View source for CATALINA SOUVENIR SPOONS: SHEPARD


[[File:2 Earlier Shepard's.png|350px|thumbnail|right|<center>Earlier maker's mark for Shepard </center>]]
[[File:Painted Shepard bowl.png|350px|thumbnail|right|<center>Rare early painted Shepard bowl over Type 1 embossing</center>]]


'''SHEPARD CATALINA TEASPOONS <br>
'''Research courtesy of Harry Merrick'''

The Shepard Manufacturing Co. of Melrose MA (1893–1923) was a prolific producer of souvenir teaspoons for thirty years spanning the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Twenty-four different elements with Catalina elements, almost all including an embossed bowl scene of Avalon Bay, have been encountered thus far. Their spoons are an eclectic lot, most being either traditional “old style” souvenir spoons decorated on two sides, or floral/fruit themed pattern spoons, although they did produce one “modern style” spoon with a skyline cutout view of Avalon Bay on the handle, and an unusually formal style spoon with Greek Revival-like decoration. They also produced some spoons with enameled handles and, very likely, some with enameled bowls.

[[File:Shepard mark.png|350px|thumbnail|right|<center>Later maker's mark for Shepard, in use by ca. 1913 </center>]]

Frequently Shepard spoons lack maker’s marks, but enough examples marked with their earlier “S” mark have been observed to determine that they produced two different embossed scenes of Avalon Bay on their teaspoon bowls. The presence of these distinctive embossed bowls makes it possible to confidently identify otherwise unmarked spoons as Shepard products. At some point in time, possibly 1913 but certainly by 1914, the firm occasionally began to use a second maker’s mark, consisting of an “SMCo” in a diamond. At least two patterns with Catalina elements were occasionally marked with that mark, including the modern cutout style “Catalina Island” spoon and a “California” themed spoon with a Shepard Type 2 embossed Avalon Bay scene.


'''Embossed bowl designs'''

Embossed bowl scenes of Avalon Bay were common elements on Catalina souvenir teaspoons, with at least 8 manufacturers producing them. Although several manufacturers updated their embossed bowl designs over time, Shepard was the only one to produce both a “one pier” (Type 1) and a “two pier” (Type 2) design, clearly marking the designs as pre-1909 and definitely post-1909, and for the latter, providing evidence for the earliest potential date of the spoon’s manufacture. To date, an example of a Type 1 bowl with a monogrammed date of 1906 provides the earliest “dated” evidence for the use of the Type 1 design.

Shepard matched their embossed teaspoon bowl designs with paired pre-1909 and post 1909 embossed bowl designs for their demitasse spoons.

[[File:Shepard Type 1.png|350px|thumbnail|left|<center>AVALON, SANTA CATALINA ISLAND<br>Shepard spoon bowl Type 1  <br> shows the earlier single main pier and includes the smaller western pier at the Bath House. The Hotel Metropole shows its distinctive post 1902 roofline. An early simple steamship in a relatively empty harbor is depicted. Only the very top of the Pavilion is shown in the left foreground.<br>Design likely ca. 1903-1905. <br>Appears on a spoon inscribed with a 1906 date.<br> [Harry Merrick]</center>]]

[[File:Shepard Type 2.png|350px|thumbnail|right|<center>AVALON, SANTA CATALINA ISLAND<br>Shepard spoon bowl Type 2 <br>scene is extremely detailed. It shows a post-1909 view with 2 main piers and the Bath House. The steamer is relatively more modern and a paddlewheel glass bottom boat is included. Numerous small boats are shown lining the shore. The Hotel Metropole is still featured.<br> Design post-1909, pre 1915.<br> [Harry Merrick] </center>]]

<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>


[[Media: Shepard Manufacturing Co.pdf|SHEPARD CATALOGUE: SOUVENIR SPOONS AND ENAMEL GOLD AND SILVER JEWELRY 1914]]


[[ADDITIONAL SHEPARD SANTA CATALINA ISLAND SPOONS NOT IN SCIF ARCHIVES]]


