Teaching children etiquette is an art, as well as, a science. These patented items below, are for teaching children how to eat properly and designed to instill good table manners. The patents show a historical standpoint of attempting to not only design but teach. And the rules still do matter today. Enjoy!
Oh... and for all those who have emailed me; Next post will be a continuation of the fabulously fickle, Miss May Van Alen, and her wild, Gilded Age romance saga.
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| These 2 forks were specifically designed to teach a child how to eat properly. You nay be thinking, "Those are simply 'youth-sized' forks." And they are youth sized forks, but looking on the back sides of them, tells another story... |
I have lightened the photo up a bit, so that you can see top one reads, "For the Left Hand". The lower fork has a "finger guide" for a child to place his or her finger into, though the artist at the time, drew the illustration with the wrong hand using the fork.
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A "child training fork" in the left hand  |
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| Eliza showing correct hands for the knife and fork, while still practicing technique. The plate below was designed with a variety of children added to the plate as it was made. All have marked where a child's fork and spoon would go, however the patent itself is vague. |
Though these spoons were not new, being marketed as "Etiquette Spoons" was new in the late 1800s.
