Time for Decadent Deco After Dinner Coffee
The Flickr Friday theme this week is "spoon", and I thought these beautiful boxed and unboxed sterling silver demitasse spoons would suit the theme nicely.
A demitasse or demi-tasse is a small cup used to serve Turkish coffee or espresso. It was very fashionable in the 1930s to drink coffee after luncheon or dinner from little demitasse cups. And if you had demitasse cups, which only hold around sixty to ninety millilitres, you needed a demitasse spoon to stir your coffee.
These boxed sterling silver demitasse spoons, as you can see by the printing on the cream satin lid, were made by silversmiths James Dixon and Sons. They were made in Sheffield in 1935 and bear the King George V and Queen Mary Silver Jubilee hallmark on the underside of each spoon's bowl. Each of the spoon's bowls is gilt washed (has a thin layer, or wash, of gold applied to its surface) for an unusual touch. They come in their own original half moon blue shagreen box. The spoons are held neatly in place on a bed of dark blue velvet.
(Private collection).
The unboxed demitasse spoons are also sterling silver and were also made by silversmiths James Dixon and Sons. They were made in Sheffield in 1925. Each of the spoon's bowls in this set are also gilt washed (has a thin layer, or wash, of gold applied to its surface) for an unusual touch. Although not pictured, they come in their own original square shagreen box. The spoons are held neatly in place on a bed of black velvet.
(Private collection).
The sucrier (sugar bowl), sugar spoon and milk jug in this photograph are Georgian Revival style made in 1901 in Chester by William Aitken of Vyse Street, Birmingham.
(Private collection).
James Dixon and Sons was founded 1806 in Sheffield, and was one of the major British manufacturers of the Industrial Revolution. They were manufacturers of pewterware, electroplated Britannia metal, silverware and electroplated nickel silver. Their products included hundreds of items for use in the kitchen, like bowls and cutting-tools, and the dining room like, tea services, cutlery, cocktail shakers and mixers, as well as items such as candlesticks. They were a world leader in manufacturing shooting accessories through Nineteenth Century and exported powder flasks in large quantities to America. They were known as whistle makers, which like most of their products were of outstanding quality. They were also famous for their sporting trophies. Two of the most well-known are the Hales Trophy (Blue Riband Trophy) commissioned in 1932 for the sailing ship currently holding the record for the fastest crossing of the Atlantic. The trophy was held by the owners of that ship. The other great trophy is the one presented to the winner of the American Masters Golf tournament held annually in Augusta Georgia. This trophy is a scale model of the clubhouse made in 1959-60 and contains 453 troy ounces of silver. The firm continued to be a family run enterprise until 1976. The patterns are currently owned by another Sheffield firm who export products mainly to the Middle East.
William Aitken was a maker of sterling silver and silver plated items during the Victorian and Edwardian period in Birmingham between 1891 and 1904 and was also active in Chester at the same time. His motto was “Nothing is too large; nothing is too small”. It was said of him that “it is an impossibility to mention any article which can be made in silver that is not in the stock of this maker”.
Time for Decadent Deco After Dinner Coffee
The Flickr Friday theme this week is "spoon", and I thought these beautiful boxed and unboxed sterling silver demitasse spoons would suit the theme nicely.
A demitasse or demi-tasse is a small cup used to serve Turkish coffee or espresso. It was very fashionable in the 1930s to drink coffee after luncheon or dinner from little demitasse cups. And if you had demitasse cups, which only hold around sixty to ninety millilitres, you needed a demitasse spoon to stir your coffee.
These boxed sterling silver demitasse spoons, as you can see by the printing on the cream satin lid, were made by silversmiths James Dixon and Sons. They were made in Sheffield in 1935 and bear the King George V and Queen Mary Silver Jubilee hallmark on the underside of each spoon's bowl. Each of the spoon's bowls is gilt washed (has a thin layer, or wash, of gold applied to its surface) for an unusual touch. They come in their own original half moon blue shagreen box. The spoons are held neatly in place on a bed of dark blue velvet.
(Private collection).
The unboxed demitasse spoons are also sterling silver and were also made by silversmiths James Dixon and Sons. They were made in Sheffield in 1925. Each of the spoon's bowls in this set are also gilt washed (has a thin layer, or wash, of gold applied to its surface) for an unusual touch. Although not pictured, they come in their own original square shagreen box. The spoons are held neatly in place on a bed of black velvet.
(Private collection).
The sucrier (sugar bowl), sugar spoon and milk jug in this photograph are Georgian Revival style made in 1901 in Chester by William Aitken of Vyse Street, Birmingham.
(Private collection).
James Dixon and Sons was founded 1806 in Sheffield, and was one of the major British manufacturers of the Industrial Revolution. They were manufacturers of pewterware, electroplated Britannia metal, silverware and electroplated nickel silver. Their products included hundreds of items for use in the kitchen, like bowls and cutting-tools, and the dining room like, tea services, cutlery, cocktail shakers and mixers, as well as items such as candlesticks. They were a world leader in manufacturing shooting accessories through Nineteenth Century and exported powder flasks in large quantities to America. They were known as whistle makers, which like most of their products were of outstanding quality. They were also famous for their sporting trophies. Two of the most well-known are the Hales Trophy (Blue Riband Trophy) commissioned in 1932 for the sailing ship currently holding the record for the fastest crossing of the Atlantic. The trophy was held by the owners of that ship. The other great trophy is the one presented to the winner of the American Masters Golf tournament held annually in Augusta Georgia. This trophy is a scale model of the clubhouse made in 1959-60 and contains 453 troy ounces of silver. The firm continued to be a family run enterprise until 1976. The patterns are currently owned by another Sheffield firm who export products mainly to the Middle East.
William Aitken was a maker of sterling silver and silver plated items during the Victorian and Edwardian period in Birmingham between 1891 and 1904 and was also active in Chester at the same time. His motto was “Nothing is too large; nothing is too small”. It was said of him that “it is an impossibility to mention any article which can be made in silver that is not in the stock of this maker”.