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.
Sovereign Old by Gorham Sterling Silver Flatware Set for 6 Service 45 Pieces
By Gorham
Located in Big Bend, WI
Stunning Sovereign Old by Gorham c1941 Sterling Silver Flatware set - 45 pieces. This set includes: 6 Knives, 8 7/8" 6 Forks, 7 1/4" 6 Salad Forks, 6 1/2" 6 Teaspoons, 6" 6 Cr...
Sterling Silver
English Gadroon by Gorham Sterling Silver Flatware Set for 12 Service 48 Pieces
By Gorham Manufacturing Company
Located in Big Bend, WI
English gadroon by Gorham sterling silver flatware set - 48 Pieces. This set includes: 12 knives, 8 3/4" 12 forks, 7 1/8" 12 salad forks, 6 1/4" 12 teaspoons, 5 3/4" Includes bonus...
Sterling Silver
Fontainebleau by Gorham Sterling Silver Flatware Set for 8 Service, 73 Pieces
By Gorham
Located in Big Bend, WI
Fontainebleau by Gorham sterling silver flatware set, 73 pieces. This set includes: 8 dinner forks, 7 5/8" 8 knives, 9 3/8" 8 forks, 6 3/4" 8 fish/salad forks, 6 3/4" 16 teaspoons, ...
Sterling Silver
English Gadroon by Gorham Sterling Silver Flatware Set 8 Service 40 Pcs Dinner
By Gorham Manufacturing Company
Located in Big Bend, WI
Gorgeous Dinner Size English Gadroon by Gorham sterling silver Flatware set, 40 pieces. This set includes: 8 Dinner Size Knives, 9 1/2" 8 Dinner Size Forks, 7 5/8" 8 Salad Forks...
Sterling Silver
English Gadroon by Gorham Sterling Silver Flatware Set for 12 Service 86 Pieces
By Gorham Manufacturing Company
Located in Big Bend, WI
Superb English Gadroon by Gorham sterling silver flatware set - 86 pieces. This set includes: 12 knives, 8 7/8" 12 forks, 7 1/8" 12 salad forks, 6 1/4" 12 teaspoons, 5 7/8" 12 cream...
Sterling Silver
English Gadroon by Gorham Sterling Silver Flatware Set 8 Service 94 Pcs Dinner
By Gorham Manufacturing Company
Located in Big Bend, WI
Superb dinner size English Gadroon by Gorham sterling silver flatware set, 94 pieces. This set includes: 8 dinner size knives, 9 1/2" 8 dinner size forks, 7 5/8" 8 salad forks, 6 1/...
Sterling Silver
Gorham Sterling Silver Thirty-Six Piece Part Flatware Service
By Gorham
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
Gorham Sterling Silver Thirty-Six Piece Part Flatware Service Marked, in the Etruscan Pattern, most monogramed with a Y. Comprising, seven dinner forks, eight salad forks, twelve bu...
Silver
CJ Vander Sterling Silver Flatware Set in Hester Bateman Pattern
By C.J. Vander
Located in New York, NY
CJ Vander, English sterling silver flatware set, in the Hester Bateman pattern, beautifully adorned with floral and geometric motifs, consisting of: 8 dinner forks measuring 8 1/2''...
Silver, Sterling Silver
Edwardian Sterling Silver Flatware Set by Elkington
Located in Jesmond, Newcastle Upon Tyne
An exceptional, fine and impressive antique Edwardian English sterling silver straight Fiddle, Thread and Shell pattern flatware service for twelve persons; an addition to our flatware collection. The pieces of this exceptional, antique Edwardian straight* sterling silver canteen of cutlery have been crafted in the Fiddle, Thread and Shell pattern. The surface of each handle is embellished with a paralleling thread decorated border accented with a shell design to the terminal. The reverse of each silver spoon bowl and fork drop is ornamented with a diamond heel. This Fiddle pattern cutlery set consists of 70 pieces: Basic Service: 12 Table forks 12 Table spoons** 12 Dessert forks 12 Dessert spoons 12 Teaspoons 6 Egg spoons Additional Pieces: Gravy Spoon Sauce ladle Cheese Scoop The pieces of this Edwardian silver flatware set have been crafted by the renowned Birmingham silversmiths Elkington & Co Ltd in 1906. This antique silver service can be purchased with knives if so desired; for further information please contact directly. This antique silver cutlery service is supplied in felt cutlery rolls; which not only protect the items in storage but significantly reduces tarnishing. * 'Straight' means all the pieces are made by the same maker in the same year; straight services are becoming increasingly difficult to locate. ** During this period, before the innovation of soup spoons, the versatile table spoon shaped bowl would have been utilised for soup. Condition This Edwardian silver canteen...
Sterling Silver
Tiffany Century Sterling Silver 48-Piece Dinner Set for 12
By Tiffany & Co.
Located in New York, NY
Century sterling silver dinner set. Made by Tiffany & Co. in New York, ca 1980. This set comprises (dimension in inches): 12 dinner forks (7 5/8); 12 teaspoons (6) and 12 oval soup s...
Sterling Silver
1847 Rogers Bros. Silverplate Flatware Set, Service for 6, 52 Pieces
By 1847 Rogers Bros.
Located in North Palm Beach, FL
This 1847 Rogers Bros. flatware service is presented in the “Heraldic” pattern, first introduced in 1916 and recognized for its distinctive Arts & Crafts–influenced design. The p...
Silver Plate
Garrard & Co. Sterling Silver 170-Piece Flatware Set in Shell & Thread Pattern
By Garrard & Co. Ltd.
Located in New York, NY
Large Garrard & Co. sterling silver flatware set in the Shell and Thread pattern, adorned with shell-like motifs on the handles, consisting of: - 18 dinner knives measuring 9 1/2'' ...
Silver, Sterling Silver
