Table spoon (one of a pair)

1805-1811

Maker

Harvey Lewis & Joseph D. Smith (active 1805-1811)

Measurements

9 in x 1-3/4 in x 3/4 in

Materials

Silver

Credit Line

On loan from Winterthur

Accession Number

1967.280

Inscription

“MAC” in script is engraved into the end of the handle.  “Lewis & Smith” in relief within a conforming rectangle is stamped into the underside of the handle along with a small “WG” mark.

Condition Notes

The left sides of both bowl tips are heavily worn from repeated use by right-handed people, perhaps routinely scraping food from a bowl.

Provenance

The wife of the donor, Park Washburn Stickney (1886-1968), was Susan Alston Bowes (1887-1965), daughter of Susan Corbit Alston (1859-1937) and Timothy J.M. Bowes.  Susan Corbit Alston was the daughter of John Alston (1794-1874) and Lydia Corbit Cowgill (1815-1899).  Lydia was a daughter of Mary Ann Corbit (1785-1828) and John Cowgill (1773-1849) of Camden, Delaware.  Mary Ann was the daughter of Ann Lea (1755-1789) and Daniel Corbit (1742-1788), a brother of William Corbit, builder of the Corbit-Sharp House.

Comments

If the initials on the spoons represent Mary Ann Corbit, she must have acquired the spoons in 1805, the earliest date of the partnership of silversmiths Lewis and Smith.  Mary Ann married John Cowgill on February 13, 1806, at which time her initials would have changed.

The round-ended handle curves gently backward and has a long, plain shaft.  The bowl is oval.