Gorham Medallion Coin Silver Demitasse Set with 12 Spoons and Sugar Tongs
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Gorham Medallion Coin Silver Demitasse Set with 12 Spoons and Sugar Tongs
About the Item
- Creator:Gorham Manufacturing Company (Maker)
- Dimensions:Height: 4 in (10.16 cm)Width: 1 in (2.54 cm)Depth: 0.25 in (6.35 mm)
- Sold As:Set of 13
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1864
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:New York, NY
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU85582938492
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.
- Antique William Roger Quadruple Plate Sugar Bowl & Gorham Sterling Silver SpoonsBy William Rogers, Gorham Manufacturing CompanyLocated in Dayton, OHAntique turn of the century 13 piece sugar bowl and hanging spoon set, featuring a trophy urn style bowl with etched palm leaves on the body, brackets to support twelve sugar spoons, squirrels in the pierced handles and a sparrow shaped finial. Set includes 11 Gorham sterling silver demitasse spoons in the New Queens pattern (introduced 1895); sold by J.E. Caldwell & Co. Bowl and lid by William Rogers (cross and keystone mark, circa 1900-1910), design number 57. "Gorham Silver was founded in Providence, Rhode Island, in 1831 by Jabez Gorham, a master craftsman, in partnership with Henry L. Webster. The firm's chief product was spoons of coin silver, but also made thimbles, combs, jewelry, and other small items. In 1865, the Rhode Island legislature granted a charter in the name of Gorham Manufacturing Company. During the heyday of American silver manufacturing, approximately 1850–1940, Gorham was highly influential. The company has produced matching hollowware in both sterling and silverplate, as well as running a foundry for bronze sculpture. The White House has used Gorham silver services during many administrations including those of Lincoln, Grant, and George W. Bush. Gorham artisans also sculpted several famous statues housed in the Capitol's Rotunda, overlooking the Museum of Natural History in New York, and topping the Rhode Island State House. Gorham has also designed a number of elaborate trophies for sporting events, including the Borg-Warner Trophy for the Indianapolis 500, designed by Robert J. Hill. The company has changed hands multiple times beginning with Textron (1967), to Dansk International Designs (1989), to Brown-Forman Corporation (1991), to the Lenox Group (2005), to Clarion Capital Partners (2009), now operating under the name Lenox Corporation." "William Hazen Rogers (born May 13, 1801) was an American master silversmith and a pioneer in the silver-plate industry and whose work and name have survived to the present day. Rogers partnered with other silversmiths at times, and his company and trademarks were eventually taken over by larger companies. Rogers was born on a farm on May 13, 1801, to Sarah Reynolds (1777-?) and Asa Rogers (1798-1824). After he left home, he went on to become a silversmith, watchmaker and jeweler. From 1820 to 1825, Rogers was an apprentice to Joseph Church, a silversmith and watchmaker in Hartford. In 1825, Rogers became partners with Church and their company, Church & Rogers, initially manufactured silver-plate flatware and hollowware. He was also partner, from 1832 to 1838, with Asa Harris Rogers, his younger brother, as "A Rogers Jr. & Co." while still associated with Church & Rogers. Rogers – together with his two brothers and, later, his son – was responsible for more than 100 patterns of silver and silver-plated cutlery and serving dishes. Many of Roger's designs were influenced by Louis XIV-style patterns of the 17th and 18th century in France, and he was best known for his Elberon pattern and "Presidential" cutlery series. The companies in which one or more of the original...Category
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