Looking at a Fork

I have a thing for old stuff. I’ve always gravitated toward the antique and especially the quirky odd bits that seem to have a story buried at their core. I rescued a steamer trunk that my Great-Great-Grandfather used when he made the trip from Ireland to the USA. The trunk was abandoned in my Grandmother’s basement and as she was preparing to toss it, I laid claim at the age of 12. I’m surprised my parents allowed me to put it in the car! Other odd pieces include a book-end that I found covered in grease in the back of a body shop. It was so disgusting that my mother made me pick it up with a piece of newspaper. Under all that ick was a beautifully varnished chunk of a Redwood tree with the bark as an ornamental feature. Over the years I’ve found many strange treasures. I still have the trunk and the book-end thought there are other items that I’ve let go…

So I was rummaging through a bin at the local Goodwill store and found a really cool item. It is a fork. But not just a fork, because it has three prongs in steel with a wooden handle with pewter inlay. I’m pretty sure this was a child’s eating utensil from the Civil War era. It might have been carried by a soldier since it is more compact than a regular adult sized fork and the soldiers had to provide their own utensils up until 1870! I cleaned it up and took a couple photos. I compared it to my carving fork from the same era that has steel prongs and knife guard with wire windings around the wooden handle (which I’m pretty sure has been replaced at least once). And yes, I have used the meat carving fork! BTW these are not to scale as the top one is only as long as the wooden handle for the carving fork.