<h2 id="mp-tfa-h2" style="margin:3px; background:#3B9661; font-size:120%; font-weight:bold; border:1px solid #3B9661; text-align:left; color:#000000; padding:0.2em 0.4em;"></h2>


[[File:Painted bowl.png|650px|thumbnail|center|<center>AVALON, CATALINA ISLAND, CAL. (bowl)<br>Shepard painted spoon bowl  <br>  Shepard Mfg. Co. "Violets", March Birthday Spoon (catalogue p. 32)<br>Top: enameled violets<br>Reverse: plain<br> 5-⅝"<br>[original in SCIF archives; 2022.15.CK ex AK] </center>]]

[[File:Painted with enamel handle.png|650px|thumbnail|center|<center>AVALON, CATALINA ISLAND, CAL. (bowl)<br>Shepard painted spoon bowl  <br>  Shepard Mfg. Co. "Violets", March Birthday Spoon (catalogue p. 32)<br>Top: enameled violets<br>Reverse: plain<br> 5-⅝"<br>[original in SCIF archives; 2022.15.CK ex AK] </center>]]

[[File:5-½" Shepard type 1 $29.50.png|650px|thumbnail|center|<center>LOS ANGELES (stem); AVALON, SANTA CATALINA ISLAND (bowl)<br>Shepard embossed spoon bowl Type 1  <br>  Shepard Mfg. Co. (not in catalogue)<br>Top: grapes<br>Reverse: decorative edges; leaves<br> 5-1/2"<br>[original in SCIF archives; 2021.79] </center>]]


[[File:Shepard grapes.png|650px|thumbnail|center|<center>AVALON, SANTA CATALINA ISLAND. <br>Shepard embossed spoon bowl Type 1  <br>  Shepard Mfg. Co. (not in catalogue)<br>Top: grapes<br>Reverse: grapes <br> 5-⅛ "<br>[original in SCIF archives: Kwiat Collection; 2021.23.AK] </center>]]

[[File: Shepard tuna .png|650px|thumbnail|center|<center>AVALON, SANTA CATALINA ISLAND.  <br>Shepard embossed spoon bowl Type 1  <br>  Shepard Mfg. Co. (not in catalogue) <br>Top: Sugar Loaf; tuna<br>5-¾" tea spoon  <br> pre-1909 <br>[original in SCIF archives: 2021.96]<br>This “Tuna” spoon is '''one of their two earliest Catalina designs'''. Only the obverse is decorated with Catalina themes, a tuna and Sugarloaf Rock. The reverse is undecorated save for some decorative flourishes and scrollwork along the edges of the spoon. The spoon is marked with Shepard’s earlier “S” mark, reportedly in use as late as about 1906. The Avalon scene in the Type 1 bowl design features buildings and elements present in Avalon only after mid 1902. Thus a design date of ca. late 1902 to ca. early 1906 seems likely for this spoon. A “1906” monogram date has also been observed on an example of this spoon. [Harry Merrick]
</center>]]

[[File:Shepard Grizzly.png|650px|thumbnail|center|<center>AVALON, SANTA CATALINA ISLAND. <br>Shepard embossed spoon bowl Type 1  <br>  Shepard Mfg. Co. No.  10, Cat. p. 16<br>Top: grizzly; CALIFORNIA; grapes; fruit<br>Reverse: plain <br> 5-⅜" teaspoon<br>[original in SCIF archives: Haffey Family Collection; 2020.1.H1]</center>]]

[[File:Sheoard 5".png|650px|thumbnail|center|<center>AVALON, SANTA CATALINA ISLAND. <br>Shepard embossed spoon bowl Type 1 <br>  Shepard Mfg. Co. No. 17, Cat. p. 16 <br>Top: EUREKA; oranges; STATE CAPITOL; CALIFORNIA<br>Reverse: MISSION GARDEN; bell; CLIFF HOUSE; OIL WELL; grapes <br> 5-½" teaspoon<br>[original in SCIF archives: Kwiat Collection; 2020.47.AK]</center>]]

