Caddy spoon
Record status
Individual type · partial
Period
1824-1825
This silver caddy spoon features a broad, scalloped shell-shaped bowl connected to a spreading handle decorated in repoussé with acanthus foliage. Measuring 2.9375 inches in length and 1.5625 inches in width, the piece was shaped using raising and repoussé metalworking techniques.
Produced in Birmingham between 1824 and 1825, the spoon carries Birmingham hallmarks for 1824–5. It also bears the maker's mark associated with Ledsam & Vale, likely made by the firm Ledsam, Vale & Wheeler.
Evidence at a glance
- Linked sources
- 1
- Photograph views
- 1
- Catalogue references
- 0
Counts describe this entry’s documentation, not authenticity, rarity or completeness. Photographs may show one specimen; check each caption and licence.
Historical context
A caddy spoon is designed to measure and dispense dry tea from a tea caddy, sized small enough to fit inside the container. English examples developed during the mid-18th century as tea caddies replaced Chinese tea bottles, featuring wider openings suited for dispensing spoons rather than using a thimble-top lid as a measure. Caddy spoons were excluded from the exemption under the English Act of 1790 concerning small articles, requiring them to always bear hallmarks.
Physical characteristics
- Material
- Silver, raised and repoussé
- Dimensions
- Length: 2.9375 in; Width: 1.5625 in
Technical characteristics
- Inscriptions
- Date: Text: Research required; Latest: Research required; Earliest: Research required; Note: Research required; Type: Research required; Medium: Research required; Method: Research required; Script: Research required; Content: Birmingham hallmarks for 1824-5; Language: Research required; Position: Research required; Inscriber: Name: Id: Research required; Text: Research required; Association: Id: Research required; Text: Research required; Description: Research required; Translation: Research required; Interpretation: Research required; Transliteration: Research required Date: Text: Research required; Latest: Research required; Earliest: Research required; Note: Research required; Type: Research required; Medium: Research required; Method: Research required; Script: Research required; Content: Mark of Ledsam & Vale; Language: Research required; Position: Research required; Inscriber: Name: Id: Research required; Text: Research required; Association: Id: Research required; Text: Research required; Description: Research required; Translation: Research required; Interpretation: Research required; Transliteration: Research required
- Maker recorded
- Ledsam, Vale & Wheeler
- Place recorded
- Birmingham
Identification
- Source note
- Transcribed from the Victoria and Albert Museum collection record for this single object; how far it represents a wider collectible type has not been independently verified.
- Museum object name
- Caddy spoon
- Museum object number
- 1280-1902
Catalogue references
No catalogue numbers recorded. Numbers are only published once transcribed from a verified edition of a standard catalogue — they are never inferred.