Teaspoon

Object Name:

Teaspoon

Object ID:

2018.009

Creator:

Ridgway, James (1780-1840)

Place of Origin:

Nashua, NH

Date:

1834-1840

Description:

Pair of identical silver teaspoons, made by James Ridgway (1780-1840), Nashua, NH. Coin silver. Upturned fiddle handles with rounded fins and egg-shaped bowls. "S" engraved in script in feather script on backs of handles. "J.Ridgway" in italicized letters stamped in rectangle on backs of handles.

Material:

Metal
Silver

Dimensions:

W-1.25 L-6.1 inches

Provenance:

Purchased by donor on eBay in 2014.

James Ridgway (1780-1840), the son of James and Sarah (Coburn) Ridgway, was born in Boston, MA, on November 13, 1780. Ridgway worked in Worcester and Boston, marrying Faith Stowell (1782-1856), the daughter of Worcester clockmaker Abel Stowell, on January 12, 1802. He lived and worked in Groton, MA, from 1807 to 1815. By 1817, Ridgway had moved to Keene, NH, where he worked as a silversmith and sold dry goods until 1830. Ridgway next moved to Amherst, NH, where he began the manufacture and sale of spectacles as well as silverware and jewelry. In 1834 the Ridgways moved to Nashua, where James, and his son, Charles T., sold spectacles, silverware, and jewelry and this daughter operated a millinery shop.

Credit Line:

Gift of Wesley G. Balla

People:

Ridgway, James (1780-1840)

Subjects:

Silverware