c1775 Coin Silver Spoons Richard Humphreys Philadelphia Founder of USA 1st HBCU

Description

Up for sale are three rare c1775 Coin Silver Spoons wrought by Richard Humpreys. Humphreys items are both rare a highly sought after. Auction results show a 2017 ,000 hammer price at Bonhams for a snuff box, a 2015 hammer price at Freeman’s Auction house of ,375 for a sugar caster. Antique Roadshow featured an appraisal of a Humpreys sugar bowl at ,000. So this is a rare opportunity to take ownership of an early Philadelphia historical item!
The three spoons are approx 5 1/4 inches long with a period “R S” monogram. On the reverse the spoons contain Humphreys early scripted “RH” maker marks. The backs of each bowl contain a beautiful shell design. The condition is remarkable for spoon almost 250 years old
Born in the West Indies, Richard Humphreys (1750-1832) was a Philadelphia Quaker silversmith that was hailed as one of the most artistic craftsmen of his time. He is known for his production of a silver hot water urn that was commissioned by the First Continental Congress in 1774 and presented to Charles Thomson (1729-1824), its first secretary. This historically significant hot water urn, which is presently in the Collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, is considered "the first monumental American expression of the Greek-inspired neoclassical style." Humphreys was also commissioned by George Washington on June 25, 1780 to make a tablespoon bearing his crest. Washington later gave the spoon to his wife, Martha Dandrige Custis Washington, and it was passed down through Washington's family until it was sold in 2005.
It is believed that Richard Humphreys took over renowned craftsman, Philip Syng, Jr.'s silver shop on Front Street, and later opened his own shop at "The Sign of the Coffee Pot." A successful and distinguished Philadelphia silversmith, Richard Humphreys also became one of the first trustees of the Mutual Assurance Company, where he fashioned this George I style caster, likely to replace a lost one from an earlier existing English set.