Rare full figural of a farmer with pitchfork
The bowl also has an embossed bull roping scene and is engraved Dallas
The back of the spoon handle is shown below under wheat spoons

Corn and wheat are considered to be the staff of life. Several of the Midwestern states are highly dependent on their  corn and wheat crops. Since people in these areas were also good spoon collectors, we find a number of spoons dealing with these crops. A number of collectors specialize in corn and wheat spoons.

#1:A large corn finial on a twisted stem
#2:bowl engraved with "artesian well"
#3:bowl engraved with Des Moines, Iowa state capitol
#4:bowl is engraved "Iowa

Indians with corn motifs.

The Corn Palace-- Mitchell, South Dakota
is home to an annual extravaganza based upon corn
The building is decorated with corn themes

The left spoon is actually wheat. I know the wheat people are going to be mad at me, but I don't like the stuff, I don't eat it, and looking at the overgrown grass in my backyard reminds me of the stuff. I should be mowing it instead of playing with this web site.

The middle spoon covered both possibilities and contains a wheat and corn image

The right spoon is devoted to corn

This picture is very similar to the center spoon in the above photo, but it contains a sunflower below the wheat and corn. The variation on these spoons never ceases to amaze me.

Farmers are loading up a wagon with wheat. This is the reverse of the full farmer figural at the top of this exhibit. This spoon is also engraved xmas 1917 with initials, so I guess that it was a Christmas present.

Two more spoons with corn themes

This very large serving spoon (over 11"- 285mm) dates from the 1870's and features an engraved wheat stalk at the top of the handle. Note the unusual art nuevo engraving in the bowl and also note the unusual "ears" on the bowl. The tip of the quarter is also shown on the left side of the bowl.

Toledo, Ohio spoon with corn and a large onion (topped by a frog)
Toledo used to be called "frogtown"

I thought that this figural "peanut" spoon was cute. A few other variations also exist.

I didn't have anywhere else to put this interesting bowl of black's picking cotton, so for the time being it resides in this exhibit. The handle is marked "Alabama" and the city "Mobile" is hidden in the very bottom of the picture.

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