Object of the Day, Museum Edition: A Set of Commemorative Brass Teaspoons, 1851

Souvenir Teaspoons
Brass, 1851
The Victoria & Albert Museum

Just like china, tins and handkerchiefs, spoons are a traditional British souvenir which have been made to commemorate everything from coronations to the Frost Fairs, held on the ice when the River Thames froze, and memorials of wars and plagues.


This set of brass spoons is an example of the wide array of souvenirs which were produced for the Great Exhibition of 1851. The spoons are decorated with a view of the Crystal Palace—the home of the Great Exhibition which was designed by Sir Joseph Paxton (1801-1865), a horticulturalist, garden designer and architect. The Crystal Palace was erected in Hyde Park, London, over a space of 18 acres. It was built from sheet glass, wood and metal and received much praise when it was opened to the public on May 1, 1851.

Souvenirs such as this would have been priced reasonably and would have been the perfect memento for middleclass visitors to the Exhibition. Though many were produced, few examples of these spoons survive.