Description:
Silver tablespoon with an elliptical bowl (tip worn) and rounded drop over a 9-lobed shell; straight hemispherical shaft tapered to upturned rounded-end handle; long midrib on the front of the handle, which is marked "Yeomans" in a rectangle for Elijah Yeomans (1751-1794), and engraved with the initials "MW" in block letter on the back of the handle. According to Patricia Kane, Yeomans was born in Stonington, Connecticut, and "may have finished his training in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, where some scholars claim that he worked as both a goldsmith and clockmaker in Hadley, Massachusetts, from 1771-1783... Evidence suggests, however, that Yeomans returned to Connecticut for at least a few years." Kane also notes that sometime before 1781, he was working in Hadley for at least a year; as a clockmaker for the town of Petersham, Massachusetts from 1786-1788; for Samuel Canfield in Middletown, Connecticut, about 1792; and in Hartford, Connecticut, where he may have worked for the silversmith David Greenleaf (1765-1835).
Label Text:
Silver spoons and other forms of American silverware were stamped with the last name or initials of the maker to ensure their authenticity. Typically, a silver spoon was the first piece of silver acquired in colonial households that could afford the luxury. The back of this spoon is stamped “Yeomans” and engraved “MW,” most likely the initials of its owner. Silversmiths in rural areas could not sustain a living solely though producing silver objects, therefore many of them developed related skills to supplement their income. Yeomans also made and repaired clocks which provided him with a steady income.
Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+1998.7.50 |
