Plique-à-jour souvenir spoons, though scarce, were available in increasing sizes and complexity—of course at increasing prices and increasing rarity. Jewelers offered something to tempt every wallet. These are the largest plique spoons that I have found to date. The 2 largest, numbers 1 and 7, might have been made for competition at The World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893, or The Exibition Internationale at Paris in 1900, because they seem to be too fine to be commercial.
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A brief description of each is below, from left to right:
No. 1. 8 ½ inches long. In the style and workmanship of J. Tostrup, Christiania, Norway.
No. 2 and 6. 6 ¾ inches long. In the style and workmanship of J. Tostrup. Note the slightly different blue color in this matched pair.
No. 3. 11 1/8 inches long. Marius Hammer. Bergen Norway.
No. 4. 6 ¼ inches long. In the style and workmanship of Marius Hammer.
No. 5. 10 7/8 inches long. The multicolored single cells of this bowl identify this unmarked spoon to be the work of David Andersen, Christiania.
No. 7. 9 7/8 inches long. George W. Shiebler, New York City.