[[File:Shepard -33.png|650px|thumbnail|center|<center>AVALON, SANTA CATALINA ISLAND. <br>Shepard embossed spoon bowl Type 1 <br>  Shepard Mfg. Co. No. 33 "Five o'clock Tea", Cat. p. 10   <br>Top: art deco pattern<br>Reverse: art deco pattern <br> 5-⅜"<br>[original in SCIF archives: Kwiat Collection; 2021.25.AK]</center>]]

[[File:Shepard No. 42.png|650px|thumbnail|center|<center> AVALON, SANTA CATALINA ISLAND. <br>Shepard embossed spoon bowl Type 1 <br>  Shepard Mfg. Co. No. 42 "Poppy", Cat. p. 10 <br> 5-¼" teaspoon <br>[original in SCIF archives: 2020.52]</center>]]

[[File:Shepard tuna.png|650px|thumbnail|center|<center> AVALON, SANTA CATALINA ISLAND. <br>Shepard embossed spoon bowl Type 1 <br>  Shepard Mfg. Co. No. 104 , Cat. p. 14  <br>Top: figural fish on a wave <br>Reverse: SUGAR LOAF; GLASS BOTTOM BOAT; SEAL ROCK; shell, seaweed, starfish<br> verso bowl engraved "Anna '08" <br>5-⅞" teaspoon, <br>[original in SCIF archives; 2021.18.AK]<br> This is a '''very early Shepard’s Catalina souvenir spoon'''. The figural fish design was a stock spoon design and appears in Shepard’s 1914 catalog (p.13), listed in a coffee spoon size, with undecorated back, as “#104 Coffee”.  The reverse design featuring three very popular early Catalina attractions was specifically created for the Catalina tourist market.  The design date for the reverse is certainly post July 1903 when the ''Cleopatra'' first began its service at Catalina, but the appearance of a prominent smoke stack on the ''Cleopatra'' suggests a 1904, or even a bit later, date for the design of the spoon’s reverse. [Harry Merrick] </center>]]

[[File:Painted Shepard 104.png|650px|thumbnail|center|<center> AVALON, SANTA CATALINA ISLAND. <br>Shepard embossed spoon bowl Type 1 <br>  Shepard Mfg. Co. No. 104 , Cat. p. 14  <br>Extremely rare painted over embossed bowl. <br>Top: figural fish on a wave <br>Reverse: SUGAR LOAF; GLASS BOTTOM BOAT; SEAL ROCK; shell, seaweed, starfish <br>5-⅞" teaspoon, <br>[original in SCIF archives: Kwiat Colleciton; 2022.11.AK]</center>]]

[[File:104 fish.png|650px|thumbnail|center|<center> AVALON, SANTA CATALINA ISLAND. <br>Shepard embossed spoon bowl Type 2 <br>  Shepard Mfg. Co. No. 104 , Cat. p. 14  <br>Top: figural fish on a wave <br>Reverse: SUGAR LOAF; GLASS BOTTOM BOAT; SEAL ROCK; shell, seaweed, starfish <br>5-⅞" teaspoon, <br>[original in SCIF archives: Kwiat Collection; 2021.60.AK]</center>]]


