Aiken and Coon Retailed Antique Coin Silver Pie Server, Cleveland, OH, c. 1850s

This lovely server in the classic Fiddle Thread pattern, the name based on the shape of the handle bordered with a thread design that appears on both sides. The front of the handle is engraved with the name 'Sacket.' The blade is beautifully engraved with a foliage scene surrounding a pair of swans in a pond.

This rare server was sold by the partnership of Charles Grant Aiken and Jeremiah Coon from Cleveland. Aiken worked for Cleveland jeweler N. E. Crittenden and was in partnership with Jeremiah Coon during the 1850s. By the 1860 directory, he lists himself as a 'Gentleman' or retired from the trade. (1) Aiken & Coon advertised "GOOD JEWELRY, Solid Silver Tea Spoons, solid silver ware of all kinds, a great variety of GOLD AND SILVER WATCHES," as far afield as St. Paul, MN, noting "Goods ordered from distant places will be packed in the most careful manner," while listing their address as 47 Weddell House, Cleveland, Ohio. (2) Weddell House was the premier hotel in Cleveland at the time and Abraham Lincoln spoke from the balcony there during his inaugural trip to Washington. (3)

Aiken & Coon sold silver by New York makers including Albert Coles, who may have made this piece. The blade is also similar to pieces from the Boston partnership of Farrington & Hunnewell.

This wonderful server is marked 'AIKEN & COON'. It measures 9.75 inches long, weighs 3.45 troy ounces and is in very good antique condition.

Endnotes:

1. William Erik Voss, American Silversmiths website, see here, last accessed 5/12/2020.
2. Advertisement in The Daily Minnesota Pioneer, July 7, 1855, p. 2, col. 6.
3. Heidi Fearing, "Waddell House / Rockefeller Building" at clevelandhistorical.org see here, last accessed 5/12/2020.