Newcastle Silver Runcible Spoon, 1848

This is a rare example of a Victorian fiddle pattern silver runcible spoon (aka pickle or chutney spoon or spork) made in Newcastle.

This north country spoon was made by the Lister family (father and two sons) in 1848 and benefits from having no personalised engravings and is in fine condition.

The runcible spoon appears in two works by Edward Lear: The Owl & The Pussy Cat ("They dined on mince and slices of quince, which they ate with a runcible spoon") and Twenty-Six Nonsense Rhymes and Pictures ("The Dolomphious Duck, who caught Spotted Frogs for her dinner with a Runcible Spoon")