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Description
Stamped with an alphabet-block design, the polished tin surface of this spoon provided an affordable and attractive alternative to silver flatware for young diners. Known primarily for silversmithing, R. Wallace & Sons applied for the Wallace Brothers trademark in 1895 to produce tinned steel. The company joined the strength of steel with the oxidation protection and smooth shine of tin to create durable objects to appeal to an expanding market of middle- and lower-income customers. While use has worn away the tin in places to reveal the darker tarnished steel, the handle maintains areas of high luster. Rather than simply reducing the scale of existing flatware patterns, manufacturers increasingly designed unique patterns for objects intended for children, advertising these as boxed sterling and plated flatware and holloware sets in trade catalogs. Immensely popular by the late nineteenth century, such children’s flatware aided with instruction in table manners and literacy. This spoon fits into an era’s emerging understanding of childhood consumption as different from that of adults, exploring the idea of childhood as a distinct phase in a person’s life.