Colonial Homes and Their FurnishingsNorthend, Mary Harrod
History
Colonial Homes and Their Furnishings
Northend, Mary Harrod
Architecture, Colonial; Furniture -- United States
As this fraud is of recent date, no examination would be necessary for
spoons known to have been in a certain family for some years. These
spoons were made of Wedgwood ware, china, glass, agate, or
tortoise-shell, as well as of silver. There are beautiful silver ones in
the shape of a hand or of a flower. In two cases, I have seen the spoon
made to match the caddy. One of these sets was of decorated china, and
the other of tortoise-shell set in silver.
Another spoon, which passed out of date with the caddy ladle, was the
so-called caudle spoon. It might be well to explain to the present
generation that caudle was a preparation of wine, eggs, and spices which
was commonly fed to invalids, in the latter part of the eighteenth
century. The caudle spoon, perforated or entire, but with a longer
handle and smaller bowl than the caddy spoon, was employed to stir the
mixture. It is now obsolete, as is the snuff spoon, another relic of the
whimsical customs of yore. There was a season when it was stylish to
carry a snuffbox, and to take a pinch one's self, now and then, or to
offer it to a friend. The snuff spoon was used to avoid dipping the
fingers into the powder, which would of course stain both finger nails
and cuticle.
As the caddy was the companion piece of the caddy spoon, so the caudle
bowl is associated with the caudle spoon. A Salem specimen stands six
inches high, and has a capacity of three pints. It has two handles, and
is embellished by a broad chasing at the base, and by fluted chasing
about the body. The caudle cup used with it is severely plain, but has a
good outline.
Tankards both with and without covers were in common use, toward the
close of the seventeenth century. In size, they varied from a capacity
of one quart to three. They were often fitted with a whistle, by the
blowing of which the butler's attention could be called to the fact that
the tankard needed filling. From this custom arose the old saying, "Let
him whistle for it." The singular expression, "A plate of ale" comes
from the fact that in old inventories, tankards are listed as "ale
plates."
The largest Salem specimen has a capacity of one quart only, and is
beautifully chased around the body and upon the cover in a
rose-and-pineapple design. This chasing is much worn, not only by the
passage of time, but also by the pitiless polishing of the methodical
New England housekeeper. This is a straight-sided tankard, with a
well-curved top, which necessitates a long and tapering thumb piece. The
handle is large and well-tapered, extending well above the rim. All
these specimens belong to the Revolutionary epoch.
[Illustration: PLATE LXII.--Old Silver Coffee Urn with Pineapple finial;
Sheffield Plate Teapot, formerly owned by Thomas Jefferson; Tall Silver
Pitcher, of flagon influence.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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