One of the things that I enjoy about spoon collecting is that it "brings history to life". I found this full figural spoon of a priest and it was labeled Pere Marquette. I hadn't heard of this man and since I am from California, I assumed that he was one of the fathers who helped found the California Missions.
Well, as with many assumptions, I was wrong. The encyclopedia tells us that Pere (Father) Jacques Marquette (1637 - 1675) was an early French Jesuit Missionary and explorer. He and Louis Joliet traced the Mississippi River, explored Lake Michigan, explored the Wisconsin area and parts of Canada and he made many contacts with the Indians of the region.
Front and Back views of the Pere Marquette figural spoon
Another Pere Marquette spoon with indians hiding behind a tree marked (1668--year when Father Marquette was doing exploration--the spoon was made in the 1890's)
Since I was totally unfamiliar with the history of this section of the United States, this spoon broadened my horizons. Since I have several spoons from Marquette, Michigan and Joliet, Illinois, I thought that it might be cute to show them here even though they are available elsewhere on this site.
Marquette,
Michigan courthouse
Joliet,
Illinois Courthouse
Marquette,
Michigan Library
Woman's
Prison, Joliet, Illinois
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