NAC

The nice things about antiques is that one can imagine all kinds of stories about the items, such as who made it, who owned it originally, what did they use it for, and when and why was it discarded or passed down to another generation. Your imagination allows you to stimulate the old gray cells (a very healthy activity), and travel to places, events, and times without leaving your armchair.

I received many responses from our readers about last issue's offer of a free appraisal. It's absolutely amazing the types of items one asked about, from brass sextants (used on a 19th Century sailing ship) to Greek Revival Chairs (looks like a throne chair from England). Each letter had its own story and imagined history and provenance-often incorrect.

The best request was one from a lady in Dover, NJ. Her family had come from a peninsula in the Bronx called Clason Point. Her father was a construction worker. In the early 1950's he was working on a project called the Shorehaven Beach Club. During a lunch break, probably sitting near the mounds of earth being dug for foundations, he noticed a silver colored object sticking in the dirt. He pulled it out and discovered what appeared to be a very ancient and unusual looking spoon. It was over 11" long and had a handle with the face of goddess or queen with a headdress. The markings on the back were unreadable. Undoubtedly he stuck it in his coat pocket and forgot about it.

The spoon was probably discovered by his wife during a "wash day" (my imagination) and then put in a drawer to be discussed later. Inevitably the spoon was taken out on occasions to be shown to guests and relatives, everyone wondering about its origin and value, but to no avail. For the next 50 years it has sat unidentified in a nook or cranny or even possibly honored as a relic on the family sideboard. If it could only talk…

The Clason Point area of the Bronx was inhabited by a group of Indians called the Siwanoys, part of the might Mohegan nation. In 1640 the Dutch West India Company purchased the territory and then sold part of it to Thomas Cornell, an Englishman. Soon after, a violent Indian attack killed the Cornell family. Disturbances came to an end around 1655 and forty years later the land came under final and firm control of the English. Many other settlers followed, both English and Dutch. The area was not famous, but the committee that designed the original flag of the thirteen colonies met there before going to Philadelphia.

In 1898 Clinton Stephens purchased lands at the end of the point and built a resort facility. This grew into a large amusement park. The rest of the area was dotted with farms serving nearby New York City. The 1920's and 30's saw the flourishing of Kane's Casino and The Olde Historic Inn. These gave way to construction projects in the 1950's-one of which the lady's dad was working on when he found the spoon.

So as you can see, the possibilities are endless. Was the spoon as old as the Indians? Was it brought by the English or Dutch to use as a family heirloom? Was it part of the amusement park, Casino, or historic Inn?

Can't your mind wander around the possibilities? Can't you imagine the meals served, the hands that grasped it, and the people that polished it? What endless possibilities.

Unfortunately, my task and research broke whatever bubble of imagination that had been playing with that family's mind for over 50 years. I recognized it was a Victorian spoon, not made prior to 1886. It had been made by the International Silver Company, a good old American firm founded by William Rogers, the inventor of electroplated silver. The ornate and fancy handle indeed bore the resemblance of a queen. It was patented as "Assyrian Head" pattern, due to the interest in all things Egyptian in the 1880's. As a serving spoon or maybe even a soup tureen, it was unusual due to its size, but it's value today, even in perfect condition, was a mere pittance ($40-60). In it's slightly deformed and damaged state it is not marketable.

So goes another dream, another family fantasy, an illusion of wealth and wonderment. On the other hand, who knows? Maybe someone famous did use that spoon. Maybe it has a history, one far more amusing and bewitching than any could imagine. For that's what relics are for-storytelling, surmise, and conjecture. Those speculations are priceless and invaluable. They serve us well. They keep us alert. Our minds remain healthy. We get to go were we've never been.

So here's to the Old Spoon of Clason Point! Diane…display it with pride.