Table spoon

1755-1785

Maker

Bancroft Woodcock (1732-1817)

Measurements

8-1/4 in x 1-3/4 in x 7/8 in

Materials

Silver

Credit Line

On loan from Winterthur

Accession Number

1975.24

Inscription

"J L" in block letters is engraved into the underside tip of the handle; “B·W” in relief within a rectangle in stamped into the underside of the handle shaft.

Condition Notes

The outside bottom of the bowl is worn where it stands on a surface.

Provenance

Ex coll. Miss Margaret Janvier Hort.  Winterthur purchased the spoon from Hort.

Comments

The tablespoon has an ovoid bowl, plain shaft, and ridged handle tip that curves upward.  The underside of the bowl has an eleven-ribbed shell cast in relief of which nine ribs are visible, the others having worn away.

Woodcock was active in Wilmington from 1754-1794.  On Hort's bill of sale dated February 6, 1975, she described this object as "1 soup spoon.  Monogram J. L. --John Lewden, Silversmith's touch BW for Bancroft Woodcock of Wilmington, Delaware.  The identity of John Lewden has not been confirmed.  Other Lewdens with first names starting with "J" are known.  The initials are possibly those of John Lewden (1739-1809) of Newport or Christiana, Delaware.