Paxton Pattern Silver Runcible Spoon, 1865

This is one of the finest silver runcible spoons that we have encountered. It was made by George Adams of Chawner & Company in the beautiful and rare Paxton pattern.

Paxton pattern was named in honour of the famous Victorian architect Joseph Paxton who is best known for designing the Crystal Palace built for the Great Exhibition of 1851. This spoon features an original engraved crest depicting a stag's head to the terminal. The crest belongs to the Scottish branch of the Fraser family. The decoration remains crisp throughout and this chutney or pickle spoon remains 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").