Asa Blanchard Silver Julep Cup, ca. 1820
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GUEST:
Well, this is a silver baby cup that was made by a silversmith named Asa Blanchard. I understand he worked out of Lexington, Kentucky, and is credited with inventing the julep cup. This cup was originally given to a man named Johnny Brand in 1820 and was handed down to people in my family. You can read "Elizabeth Brand Higgins," "Elizabeth Brand Higgins Mitchell," and then "Elizabeth Brand Monroe," who then gifted it to me and my son just a year ago.
APPRAISER:
He is considered one of the earliest makers of the julep cup. The first reference to a mint julep actually occurs in about 1785 in a book which talks about home remedies. And the julep is considered a remedy for stomach ailments. You hold it by the edges, because of the cup being made of silver, traditionally, or occasionally pewter. You don't want to transfer the heat to the drink. And what you have is not really a mint julep cup any longer. It's been modified, as you mentioned, into a baby cup. So it has the addition of this handle. As a mint julep cup, it would have never had a handle. Asa Blanchard was working 1808 to 1838, but the handle could have been added when this first monogram was added on there, which I believe is 1882?
GUEST:
'82, yeah.
APPRAISER:
What is interesting about the history of the mint julep is that it started, we think, in Virginia, became very popular quickly, and moved to other areas, particularly Kentucky. But it was also popular in a lot of bars up and down the East Coast, and is referenced in a couple of historical travel documents and publications written by the British and Europeans. And in one of those travel books, it actually says that one of the few things worthwhile about going to the Americas is to sample the mint julep. Henry Clay, the senator from Kentucky, is given credit for making the mint julep popular, as he brought it to Washington, D.C. in the 19th century, introduced it to the Willard Hotel, and then spread to most other bars where rich and wealthy and powerful men had cocktails.
GUEST:
Okay.
APPRAISER:
He is the best silversmith as far as mint julep cups go, and what every collector of Southern mint julep cups wants is a piece by Asa Blanchard. If this were to come to market today, even with the addition of the handle and the personalized family monograms, you would probably expect it to bring around $6,000 at auction.
GUEST:
All right, wow. Yeah.
APPRAISER:
Maybe another $1,000 if it didn't have the handle.
GUEST:
Okay.
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