Gorham Mfg Co. SilverSoldered Tray, SilverPlated Candy Tray, Sugar bowl, Mustard Pot & Water Pitcher

Based on the book titled “Gorham Silver” by Charles H. Carpenter Jr., #Gorham Manufacturing company started with an young, exceptionally talented silversmith with ambition named Jabez Gorham, in #Providence, Rhode Island, in 1831. What makes Jabez Gorham so special was that he grew up in a town that was not as much an attractive place for silversmiths as Newport, which was 40 miles away. #Newport was, in fact, one of the very few towns where highly competent #silversmiths had been working their craft since the 1690s
When his apprenticeship was completed, Jabez then partnered with #ChristopherBurr, William Hadwin, George C. Clark and Henry Mumford, to manufacture jewelry on Main Street. In 1818, their partnership had dissolved and Jabez continued alone as Jabez Gorham, #Jeweler. In the 1820s, he moved his business to No. 12 Steeple Street in Providence and he frequently traveled to #Boston and #NewYork to sale his wares where he also partnered with a young silversmith and apprentice of Lewis Cary, named Henry Lamson Webster.
In 1841 Henry Webster decided to sell his share to Gorham because he was offered a partnership in Newell Harding, in Boston. And Jabez who was, at the time, not kin to return to business, because of his financial comfortability, decided to partner with his son John Gorham. And in the next 15 years, John Gorham and his associates expanded the company from a small craft shop making mainly #silver spoons to a large, highly mechanized plant – one of the largest silverworks in the world manufacturing flatware, #hollowware and even bronze statues. John Gorham, unlike his father, was not an exceptional #silversmith but it also meant that he was not limited to “doing things the right way,” and therefore, it allowed him to be far more innovative than his better-trained competitors.
In 1864, it was the #Medallion, a highly successful pattern that was retailed by Tiffany & Co. of New York along with several other companies. In 1861, when #AbrahamLincoln and his wife, Mary, moved into the Whitehouse in March 1861, they acquired a large and impressive tea and #coffee service made by Gorham Company.
Currently on #eBay are available:
The #silverplated mustard pot - https://www.ebay.com/itm/114659315258
The silver plated sugar bowl - https://www.ebay.com/itm/114659876634
The silver plated butter tray - https://www.ebay.com/itm/114659969435