Whilst this is not and is unlikely to be a major collecting area, it would be true to say that many of the purchases were very much a deliberate acquisition, unlike the two preceding chapters.
Clearly they compliment the standard London spoons in demonstrating how the idea of spoons for every occasion ultimately became the rule rather than the exception. Obviously we do not have examples of every type, but the main subsidiary areas are covered.
This Chapter also covers the only area not spoons but the examples are quirky rather than an attempt to illustrate a representative collection of forks. All of these were acquired in parcels in the business, not as specific purchases.
Some of the items do have quite rare designs such as Stag Hunt and the Sucket Fork, which are extremely rare, the latter being made in a very restricted period at the start of the 18th century.
We do also have some examples of reproductions which show how the old styles have continued to be copied right up to the present day.
When disposing of the later London standard spoons, we seriously considered including this and the two pervious chapters in that exercise. Many early and purist collectors would say hurrah for that. But although this would have released not insignificant funds to spend on other areas, it would have driven the collection into just another group of classic spoons.
We have always wanted the various collections to be as wide as possible, to show just how varied the humble spoon has become in both decorative and practical terms. Other collectors are either putting together or have put together major collections often in very specialist areas, and far beyond our ability to do so, with all the academic expertise that goes with such an exercise.
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