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Name (English only)

Gorham Manufacturing Company

Brief_Bio

Artist Detail - v3

Gorham Silver was founded in Providence, Rhode Island, 1831 by Jabez Gorham, a master craftsman, in partnership with Henry L. Webster. The firm's chief product was spoons of coin silver. The company also made thimbles, combs, jewelry, and other small items. In 1842, the Congress enacted a tariff which effectively blocked the importation of silverware from outside the United States, which aided the American silver industry. Jabez Gorham did not take full advantage of this opportunity, but in 1847 Jabez retired and his son, John Gorham succeeded him as head of the company. John Gorham introduced mechanized production methods, enlarged the premises in downtown Providence, improved the designs, and expanded the product line. In 1852, Gorham toured many of Europe's silver workshops and manufacturers, speaking with individual specialists, including master craftsmen and toolmakers. He sought highly skilled foreign workmen to train his American workers and hired George Wilkinson, a premier designer and workshop manager, from England. In 1865, the Rhode Island legislature granted a charter in the name of Gorham Manufacturing Company and in 1890, the company relocated to a factory on Adelaide Avenue in Providence.

During the heyday of American silver manufacturing, approximately 1850 - 1940, Gorham was highly influential. William C. Codman, one of Gorham's most noted designers, created the Chantilly design in 1895, which has become the most famous of Gorham's flatware patterns. The company has produced matching holloware in both sterling and silverplate.

In 1884, the company opened a store in the Ladies' Mile shopping district in Manhattan, New York City, but moved in 1905 to a Fifth Avenue building which it commissioned from architect Stanford White. In 1906, Gorham purchased another long-time rival, New Jersey-based Kerr & Co.

Textron purchased the company in 1967, a move that some critics claim decreased quality due to management's lack of understanding of Gorham's specialty, producing high-quality sterling silverware and holloware. Textron sold the unit in 1988. Brown-Forman Corporation owned Gorham from 1991 until 2005 when it sold the unit to Department 56 in the Lenox holdings transaction.

-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gorham_Manufacturing_Company

Artworks

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ImageTitleDate MadePlace MadeCollectionsMaterialsMeasurementsEditionCredit Line
Untitled (Sterling Silver Spoon)Untitled (Sterling Silver Spoon)1900-1910Providence, Rhode Island, United StatesMetalworkSilveroverall: 15.00 cm x 3.00 cm x 0.00 cm-Purchased with assistance of the University of Victoria Art Acquisition Fund
Untitled (Sterling Silver Spoons)Untitled (Sterling Silver Spoons)c. 1890-1900Providence, Rhode Island, United StatesMetalworkSterling Silveroverall: 15.00 cm x 3.00 cm x 0.00 cm-Purchased with assistance of the University of Victoria Art Acquisition Fund
Untitled (sterling silver spoon)Untitled (sterling silver spoon)c.1902Rhode Island, United StatesMetalworkSterling Silveroverall: 14.80 cm x 3.00 cm x 0.00 cm--
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