Lebolt Hand Made Sterling Silver Flatware Set - 184 Pcs

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Lebolt Hand Made Sterling Silver Flatware Set - 184 Pcs

About the Item

Being offered is a fine and large 184 piece set of circa 1925-1931 handwrought sterling silver flatware by Lebolt, of Chicago, IL, in a moderne arts and crafts motif, each piece handhammered. The terminus of each stem has a raised oblong, gourdlike contour, the 'dimple' aesthetically important in the design. Total weighable (excludes luncheon and dinner knives) silver 190 ozs. No monogram. Marked as illustrated in photo. In excellent, if not mint condition. (Seller purchased the set which was in the original wraps. Seller is able to date the set pursuant to the State Street and 5th Avenue addresses on the felts.) Please see below for a listing of the pieces and some history about the maker, Lebolt.

LEBOLT, Chicago, circa 1925-31 ,handmade, sterling silver flatware 184 piece set includes:

14 Place Pieces per 12 Place Settings

12 dinner forks 9 1/2 inches
12 lunch knives 8 1/4 inches
12 dinner forks 7 3/4 inches
12 lunch forks 7 1/4 inches
12 salad/dessert forks 6 3/8 inches
12 cocktail/seafood forks 5 3/8 inches
12 flat butter knives 5 5/8 inches
12 teaspoons 5 7/8 inches
12 sorbet/icecream/dessert spoons 5 1/4 inches
12 parfait/iced teaspoons 7 5/8 inches
12 gumbo spoons 7 inches
12 cream - bouillon spoons 5 7/8 inches
12 grapefruit/orange spoons 6 inches
12 demitasse spoons 4 5/16 inches

Serving Pieces

Gravy/sauce ladle 6 1/2 inches
Asparagus server 8 7/8 inches
Salad set - fork and spoon - 9 1/4 inches
Large serving spoon 9 1/8 inches
Tomato server 8 7/8 inches
Pie/cake server 9 1/2 inches
Four (4) tablespoon servers 8 1/4 inches
Five (5) piece carving set includes:
Large carving knife 14 3/4 inches
Smaller carving knife 11 7/8 inches
Large fork 11 3/4 inches
Smaller fork 10 1/4 inches
Knife sharpener 13 3/4 inches

From Chicago Metalsmiths by Sharon Darling:

J. Myer Lebolt had no background as a metalsmith but encouraged hand craftsmanship in Chicago by installing workrooms to supply merchandise for his retail jewelry store. The workshop began operation around 1912, perhaps taking as its model the Marshall Field & Company Craft Shop which had opened just a few years earlier. Like Marshall Field, its neighbor on State Street, Lebolt & Company aimed at a broad clientele by offering moderately priced, custom goods in current styles. Over-the-counter sales reduced costs and justified advertising campaigns boasting prices "fully 25 percent below those asked elsewhere for wrought silver of less excellence."

Lebolt & Company developed its own lines of heavy hammered silver tea and coffee services, a plain hammered flatware pattern, holloware, and fine jewelry. After the war, when homemakers again fancied traditional styles, Lebolt offered tea and coffee services in over thirty different patterns, ranging from Gothic and Louis XV with delicate chasing, to less pretentious rounded or geometric forms. Bowls, pitchers, compotes, goblets, smoking accessories, and children's silver could be had in great variety. The firm also made many presentation pieces, succeeding Robert Jarvie in creating trophies for Chicago livestock shows.

Brisk sales meant steady work for the corps of about twenty-five designers and craftsmen assembled in the company workshop, situated on the fifth floor of an adjacent office building. During the 1920s, the firm employed at least four silversmiths, two polishers, expert goldsmiths, platinumsmiths, chasers, and stone cutters and setters. Surprisingly, this busy group lagged behind another department in supplying merchandise for the store. Lebolt became the city's largest importer of Oriental pearls, hiring a staff of women to match the tiny gems and string them into necklaces. The company retailed its silverware and pearl necklaces in Chicago and New York earning the nickname of "the House of Pearls." Lebolt abandoned hand metalworking during World War II when the government imposed metal rationing. The firm also closed its New York outlet at this time, but has since expanded to its present ownership of five stores in Chicago and two in Milwaukee.

Lebolt & Company. 167 S. State, (1899-1907). Founded by J. Myer H. Lebolt (1868-1944). 101 S. State in the Palmer House, 1907-25; 27 N. State, 1925-31; 31 N. State, 1932-35; 33 N. State, 1935-59, the latter three all being in the Columbian Building; 119 N. Wabash, 1959-60; 35 N. State, 1961 to the present*. Retail branches at 656 Fifth Avenue, New York, 1924-42, and at 8 Rue Lafayette, Paris, c.1910-c.1960.

The Lebolt family traces a long lineage in Chicago's jewelry business, beginning with Lazarus (1832-1907), who came to Chicago from France as a young man. His son, J. Myer, was employed as a jewelry buyer by Rothschild & Co. before establishing his own company in 1899 with the assistance of two brothers, Nathan and Joseph. The business is presently carried on by the founder's son, John M. Lebolt.

(*present means 1977)

Materials and Techniques:
Sterling Silver,Hand-Crafted
Place of Origin:
United States
Date of Manufacture:
1925-1931
Condition:
Seller Location:
New York, NY
Reference Number:
1stDibs: U1104308558553