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Lot Essay
Commander and Mrs How were inclined to place this apparently unique spoon among the so called crest finials, of which three are recorded (How, op. cit., vol. I, pp. 270-275) and to which the ringed acorn knop offered here as lot 316 can perhaps be added. Another spoon to which can possibly be added to this small group, and which perhaps is the closest comparison to the present example is one of 1528 which has a flat terminal which is engraved with a name. That spoon was also from the Harvey Clarke collection.
This spoon, along with the rest of the extraordinary collection amassed by Harvey Clarke must have disappeared from view in the years between his death in 1925 and the sale of the collection of 1953. Commander and Mrs How were particularly interested in this spoon as they are recorded as saying 'Another spoon I would like to trace is recorded under the year 1494 as have a flat knop with "B" on the front and "W" on the reverse; in 1905 it was in the collection of Mr. Harvey Clark [sic]., as quoted by Constable, op. cit., p. 89.
This spoon, along with the rest of the extraordinary collection amassed by Harvey Clarke must have disappeared from view in the years between his death in 1925 and the sale of the collection of 1953. Commander and Mrs How were particularly interested in this spoon as they are recorded as saying 'Another spoon I would like to trace is recorded under the year 1494 as have a flat knop with "B" on the front and "W" on the reverse; in 1905 it was in the collection of Mr. Harvey Clark [sic]., as quoted by Constable, op. cit., p. 89.