(on 20) SET OF (8) SILVER ICE CREAM SPOONS, WENDT
John Wendt, New York, c. 1862, marked: PATENT 925 D H BUELL & CO. (Hartford, Ct.)
medallion with head of Minerva, monogram on revese, JBW, 6"; 7.4 troy oz. total; also a SET OF (12) GORHAM MEDALLION SILVER DEMITASSE SPOONS, 1868-70, Gorham lion/PAT. 1864/ TIFFANY & CO./STERLING, retailed by Tiffany, the medallion with helmeted male, gold washed bowl, 6"; 5.6 troy oz. total, in original Tiffany silk-lined case
For information on Wendt, see Albert Soeffing, 'Silver Medallion Flatware', pp 76-77.
According to Soeffing, Wendt rarely marked his wares and retailed almost all of his silver through better jewelers and silversmiths in East Coast cities.
"John R. Wendt produced some of the finest silver of his day, but he remains relatively unknown. The reasons for this are twofold. First, he did not, as far as is known, use a manufacturing mark of his own. Second, he did not retail his own silver. Thus, he had no retail outlet and did not advertise... For a time he had a special relationship the Ball, Black & Co... So great an amount of his medallion pattern is incised with the Ball, Black & Co. retail stamp that most dealers and collectors identify this medallion as a Ball, Black & Co. product."
Spoons such as these are also known as "Five O'Clock Teaspoons. The Gorham Medallion pattern was patented on June 7, 1864 by George Wilkinson and assigned to Gorham of Providence, RI. It became one of the most popular of all of the medallion patterns.
Estimate: $200 - $300
Realized: $350 - Excluding Buyer's Premium
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Lot 330 : (on 20) SET OF (8) SILVER ICE CREAM SPOONS, WENDT
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