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Teaspoon

Samuel Edwards (American, 1705–1762)
about 1750–60
Object PlaceBoston, Massachusetts
Medium/TechniqueSilver
Dimensions2.7 x 14.4 cm (1 1/16 x 5 11/16 in.)
Credit LineGift of Mr. and Mrs. Julius McNutt Ramsey, Jr.
Accession number1990.367
On View
Not on view
ClassificationsSilver flatware
Collections
Description

This spoon descended in the donor’s family, along with a three of the same size and pattern made by Zachariah Bridgen. The set of four matched spoons provides a lesson in the transmission of style to apprentices and among family members.

Bridgen may have received or purchased the swages for these spoons through Thomas Edwards, who has traditionally been considered his master. The identical spoon marked by Samuel Edwards, Thomas’s younger brother, highlights the fluid relationships among colonial silversmiths and their workshops, assistants, and tools. The potential for sharing silversmithing resources generationally is well illustrated by Samuel’s bequest of “a swage for tea and large spoons” of unknown design to his nephew, silversmith Joseph Edwards Jr. (1737 1783).

This text has been adapted from "Silver of the Americas, 1600-2000," edited by Jeannine Falino and Gerald W.R. Ward, published in 2008 by the MFA. Complete references can be found in that publication.

InscriptionsNone.ProvenanceThe original owners are unknown, but family history of descent is claimed through Sarah Winslow West Deming (1722 – 1788), daughter of mariner John Winslow (1693 – 1731) and Sarah Pierce (1697 – 1771) of Boston, m. 1721. Sarah Winslow m. John West (1722 – 1750) of Yarmouth, Massachusetts; in 1752 she m. Boston merchant John Deming (d. 1797).
Group shot: 18.325, 19.1387, 19.1393
Samuel Edwards
about 1748
Ladle
Samuel Edwards
about 1750
Group shot: 37.266-7
Samuel Edwards
about 1757
Group shot: 37.266-7
Samuel Edwards
about 1757
Punch strainer
Samuel Edwards
about 1743–49
Punch strainer
Samuel Edwards
about 1746
Tablespoon
Joseph Edwards, Jr.
About 1760–70
Spoon
Thomas Edwards
about 1755
Spoon
John Edwards
about 1695