Catalog: Silver: Sterling: Flatware

Designed for a very specific purpose, claret ladles are necessarily lengthy, and this solid silver example is especially so at 13 1/4". It weighs a substantial 2.4 T. oz.

Made by Gorham, it is stamped with the company's "lion, anchor, G" emblem, "Sterling," and model number "912."

While the handle is rendered in Gorham's beaded-with-tipt-end Newcastle pattern, the fact that it is numbered indicates it was a specialty piece independent of the flatware line per se...

A 7" long, 1.1 T. oz., preserve or jelly spoon, this piece has a generously sized, 2 1/2" by 1 5/8", shell shaped bowl with a scalloped edge and slightly pointed tip.

Made by John Wendt in his Medallion pattern, it is stamped with his characteristic "Patent" and "925," along with the name of the retailer, Boston's "Bigelow Bros...

Stamped "Sterling" and with the "H&S" emblem of Hotchkiss & Schreuder, Syracuse NY, and retailed by "Austin & Prescott," Batavia NY, this piece measures 8 3/4" long and weighs 1.7 T. oz.

The pattern is Longfellow, which clearly follows after the Moorish and Egyptian Revival trends popular in its 1870s period.

It features a repeating series of palm fronds, palmettes, rosettes and ivy leaves along a shaped handle with a pyramid end...

An early line pattern, Gorham's Louis XIV, is Greek Revival in style in spite of carrying a French name.

The main feature is an anthemion leaf, with additional detailing reminiscent of Gorham's also Greek Revival Corinthian design of the same period.

This example is a lengthy 5 1/4", .9 T. oz., pair of sugar tongs with gold washed claw or talon grips and columnar legs...

One of William B. Durgin's earliest patterns, dating circa 1870, and commonly identified as Spray, this design features a bouquet of woodland flowers and grasses tied by a bow.

This motif appears in the top center of the handle, and is repeated on the lower front and backside heel of the join with the blade of this 6 3/4" long, 1.0 T. oz., master butter knife.

There is a script letter "R" monogram on the handle front...

One of Gorham's earliest full line patterns, patented in 1868 as stamped in the reverse of this 6 1/4" long, .6 T. oz., sugar spoon, Ivy has a tubular stem and broad, convex handle end that features an intricately rendered portraiture of ivy leaves and berries set against a stippled ground.

The handle reverse is engraved with a delicately inscribed, feathered "HC" monogram...

Measuring 5 3/4" long each, and weighing 4.6 T. oz. the group, these solid silver oyster aka shrimp or seafood cocktail forks are all stamped with Gorham's "anchor, lion, G" emblem and "Sterling."

The pattern is Antique, issued in 1875. Akin to Old English, it has a rounded end with a tipt backside attached to a narrow shank.

There are three tines on each of these pieces, the lower one of which is hooked and wider than the other two...

Gorham issued a little known, often unrecognized and often unmarked, design named Imperial in coin silver in the 1850s and then re-employed the name for a different pattern in 1891, as found on this listing.

The later design incorporates a double lined border handle with a knob top. The central portion of the handle has a raised feature that appears to be, appropriate to the line name, a fleur de lis or the feathers in the Prince of Wales's badge...

A stand out Renaissance Revival design, Gorham's Raphael dates from 1874.

It features a dense arabesque background surrounding a central bird with upraised wings. There is a shield-shaped reserve area, which in this instance is engraved with an Old English "H" monogram.

This example is a lengthy, 9 5/16", and weighty at 3.34 T. oz., berry or other serving spoon, such as casserole in contemporary usage or a rice spoon in Southern custom...

Designed by Antoine Heller, renowned for his Beaux Arts figural patterns such as Versailles, Fontainebleau and Mythologique, equally commanding St. Cloud is by contrast non-figural...

Designed to reach deep into a narrow mouth container, a horseradish scoop or spoon generally has a relatively long and narrow handle and a paddle-like end.

This example made by Towle in its 1893 Canterbury follows that form and is fully original, i.e. not made up or custom as many such pieces currently available are. It measures 6 1/4" long, weighs an unexpectedly heavy .5 T. oz., and has the requisite cupped bowl with a rounded end.

As befits the name, Canterbury is a statel...

An American variant upon the English Kings pattern, Dominick & Haff's Charles II features a convex shell on the handle front with a honeysuckle ornament and a heavily beaded border. The backside has a concave shell on the end with the same beaded border as the front, and is otherwise plain.

There is a lined script "R" monogram engraved in the area between the shell and honeysuckle.

This example is a 6 1/8" long, 1.1 T. oz., sol...

The smaller of two sizes of lettuce forks that Durgin produced in its Louis XV pattern, this piece measures 7 7/8" long and weighs approximately 1.0 T. oz.

It has three tines joined to a plain, cupped, heel. The outer two are splayed.

Issued in 1891, the design is French Rococo in manner with rocaille embellishments set in high relief.

This was originally finished with an overall gold wash, i.e. vermeil, but much of that has been polished away.

Never monogrammed, it is ...

Gorham's numbered series were specially designed and produced items made to a higher standard than typical line pieces.

This late 19th century example of such work is No. 412, which is a 5" long, weighty at 1.5 T. oz., bon bon spoon.

The handle is cast, which technique enables a level of detail not achievable in a typical die struck item. Casting also produces a unique finish, which in this instance is softly grained.

The pattern on 412 incorporates flowers and acanthus le...

A firm with a long chronology in Albany, New York, the origins of Hall, Hewson & Brower traced to 1810, with the last configuration of the firm ending in 1898.

The company operated under several names in the above span of years, two of which, the three part "HH & B with an eagle" emblem of Hall, Hewson & Brower, and "S.D. Brower & Son," are present on this 8 1/2" long, 1.35 T. oz., serving spoon.

It is also marked "Sterling 925," which would be unexpected in the circa 1850 period of this w...

George Sharp's Ball pattern is arguably the most well known of any number of 1860s designs that incorporated a sphere, cube, orb, or other similar form, usually surmounting a tubular or faceted shank.

It was produced in a wide variety of pieces, from large servers to items as small as a master salt spoon or this, a 5" long, .3 T. oz., nut pick.

It is an early piece, marked "Patent 1863 Pending" and "Bailey & Co.," for the Philadelphia retailer with whom Sharp was closely asso...

Outstanding among the various Medallion patterns produced during the 1860s, Gorham's version was the one chosen by Tiffany & Co. to offer under its retail banner.

This factor may explain the reason why it was more often than not made to a sterling silver standard, which Tiffany required, versus the typical coin of the period.

This 5 7/8" long, .8 T. oz., sugar spoon mirrors this practice. It is marked with a "lion, anchor, G" emblem, "Pat. 1864," "Gorham & Co.," and "Sterling" on th...

A pattern with a history rooted in the Aesthetic movement, Tiffany's original Japanese (to be distinguished from later produced and renamed Audubon) was the first of numerous American flatware patterns to be issued in a multi-motif bird motif, as indicated by William Hood writing in Tiffany Silver Flatware.

Drawing upon research provided by Gorham scholar Sam Hough, Hood further notes, "In this same period [1869] Tiffany and Gorham started to conceive of producing ...