[[File:Old Ben Type 1.png|650px|thumbnail|center|<center> AVALON, SANTA CATALINA ISLAND. <br>Shepard embossed spoon bowl Type 1 <br>  Shepard Mfg. Co. "Old Ben" <br>CATALINA ISLAND (stem) <br>Top: OLD BEN; starfish and shells<br>Reverse: Old Ben; SUGAR LOAF; GLASS BOTTOM BOAT; FLYING FISH  <br>5-⅝" teaspoon, <br>[original in SCIF archives: Kwiat Collection; 2021.46.AK]<br>This “Old Ben” Shepard Mfg. Co. “Catalina Island” is a themed spoon with an Avalon scene embossed bowl featuring a figural sea lion, identified as “Old Ben”, as the handle’s terminal. “Old Ben” was a celebrity sea lion who entertained Avalon’s visitors for over two decades (ca 1898 - ca.1924). Initially habituated to humans by fishermen who fed him an occasional fish, he became a regular summer season beggar on the Avalon waterfront.  He appeared on postcards and even in a 1914 movie, “Sea Nymphs”.  Among other things, his popularity and notoriety earned him a statue in Avalon (1975) as well as appearances on several different souvenir spoons manufactured by the Shepard Mfg. Co., the Watson Co. and C.M. Robbins. Old Ben’s image appears atop the handle, above a collection of starfish and seashells. The stem features “Catalina Island” and the bowl displays a Shepard “Type 1” embossed Avalon scene.  The reverse shows Old Ben atop images of “Sugar Loaf”, a “Glass Bottom Boat” (likely the Empress), a “Flying Fish” and flowers, possibly poppies? The appearance of an “Empress-like” glass bottom boat suggests a design date post mid 1906. [Harry Merrick]</center>]]


[[File:Old Ben Type 2.png|650px|thumbnail|center|<center> AVALON, SANTA CATALINA ISLAND. <br>Shepard embossed spoon bowl Type 2 <br>  Shepard Mfg. Co. "Old Ben" <br>CATALINA ISLAND (stem) <br>Top: OLD BEN; starfish and shells<br>Reverse: Old Ben; SUGAR LOAF; GLASS BOTTOM BOAT; FLYING FISH  <br>5-⅝" teaspoon, <br>[original in SCIF archives: Kwiat Collection; 2021.47.AK] <br>At some point during the second decade of the 20th century Shepard began applying their later Type 2 embossed Avalon scene bowl to this design as well.  After Shepard ceased operation (1923), the Watson Co., using the Shepard dies, continued to produce these spoons, but without the Avalon scene embossed bowl. [Harry Merrick]</center>]]


[[File: Shepard fork spoon.png|550px|thumbnail|center|<center> "CALIFORNIA" <br>  handle verso engraved 9-20-14<br>  Maker: Shepard Cal. Fork No. 12 <br>Length: 6-⅛"  [original in SCIF archives: 2022.5a & b] </center>]]


[[File:Watson fork shepard spoon.png|650px|thumbnail|center|<center>CATALINA ISLAND <br>Watson fork and matching Shepard tea spoon <br> Top: Sugar Loaf; steamer; flying fish<br> Reverse: SEAL ROCKS; glass-bottom boat; tuna<br> Watson Fork 3-part hallmark<br>fork 5-⅞ inches<br>Shepard  tea spoon AVALON, SANTA CATALINA ISLAND embossed bowl Type 2<br>5-½ inches<br>[original in SCIF archives: Kwiat Collection fork and tea spoon] <br>Historian Harry Merrick theorizes that when Shepard went out of business in 1923, Watson acquired some of their Catalina dies, or the rights to the designs, and continued producing those designs, but now marked with Watson marks.</center>]]


<h2 id="mp-tfa-h2" style="margin:3px; background:#3B9661; font-size:120%; font-weight:bold; border:1px solid #3B9661; text-align:left; color:#000000; padding:0.2em 0.4em;"></h2>

[[File:Shepard? enamel sealions.png|650px|thumbnail| center|<center>SANTA CATALINA, CAL.<br>probable Shepard<br>Enameled handle with California Sea Lions; engraved bowl<br>3-⅞"<br>[original in SCIF archives; 2022.17] </center>]]

[[File:Screen Shot 2022-07-29 at 10.59.26 AM.png|650px|thumbnail| center|<center>SANTA CATALINA, CAL.<br>probable Shepard<br>Enameled handle with California Sea Lions; engraved bowl<br>3-⅞"<br>[original in SCIF archives; 2022.17] </center>]]

