Australiana tea spoons
made in England 1930s
These 30s tea spoons are by turns nationalistic, kitsch, and utterly adorable.
The spoons are silver plated [ESPN] and very unusual- I haven’t found anything like them in my retro hunting travels.
Each spoon is unique- very unusual for the 1930s; the spoon heads feature different Australian animals- koala, merino sheep, kangaroo, lyre bird, kookaburra and emu; – and the handles are asymmetrical, fashioned to resemble a branch and being adorned with boomerangs and either a kookaburra or a koala.
And then the spoon bowls are all the same, as if the crazy handle was quite enough. Nationalism is all very well, but one must have a precise measure of sugar for one’s tea!
wow these are cool love the kangaroo!
ha! yes- the kangaroo is sort of straddling that branch!- looks potentially painful…
I do so love Aussie kitsch and these are a wonderful example!
ab-sol-utely! kitsch as all get-out. nice to know that kitsch existed in the 30s though. i thought maybe it was a 50s invention…. …. ….