Designer: William Spratling (1900 – 1967)

Item: Letter Opener

Manufactured by: William Spratling

Country of origin: Mexico

Year made: Between 1951 and 1956

Materials: Sterling Silver and Rosewood

Dimensions: ¼” x 7 ¾” x 2 ¼”

Condition: Very good. The tip of the blade has some very slight roughness.

Description: Here is an important and well documented later design of Spratling for a letter opener, made of sterling silver with a rosewood handle. This design post-dates his travels to Alaska in the late 1940s where he spent considerable time with Native Americans teaching silver-smithing techniques as part of a US Government financed program to produce American native crafts. This design dates from about 1950 and was produced into the early 1960s, but the hallmark used on this example dates this example to between 1951 and 1956. Based on the hallmark and the patina on this object we believe this to be an early example of the design from about 1951. We have seen a few other examples of this design come to market, usually with later hallmarks, and even so they are hard to find and command high prices.

References: Morrill, Penny, William Spratling and the Mexican Silver Renaissance, Harry Abrams and San Antonio Museum of Art (2002), page 191; FundacionCultural Televia, Spratling, FundacionCultural Televisa, A.C. (1987); Departamento de Arquitectura del Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes, El Arte en la Vida Diaria: Exposicion de Objetos de Buen Diseno Hechos en Mexico (1952)