I have seen this spoon on two occasions. One on e-bay and one offered to me by a French collector around a year ago. It would not be suprised if absinthe spoons were made int he US etc...the sheer volume would require so...intertesting piece though...

By Oxygenee on Wednesday, January 10, 2001 - 05:37 pm: Edit

Further to the Brother Spiritus' recent post, I recently found what seems to be an unrecorded antique absinthe spoon MADE IN THE USA. It's silverplated, and has the maker's mark of Reed & Barton, one of the biggest 19th century silversmiths (and still going strong today). It's additionally stamped on the back "Cafe Lafayette, N.Y.". The pattern seems to be a variant of the "Les Croix" style.

I'm waiting for feedback from a US silverplate expert to date it precisely (variations in the Reed & Barton maker's mark indicate the year), but it seems to be early 1900's.

Has anyone else seen a similar spoon, or any other US made spoons? What about other areas - say the former French colonies: I'd expect spoons were made locally in at least some of these areas, as absinthe was certainly drunk in quantity.