Set of 12 Gorham Sterling Silver Scallop Shell Appetizer Plates

With intricate and refined artistry, the jewelers at J.E.Caldwell & Co. have been handcrafting illustrious watches and adornments — including cocktail rings, engagement rings and link bracelets — for nearly two centuries. The American firm, which is among the oldest silver and jewelry companies in the United States, has found acclaim with collectors and buyers worldwide.

Born in Poughkeepsie, New York, J.E. Caldwell & Co. founder James Emmott Caldwell (1813–81) apprenticed as a silversmith and subsequently trained in watchmaking under the esteemed watchmaker Samuel Ward Benedict in New York City. Following his apprenticeships, Caldwell sought work in Philadelphia, initially securing a position with a wholesale jeweler before importing watches for a jewelry manufacturer. In the late 1830s, he established a storefront of his own, in a stately marble building on Chestnut street. Caldwell partnered with James M. Bennett thereafter in order to launch a jewelry shop nearby that they called Bennett & Caldwell. With the passing of Bennett, Caldwell partnered with a former employer, John C. Farr, and changed the company name, establishing the J.E. Caldwell & Co. of today.

In 1876, Philadelphia hosted the first World’s Fair held in the United States. Alongside the Gorham Manufacturing Company — a legendary but largely overlooked American silver firm — J.E. Caldwell showcased an array of stunning jewelry and silver objects at the event’s Centennial International Exhibition. In the early 1900s, J.E. Caldwell was contracted to fashion a presentation silver tea service — more than 160 pieces — for a newly commissioned battleship, the U.S.S. Pennsylvania. The brand’s exquisite silver wares traveled at sea aboard this battleship — and later, on the U.S.S. Valley Forge — for decades.

J.E. Caldwell & Co. became known for exquisite Art Nouveau and Art Deco jewelry. Ownership of the firm passed through the family over the years before changing hands to business interests outside of the family. Today a J.E. Caldwell & Co. retail location continues to operate in Philadelphia.

Find antique and vintage J.E. Caldwell & Co. jewelry on 1stDibs.

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.