Northern Pacific Railway Teaspoon?

Railroadforums.com is a free online Railroad Discussion Forum and Railroad Photo Gallery for railroaders, railfans, model railroaders and anyone else who is interested in railroads. We cover a wide variety of topics, including freight trains, passenger and commuter railroads, rail news and information, tourist railroads, railway museums and railroad history.

S

schuld66

Guest
Greetings,
I have a teaspoon marked with a script "N.P.R." on the handle. I'm curious if this would be from a Northern Pacific Railway dining car. I was able to find a ladle being sold on Etsy of the exact same silverplate pattern -- Winthrop, Gorham, 1896 -- that is marked "S.P. & S. Ry", and that person is selling it as a piece from the Spokane Portland and Seattle Railway. I believe they are correct in their assumption the ladle came from that railway.

I think it would be quite a coincidence if my teaspoon of the exact same pattern would not be a railway piece, but I am interested to see what the experts say.

I have posted photos.

Regards,
Dave

IMG_8357.JPG
IMG_8358.JPG
IMG_8359.JPG
 
Last edited by a moderator:
A few searches didn't bring up anything solid. Northern Pacific seems reasonable enough. Typically they would mark stuff N P Ry. But that doesn't mean there weren't exceptions, and I make no claims to any knowledge on their silverware.

One clarification, though you may already realize this. It says "Patented 1896", but that is a general patent date, not the date this specific piece was produced. It can't be earlier than 1896 obviously, but could be later.

Some of the pieces include date marks, but if yours has one, I'm not seeing it. The anchor mark is consistent over the years.

1588649544481.png
 
Bob,
Thank you for the reply. Yes, you are correct on the patent date vs issue date on silverplate flatware. A prominent silverware vendor, Replacements, shows the pattern as discontinued, but does not have a discontinued year -- they sometimes do. It would be interesting to know this date.

My hope is that this teaspoon is from the Northern Pacific Railway, but unfortunately, I'm still not 100% convinced -- maybe 80% :)

Regards,
Dave
 
I just ran across this image of a page from a 1911 Gorham catalog showing the Winthrop pattern (Sterlingflatwarefashions website), so we know it was still available at least through 1911.
 

Attachments

  • winthrop catalog.png
    winthrop catalog.png
    511 KB · Views: 219
  • Like
Reactions: Bob
I thought I posted this earlier, but apparently it didn't go through. So I'll try again. I found a Gorham silverplate sugar bowl with cover that recently sold on a popular auction site that has the exact same script N.P.R. on the bottom. The seller sold it as being from the Northern Pacific Railway. I contacted the seller and asked how they knew it was indeed from the Northern Pacific, and they said they got the piece from a collector and it matched other sugar bowls they had seen. I have attached an image of the auction.

So that being said, I am a little more sure of my teaspoon being from the Northern Pacific now.

NPR Sugar Bowl.png
 
Last edited by a moderator:




RailroadForums.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com

RailroadBookstore.com - An online railroad bookstore featuring a curated selection of new and used railroad books. Railroad pictorials, railroad history, steam locomotives, passenger trains, modern railroading. Hundreds of titles available, most at discount prices! We also have a video and children's book section.

ModelRailroadBookstore.com - An online model railroad bookstore featuring a curated selection of new and used books. Layout design, track plans, scenery and structure building, wiring, DCC, Tinplate, Toy Trains, Price Guides and more.

Affiliate Disclosure: We may receive a commision from some of the links and ads shown on this website (Learn More Here)

Back
Top