Collection of 48 souvenir and demitasse spoons including 43 marked "Sterling". 30 of the spoons are from various cities and monuments around the United States, including 2 Lookout Mountain, Chattanooga, Tennessee, and 1 Grant's Tomb, New York City; 6 from various countries, including 2 Havana or Habana, Cuba, 1 Versailles, France, 2 from Canada, and 1 possibly from Egypt; 5 from American World's Fairs, including 3 World's Columbian Exposition, held May 1-October 30, 1893, 1 Louisiana Purchase Exposition, held April 30-December 1, 1904, and 1 New York World's Fair, April 30-October 27, 1940; 3 related to Christopher Columbus; and 4 assorted including 1 depicting President William McKinley (1843-1901) 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until his assassination in 1901 and 1 with a possible English heraldic crest. Some with enamel or gilt decorations, 1 spoon with a mother of pearl bowl. Ranging in size from 4" to 6 1/8" L. Combined weighable sterling: 28.735 total troy ounces. Late 19th to mid 20th century. Provenance: The collection of Gary Glesser of Loudon, Tennessee, by descent from his grandparents, Captain Hoyt and Rachel Holton of Toledo, Ohio. Hoyt Holton became, at age 17, the youngest captain of a Great Lakes Freighter. In the 1960s, Captain Holton participated in a 26-day Admiral Byrd Society trip replicating the explorer's famous transpolar expedition, during which he met the Pope and Soviet Premier Nikita Kruschev. Many items in the collection were brought back as souvenirs from that journey and other frequent voyages.

PROVENANCE: See description for provenance information.

CONDITION: Overall good condition with normal surface wear.