Silver caddy Spoons by Newlyn School 1910
Amazingly the Society has been in existance for 60 years, in that time no one has recorded finding a Caddy Spoon from the Newlyn School. Well there are now three known examples. The first one was purchased on 4th September 2021 in a local auction house, the problem was that the enamel jewel was missing. The spoon was London Assayed in 1910, by Reginald Thomas Dick it was also marked NEWLYN on the back of the spoon, and the ornament was also marked "Newlyn Enamel"
In February 2023, another Newlyn Caddy Spoon appeared on the market. This one had its Enamel intact. Again it was by Reginald Thomas Dick and was hallmarked London 1910. Then in July 2023, in an auction house in Carmarthen another Newlyn Caddy Spoon appered, this one was again by Reginald Thomas Dick, dated London 1910, It however had a bifurcated handle, and again the enamel had been lost.
The Newlyn Industrial Class, was an offshoot of the Newlyn School of Art, established in 1890. The intention of the founders was to provide a second reliable source of income for the Newlyn fishermen in the times when they could not go fishing. There were several offshoots, painting, ceramics, jewellery, copperwork and enamel work. There are not many silver items surviving from the Newlyn School, all are by Dick.
Reginald Thomas Dick was born on 8th July 1868 in Ramsgate, Kent, the son of Lt Colonel C.T. Dick. He moved to Newlyn with his wife Ellen in 1899 via the Birmingham School of Art where he learned enamelling. Dick was responsible for teaching jewellery design and enamelling to the students using the same workshop as the coppersmiths. He died on 24th April 1941 aged 72,
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