According to the donor, this coffee spoon was made from uniform buttons given to Mrs. Diana Phillips Bryan of Philadelphia, by a British officer quartered in her house during the Revolutionary War.

American wealth increased during the years after the Revolutionary War, and with it came a heightened interest in formal dining. Those affluent enough to afford larger homes and luxury goods also acquired an array of specialized utensils for social dining. One of the first of these forms to become popular was the fish slice, which was available in silver in England by the mid-eighteenth century. Also known as fish trowels, the first silver examples were flat triangular servers used interchangeably for fish, puddings, and cakes. This fish slice is engraved with the initials of Philip Grim (1766-1821), the son of the David Grim (1737-1826), the German-born proprietor of the Hessian Coffee House. The two men were partners as commission merchants by 1794, engaged in the coastal packet trade. As a successful merchant, Philip Grim certainly had ready access to fresh fish. Although silver fish slices were made by New York and Philadelphia silversmiths, Grim opted for one made in fashionable English fused plate.

This mustard spoon was given to the donor's mother, Marie Antoinette Baker Davis, on the occasion of her marriage to Fellows Davis, October 17, 1871.

The initials "PG" engraved on the front of the spoon stand for Peter Gansvoort, the original owner. It descended to Magdena Gansvoort and then to Maria Gansvoort Melville, the mother of the author Herman Melville. Maria passed it to her daughter Augusta Melville. It was given to the donor in 1929 by Charlotte Hoadler, a niece of Herman Melville.

These spoons were presented by the donor with the Commodore Perry silver service, however they are not part of the set.

This spoon belonged to Frances Augusta Beals(1815-1897), born in Boston, MA to William Beals (1785-1870) and Dorothy Whitney Beals (1797-1876). William Beals was the founder of the "Boston Post." Frances Augusta married George Baker (1818-1854) of Boston May 20, 1844 and was given this spoon at that time.

The Livingston family acquired silver in the United States and Paris. Robert R. Livingston himself owned several works made by prominent New York City silversmiths. As was the custom, the family's silver tableware, including this ladle, was marked with one of two variations of the Livingston crest. Interestly, the family used both an older Scottish motto "Si Je Puis" (If I Can) and then the subsquent "Spero Meliora" (I hope for better things). The use of heraldry distinguished the Livingston family as one of the oldest and grandest in New York.