmiths were listed as being multiple tradesmen, the grouping being watchmakers, jewelers, and silversmiths. I did just now found a listing in an archived early watchmakers volume that showed the name variations together, meaning the variation is now, and was maybe at the time, known. But the Rd stands for Richard, not Martin!

It makes no sense for a counterfeiter to go through the painstaking detail of duplicating a trademark to screw up the spelling. But if you look at the mark closely, the type looks different, style and size, between the first and last parts of the mark. The latter half of the mark looks a little off-angle and the serrated box is cut deeper. Aside from using a silversmith's quality mark, which were recorded and well-known, a fake would try to use a less than sterling silver quality. Also, fine silverware was highly polished and didn't show casting marks and imperfections, and that is laborious.

I could see someone trying to fake and water down sterling during the Panic of 1837, which was the largest and first major economic depression of the young Republic that lasted almost a decade. That was partly caused by Andrew Jackson requiring that land sales made by the Federal Government could only be made in gold and silver, no paper money.

I like metal detecting mysteries and in some ways your find becomes more interesting than a straight up M.M Lawrence silver spoon!

 

[Dirtfishing]

Good job, and may the good karma come back to you tenfold in your future hunts!