The First Heritage Galleries & Auctioneers sale of silver, art glass and fine art included an entire session devoted to souvenir spoons.

More than 3,000 spoons were sold during the recent 652-lot session, and realized a total of $205,027, vastly exceeding initial estimates. Every spoon lot (and more than 95 percent of the entire auction) sold.

More than 1,500 bidders from around the world participated in the gallery’s two-day sale, which realized more than $1.22 million. A total of 115 bidders participated in the souvenir spoon session. The majority of successful winning bids were from Internet bids left on the company’s website. Winning bids from the floor and mailed absentee bidders tied for second-most-successful bid sources.

“There was a tremendous amount of presale interest in the souvenir spoons from collectors in both the US and abroad, which translated into the strong numbers generated during the sale,” said Bryan Abbott, director of acquisitions. “Bidding was especially competitive for the Hawaiian-themed spoons, coin spoons, Salem witch spoons, the enameled black Americana spoons and the Gorham round bowl lots. We are extremely pleased with the results, to say the least, and look forward to putting together another successful sale this coming fall.”

Prices reported include 15 percent buyer’s premium.

Heritage credits the attention given by spooner clubs and old-fashioned word-of-mouth for its success in its new venture into silver and souvenir spoons.