An American silver tablespoon, Paul Revere, Jr., Boston, circa 1790

with downward turned rounded-end handle, the terminal engraved with contemporary monogram SSP

Samuel Parkman (1751-1824), m. Sarah Rogers (1755-1835), to their daughter
Elizabeth Willard Parkman (1785-1853), to her son
Quincy Adams Shaw (1826-1908)
Thence by descent to present owner

good condition
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Kane lists several pieces engraved with the initials SSP for Samuel and Sarah Parkman in her catalog Colonial Massachusetts Silversmiths and Jewelers, 1998, pp. 818-841. Listed are three tablespoons (sold Christie's, June 22, 1994, lot 66), a tablespoon (sold Sotheby's, January 28-31, 1987, lot 288), two ladles, a pair of sugar tongs (Worcester Art Museum, 1965, no. 14), and a teaspoon (Chrysler Museum). A pair of teaspoons also engraved with the same initials are in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, see Kathryn C. Buhler, American Silver 1655-1825 in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, no. 397, p. 448.

Samuel and Sarah Parkman's grandson, Quincy Adams Shaw, was a substantial businessman, having invested in copper mining, and an important figure in Boston society. He was born in in Boston in 1825 and named for his father's friend John Quincy Adams. Educated at Harvard, he lived in Paris in the 1850s, where he became part of the artistic world and began collecting. He bought Old Master paintings and Renaissance sculpture, but concentrated on the then contemporary French school, particularly the works of Jean-François Millet. In the course of his life he acquired 26 paintings, 27 pastels and three etchings by Millet. He later became a major benefactor of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.  In 1894, he gave the MFA, Boston a substantial gift of Old Master drawings.  After his death and that of his wife in 1917, Shaw’s Millet collection also was transferred to the museum. His children continued in his footsteps so that there are now more than 100 items in the Museum of Fine Arts collection with the Quincy Adams Shaw provenance. For a biographical notice see the exhibition catalogue Quincy Adams Shaw Collection. Italian Renaissance Sculpture. Paintings and Pastels by Jean Francois Millet, Boston, 1908, pages 1-4.