[[File:Shepard Demi Type 1.png|350px|thumbnail|left|<center>Shepard demitasse spoon bowl Type 1  <br> shows the earlier single main pier and includes the smaller western pier at the Bath House. The Hotel Metropole shows an early pre-1902 roofline prior to construction of the East Wing dormers. An early simple steamship in a relatively empty harbor is depicted. Only the very top of the Pavilion is shown in the left foreground.<br>Pre-1909; perhaps as early as pre-1903. <br> Note: The teaspoon size Type 1 design clearly shows the dormers on the eastern wing, suggesting that the demi design may have preceded the first teaspoon sized embossed bowl design. [Harry Merrick]</center>]]

[[File:Shepard demi Type 2.png|350px|thumbnail|right|<center>Shepard demitasse spoon bowl Type 2 <br>scene is extremely detailed. It shows a post-1909 view with 2 main piers and the Bath House. The steamer is relatively more modern and a paddlewheel glass bottom boat is included. Numerous small boats are shown lining the shore. The Hotel Metropole is still featured.<br> Design post-1909, pre 1915.<br> [Harry Merrick] </center>]]


[[File:Shepard Haffey 16.png|650px|thumbnail|center|<center>AVALON, SANTA CATALINA ISLAND.  <br>Shepard embossed demitasse spoon bowl Type 1  <br>  Shepard Mfg. Co., not in catalogue <br>Top: SUGAR LOAF; TUNA<br> 4-⅜" coffee spoon  <br> pre-1909 <br>[original in SCIF archives: Haffey Family Collection; 2020.16.H16]</center>]]


[[File:Shepard 2022.32.png|650px|thumbnail|center|<center>AVALON, SANTA CATALINA ISLAND.  <br>Shepard embossed demitasse spoon '''bowl Type 1'''  <br>  Shepard Mfg. Co. No. 10 Cal. Coffee, Cat. p. 16<br>Top: EUREKA; oranges; STATE CAPITOL; bear flag; CALIFORNIA  <br>Reverse: MISSION GARDEN; bell; CLIFF HOUSE; OIL WELL; grapes <br> 4-⅛"  <br> pre-1909 <br>[original in SCIF archives; 2022.32]</center>]]


[[File:Screen Shot 2021-05-23 at 8.15.01 PM.png|650px|thumbnail|center|<center>AVALON, SANTA CATALINA ISLAND.  <br>Shepard embossed demitasse spoon '''bowl Type 2'''  <br>  Shepard Mfg. Co. No. 10 Cal. Coffee, Cat. p. 16<br>Top: EUREKA; oranges; STATE CAPITOL; bear flag; CALIFORNIA  <br>Reverse: MISSION GARDEN; bell; CLIFF HOUSE; OIL WELL; grapes <br> 4-⅛"  <br> post-1909 <br>[original in SCIF archives; 2021.2]</center>]]


[[File:104 Shepard.png|650px|thumbnail|center|<center>AVALON, SANTA CATALINA ISLAND. <br>Shepard embossed demitasse spoon '''bowl Type 1'''  <br> Shepard Mfg. Co. No. 104 "Fish" pattern, Cat. p. 14   <br> 4" coffee spoon <br>[original in SCIF archives: Kwiat Collection]</center>]]


[[File:Shepard 120.png|650px|thumbnail|center|<center>AVALON, SANTA CATALINA ISLAND. <br>Shepard embossed demitasse spoon '''bowl Type 1'''  <br> Shepard Mfg. Co. No. 120 "Poppy" pattern, Cat. p. 14   <br> 4-¼" coffee spoon <br> pre-1909 <br>[original in SCIF archives: Haffey Family Collection; 2020.21.H21]</center>]]


[[File:Shepard demitasse.png|650px|thumbnail|center|<center>AVALON, SANTA CATALINA ISLAND.  <br>Shepard embossed demitasse spoon '''bowl Type 2'''  <br>  Shepard Mfg. Co. No. 120 "Poppy" pattern, Cat. p. 14   <br> 4-¼ inch coffee spoon <br> post-1909 <br>[original in SCIF archives; 2019.1]</center>]]