🔎 UNIDENTIFIED Trying to determine age of spoon tang. TY

Gus19567

Tenderfoot
May 20, 2023
6
13
Spoon .jpg
 

Welcome to Tnet. Good old spoon.

It’s one of a multitude of marks used by John Yates of Birmingham, England. The company was established in 1780 at 37-38 Colehill Street and later (c. 1852) listed as John Yates & Sons. That’s one of their earlier marks though, with ‘JOHN’ spelled as ‘IOHN’ and no reference to “& S” for “& Sons”. It will be base metal, likely as either one of the white metal silver substitutes, or plated, depending on the date.

Yates.jpg


Could we see the entire handle please, all the way from the terminal to the bowl? It’s a ‘fiddleback’ handle which could be pre-1800, but there are other features of such handles which can help to narrow down the date and could put it post 1800.
 

Upvote 4
Welcome to Tnet. Good old spoon.

It’s one of a multitude of marks used by John Yates of Birmingham, England. The company was established in 1780 at 37-38 Colehill Street and later (c. 1852) listed as John Yates & Sons. That’s one of their earlier marks though, with ‘JOHN’ spelled as ‘IOHN’ and no reference to “& S” for “& Sons”. It will be base metal, likely as either one of the white metal silver substitutes, or plated, depending on the date.

View attachment 2084729

Could we see the entire handle please, all the way from the terminal to the bowl? It’s a ‘fiddleback’ handle which could be pre-1800, but there are other features of such handles which can help to narrow down the date and could put it post 1800.
Whole Spoon Handle.jpg
 

Upvote 0
This all I have of it. TY for the help. We found a draped bust large cent on the site too. Can't find a structure on 1856 map so we believe house was before this. Location is Schoharie County in upstate NY. Town of Carlisle
 

Upvote 2
This all I have of it. TY for the help. We found a draped bust large cent on the site too. Can't find a structure on 1856 map so we believe house was before this. Location is Schoharie County in upstate NY. Town of Carlisle
The thing about maps is they represent what was there in 1856.
So if the house burnt pre, or build post of the mapping, it wouldn't be on it.
I have several surveys and historical maps of my property, yet there was a house at one time and it missed being recorded.
 

Upvote 0
This all I have of it. TY for the help. We found a draped bust large cent on the site too. Can't find a structure on 1856 map so we believe house was before this. Location is Schoharie County in upstate NY. Town of Carlisle

Thanks for that, but unfortunately there isn’t enough of it left to show the other features that I referred to. Going by the mark alone, I have to guess.

First trade directory mention of Yates as a spoonmaker was in 1805. That doesn’t preclude him having made spoons before then; only that the business was sufficiently notable to have a listing. Before the business became “& Sons”, Yates went into partnership in 1829 with Thomas Rawlins Birch and Lucas Spooner (using a “Y B & S” mark). That, together with the archaic spelling ‘IOHN’ suggests the spoon is likely from the first three decadss of the 1800s, but that’s just an intuitive guess.
 

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