Fiddle back Georgian Spoon
Found in the op-shop cutlery box! I looked at photos of old coins of the period and included these in the work - tuppence and sixpence.
Fiddle Back Georgian Spoon – John Blake Silversmith (1827)
Nearly 200 years ago, from the
finest silver I was made and out of London I sailed. On a colony ship, in the
King’s service, we came to tame this land. Round the Horn we laboured and blown
by the roaring 40’s we finally landed at a dismal village by swamp named
Melbourne. On the Captains table and Officer’s mess my silver had reflected in
the candlelight. I came ashore and I passed into use on the sideboards of the
elite of the colony. Oh! the sights I have seen and the people I met who
admired my glow and used me well. But I was parted from my canteen mates,
stolen and pawned, abused and neglected.
Finally, I languished, bashed, battered and dented in the reject jar at
the Op Shop where you rescued me. A polish can restore my gleam, but not my
youth. Would that I could speak and tell you a tale or two!
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