Rondo by Gorham Sterling Silver Flatware Set for 8 Service Luncheon 57 Pieces
About the Item
- Creator:Gorham Manufacturing Company (Maker)
- Dimensions:Height: 1 in (2.54 cm)Width: 1 in (2.54 cm)Depth: 1 in (2.54 cm)
- Sold As:Set of 57
- Materials and Techniques:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1951
- Condition:
- Seller Location:Big Bend, WI
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU102247355813
Gorham Manufacturing Company
For nearly 160 years, the Gorham Manufacturing Company turned out a wide range of beautiful silver flatware, tea sets, serving bowls and other silver pieces, indelibly influencing the field of decorative arts in ways that still resonate.
When silversmiths Jabez Gorham and Henry Webster started making coin silver teaspoons and jewelry out of a small workshop in Providence, Rhode Island, in 1831, the pair likely had no idea that their modest operation would one day become the largest silver manufacturer in the world.
While some name changes and personnel shifts preceded the foundry officially being established as Gorham Manufacturing Company decades later, growth of the business between its early days and the mid–19th century can largely be attributed to the work of Jabez’s son John, who assumed control of Gorham in the 1840s.
John Gorham introduced steam power at the manufactory. He entered into a partnership with Michael Gibney, the first American silversmith to register a design patent for a flatware pattern. Gorham wanted to expand the business, seeking to produce forks and spoons adorned with decorative flourishes adapted from British patterns. The company hammered out the silver flatware, which it sent to Gibney in New York to apply decorative patterns before returning to Gorham. Consequently, Gorham found Gibney’s work unsatisfactory, and he purchased his own rolling press to do the work himself.
The partnership between John and Michael soured but the company thrived. Sales grew to more than $20,000 per year, and the staff of silversmiths expanded. To keep up with demand, Gorham had to retire its horse-powered rolling press and import a steam-powered drop press from England — the first used in the United States. Designs created at Gorham drew on natural-world motifs as well as artistic traditions from all over the world — alongside its tableware, the company would soon be producing cups and pitchers adorned with polar bears and forest creatures, while tea services and other serving pieces were crafted in a range of styles that included Art Nouveau, Egyptian Revival and Rococo.
Around 1860, Gorham delved into bronze casting. When it opened a division dedicated to bronze work, Gorham collaborated with sculptors such as Daniel Chester French, Anna Hyatt Huntington and Alexander P. Proctor.
By the 1920s, Gorham had employed thousands of workers and had partnered with Danish modernist silversmith Erik Magnussen. However, the Great Depression ground production to a halt. The company was sold to Textron, Inc. in the late 1960s and it changed hands several times before it sold to Department 56 in 2005.
Today, the work of Gorham Manufacturing Company continues to be exhibited in galleries and museums. The RISD Museum in Providence houses a collection of nearly 5,000 works.
On 1stDibs, find a range of antique Gorham Manufacturing Company serveware and decorative objects.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: Big Bend, WI
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 7 days of delivery.
