Ladle
INSCRIPTION: Initials “LID” (script) engraved on face of handle.
MARK: Struck “N. VERNON” within an intaglio serrated rectangle on reverse of handle.
MAKER: Nathaniel Vernon (1777-1843) worked in Charleston from 1801 until about 1835. The first documentation of him is an 1801 newspaper announcement that he had taken over the silversmith and jewelry business of Daniel Carrell and would operate under the name of Nathaniel Vernon & Co. In 1806 he began to advertise under his own name and mark his silver “N. VERNON”. Advertisements published during the 1820s indicate that Vernon sold a wide variety of stock, including many imports from Europe and the American North. He worked as late as 1835 at several locations in Charleston and died 4 October 1843. See E. Milby Burton, “South Carolina Silversmiths 1690-1860 (Charleston, SC: Charleston Museum, 1967).
FORM: Large ladles such as this were popular for serving punch. The manufacture of small objects such as this comprised a large part of every silversmith’s business.
