Apostle Spoons. Their Evolution from Earlier Types, and the Emblems Used by the Silversmiths for the Apostles
London: Oxford University Press, 1929. First edition. Hardcover. Quarto. xi, 36 (1)pp., xxiii plates with tissue guards. Original printed tan dustjacket over blue cloth with gilt lettering on cover and spine, in glassine dustjacket. Frontispiece collotype. "In collecting and studying Apostle spoons, the author found the subject enveloped in much uncertainty. No one was quite sure what emblems might have been used by the early silversmiths for some of the Apostles, and no two writers were agreed as to what had been for most of them. The identification, therefore, of these spoons has, with the information available, been in some cases difficult and in others impossible. The decoration of the spoon from remote antiquity has been closely linked with symbolism, and when the ornamental knop reached its highest development in the Apostle spoon, the emblems of the Saints became as important a feature of the silversmiths' art as they had been of the painter." (Author).
Includes chapters on the spoon and its ornamentation through the ages, sets of Apostle Spoons, consisting of six or more Spoons of the same date and by the same maker, the emblems given to the Savior and the Apostles, with brief chapters on the Apostles' Creed, collecting Apostle spoons and the market value of Apostle spoons. Illustrated with twenty-three plates of collotypes depicting Apostle spoons and their characteristics. Letterpress and collotypes printed in England at the University Press Oxford John Johnson Printer to the University. Taped to the inside back cover a letter from I. D. Woodin of Tiffany & Co., addressed to the Canadian historian William B. Munro, with envelope, regarding Munro's collection of English cream jugs and the title Apostle Spoons. Includes corrections to the printed text of the publication. DJ with wear along edges, two inch by one inch chip across head of spine with loss of one letter of print, and some small chips and light creasing along edges. Inside flap clipped at bottom. Glassine dj with wear along edges, closed tears, creasing and browned, clipped at lower inside flap. Binding with light wear along edges. Previous owner's name inked to tanned front free endpaper. Bottom and foredge uncut. DJ and glassine in good-, binding and interior in very good condition. g- to vg. Item #44577
Price: $175.00