- Rondo by Gorham Sterling Silver Flatware Set for 12 Service Luncheon, 81 PiecesBy Gorham Manufacturing CompanyLocated in Big Bend, WIRondo by Gorham sterling silver flatware set of 81 pieces. This set includes: 12 knives, 8 7/8", 12 forks, 7 1/4", 12 salad forks, 6 3/4", 12 teaspoons, 5 7/8", 12 cream soup s...Category
Mid-20th Century Sterling Silver
MaterialsSterling Silver
- Rondo by Gorham Sterling Silver Flatware Set Luncheon 12 Service 81 PiecesBy Gorham Manufacturing CompanyLocated in Big Bend, WIRondo by Gorham sterling silver flatware set of 81 pieces. This set includes: 12 knives, 8 7/8", 12 forks, 7 1/4", 12 salad forks, 6 3/4", 12 teas...Category
Mid-20th Century Tableware
MaterialsSterling Silver
- Rondo by Gorham Sterling Silver Flatware Set for 8 Service 32 PiecesBy Gorham Manufacturing CompanyLocated in Big Bend, WIRondo by Gorham sterling silver Flatware set, 32 pieces. This set includes eight knives, 8 7/8", eight forks, 7 1/4", eight salad forks, 6 3/4", e...Category
20th Century Tableware
MaterialsSterling Silver
- Rondo by Gorham Sterling Silver Flatware Set Service 45 PiecesBy Gorham Manufacturing CompanyLocated in Big Bend, WIBeautiful Rondo by Gorham sterling silver flatware set - 45 Pieces. This set includes: Eight knives, 9". Eight forks, 7 1/4". Eight salad forks, 6 3/4...Category
Vintage 1950s American Sterling Silver
MaterialsSterling Silver
- Rondo by Gorham Sterling Silver Flatware Set for 12 Service 48 PiecesBy Gorham Manufacturing CompanyLocated in Big Bend, WIRondo by Gorham sterling silver flatware set, 48 Pieces. This set includes: 12 knives, 8 7/8", 12 forks, 7 1/4", 12 salad forks, 6 3/4", 12 teaspo...Category
Mid-20th Century Tableware
MaterialsSterling Silver
- Rondo by Gorham Sterling Silver Flatware Set For 12 Service 59 PiecesBy Gorham Manufacturing CompanyLocated in Big Bend, WIRondo by Gorham sterling silver Flatware set - 59 Pieces. This set includes: 12 Knives, 8 7/8" 12 Forks, 7 1/4" 12 Salad Forks, 6 5/8" 12 Teaspoons, ...Category
Vintage 1950s American Sterling Silver
MaterialsSterling Silver
- Sterling Flatware, Service for 16/ 5 Piece Set/ 80 Pieces TotalBy International SilverLocated in Brooklyn, NYThis sterling silver flatware set is gorgeous. Not too ornate and not too plain; the perfect look for a sterling flatware set in today’s age. It has a symmetrical pattern on the bott...Category
Vintage 1940s American Sterling Silver
MaterialsSterling Silver
- Georgian Sterling Flatware / Service for 12 '60 Pieces'By Towle SilversmithsLocated in Brooklyn, NYGeorgian sterling silver flatware is one of those Classic patterns that never goes out of style. The floral bouquets on the tip of the handles and the intricate details in each piece...Category
Vintage 1940s American Sterling Silver
MaterialsSterling Silver
- Sterling Wedgewood Flatware, Service for 16/80 PiecesBy International SilverLocated in Brooklyn, NYThe delicate etched design that makes Wedgwood one of the most popular sterling silver patterns. It’s design is timeless and so classy. The urn and swirl designs along the handle are...Category
2010s American Sterling Silver
MaterialsSterling Silver
- Sterling Silver Flatware Set / 80 PiecesBy Towle SilversmithsLocated in Brooklyn, NYBeing offered is a complete set -- service for 16 -- sterling silver flatware by Towle Silversmiths. First introduced in 1939, this p...Category
Vintage 1930s American Sterling Silver
MaterialsSterling Silver
- Sterling Midcentury Flatware Set Service for 24/5 Piece Setting /120 PiecesBy Towle SilversmithsLocated in Brooklyn, NYWow, this is an incredible find. A sterling silver flatware set, service for 24, 5 piece setting in mint condition. This is midcentury at its finest. Look at the curvy shape of each piece; a modernist paradise. Each piece is tapered with the center being a tad bit wider than the top and bottom. This is not your grandmothers ornate and heavy looking flatware; this set is young and modern. Comes with a wooden flatware chest...Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Sterling Silver
MaterialsSterling Silver
- Gorham Sterling Silver Flatware Service, 705 PiecesBy GorhamLocated in New Orleans, LAThis monumental American sterling silver flatware service by Gorham epitomizes the stately glamour of turn-of-the-century dining. A to...Category
Antique 19th Century American Rococo Tableware
MaterialsSterling Silver