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MUS T A CHE SPOONS
MUSTACHE SPOONS
The Neatest Novelty of the Victorian Age
By Larry LeMasters
Mustaches were quite fashionable during the late-1800s, and Victorian guard. It was attached to the spoon to prevent a gentleman’s mustache from being
gentlemen were very concerned with accepted manners. A passage from an 1800s soiled when eating soup.
book of manners, The Habits of a Good Society, gives an indication of why Reed & Barton, silversmiths in Taunton, MA, illustrated and advertised a plated
moustache spoons might have developed during the late 1800s: “…now you have silver mustache spoon in their 1885 catalog. This spoon was 8.25 inches long and
eaten, oblige me by wiping your mouth and moustache with your napkin, for there was offered in four qualities, depending on the amount of silver used on the nickel
is a bit of the pastry hanging to the latter, and looking very disagreeable”. base. Original Red & Barton mustache spoons are highly sought after by today’s
Mustaches were cultivated in all shapes and sizes during the second half of the collectors.
19th century. In England, men began to sport a Napoleon mustache shortly after Also in 1885, the Denver Novelty Co. advertised a mustache spoon guard
the Franco-Prussian War. In the United States, the popularity of the handlebar described as “The Neatest Novelty of the Age.” These mustache guards sold for a
mustache among men in all ranks of the armed services, as well as the civilian mere 25¢ and were guaranteed to be adjustable to any tablespoon.
males, appears to have followed close on the heels of the War with Mexico (1846- One of the most ornate mustache spoons ever manufactured was made to
1847) and the ensuing Gold Rush era. Prospectors found it difficult to keep clean- commemorate the California Midwinter International Exposition that was held in
shaven during their arduous journeys through wilderness areas as well as working San Francisco from January 27 to January 30, 1894. Several of the Exposition’s
in mines and panning for gold in streams. Their walrus mustaches and beards often buildings are depicted on the mustache guard. These Exposition mustache spoons
grew long and unkempt for months and even years. In fact, with the exception are often considered the Holy Grail of mustache spoons, and all collectors vie to
of McKinley, all US presidents from Grant to Taft sported at least a flowing own one.
mustache—four of them had full beards. By the early part of the 20th century, mustaches were no longer in vogue, and
Often the size of a man’s mustache was rumored to measure the size of his mustache spoons and guards quickly disappeared. By 1920, they were all but
manly virility, so nearly all American men sported mustaches in the late 1800s, extinct.
from Vandykes to bushy handlebars. Some men, such as Wild Bill Hickok sported Today these timeless treasures of Victorian elegance are coveted and treasured
both a mustache and a fast gun, so no one living remarked if he had food caught in by a growing number of collectors. While far from scarce, the really rare examples
his mustache, and for all other men, the mustache spoon was invented. are becoming harder and harder to find. As highly prized mustache spoons are
Mustaches proved a particular problem when eating, especially hot soup. It has fading from the marketplace, their prices are steadily increasing. Given the present
been said, “there was many a slip twixt the spoon and the sip that led to drawing day interest in Victoria Era items and an increase in the number of men who again
room snickers.” When mustached men sipped their hot soup, mustaches often sport mustaches, one would not be surprised to see a resurgence of interest by
became stained. A blond mustache soon became a dirty brown wherever the soup famous silversmiths in producing valid reproductions of mustache spoons.
was in frequent contact with the upper lip hair.
Portable mustache guards, for cups, made of silver or tin began popping up from
several different inventors. These portable guards were carried in small cases that Pinellas County Antique Dealers
fit into a gentleman’s pocket. They could quickly be attached to a regular cup of
coffee, saving the man’s mustache from certain disaster. 1. Jewel Antique Mall 6. Asian Willow
On the heels of these inventive guards, the mustache spoon was born. Solon 2. Laura Collum Antiques 2629 Central Ave. • 727-321-1100
Farrer of New York patented the earliest known mustache spoon March 3, 1868. 7. Burchard Galleries, Inc.
These spoons, also known as etiquette spoons, first graced the tables of American 3. The Silver Queen 2528 30th Ave. N. • 800-520-2787
homes, which made sense since, as noted earlier, Americans carried guns and 4. Antique Marketplace
didn’t like being teased over a dirty mustache. 5. Antique Galleries of St. Petersburg 8. Andrea and Friends
Mustache tablespoons were made from electroplated silver on nickel. They were
unusual because a semi-circular piece of metal was often soldered onto the bowl
of what was essentially a regular tablespoon. This feature was called a mustache
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Electroplated silver
Lias Brothers of London, on nickel mustache
Victorian silver mustache tablespoon; circa 1883.
spoon, circa 1877, that is
valued at $700.
California Midwinter International Exposition,
1894, mustache spoon.
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Silver plated mustache spoon by Reed & Barton with original box.