Silver and Silverplate

Silver

Dining room. Leland Stanford residence, San Francisco, California, built 1875-1876.
Photograph, c.1878. Stanford University Archives, Stanford, CA.

During the Victorian era, American industrialists amassed substantial fortunes while the middle class enjoyed greater prosperity than ever before. Large sums of money were spent on silver flatware and hollowware that announced one’s success and social status. The silver industry manufactured enormous quantities of silver that graced the sideboards and dining tables of American homes. Silver objects proliferated, including tea and coffee pots, hot-water urns, ice water pitchers, cake baskets, ice bowls, soup tureens, vegetable bowls, chafing dishes, centerpieces, and candelabra, in addition to a vast array of flatware for place settings and serving.

Views of the Tiffany & Company manufactory, 53
and 55 Prince Street, New York City, New York, 1877.
Scientific American, 1877.

Most American silver flatware and hollowware produced during the mid-nineteenth century is of "coin" standard. Coin silver contains 90% silver, with the remaining 10% consisting primarily of copper.  In the 1850s, a small number of prominent silver manufacturers in America adopted the "sterling" standard in order to compete with imported English silverware. Sterling describes silverware that is 92.5% silver, with the balance being copper or other metals. The sterling standard was established in England in the thirteenth century and has been strictly enforced by the London Goldsmith’s Hall since its introduction. In the late 1860s, the higher standard was widely adopted by American silver manufacturers.

The American silver industry witnessed dramatic changes in methods of production during the Victorian period as a result of the introduction of new machinery. The manufacture of silver flatware was simplified by the use of roller dies to stamp spoons, forks, and knife handles from sheet silver. A spinning machine or drop press could be used to quickly make hollowware forms such as coffee pots, teapots, bowls, and pitchers. While machines simplified the process of shaping silver objects, traditional hand techniques remained essential to decorating silver.

"Interior of H. B. Stanwood & Co's Jewelry and Silver Ware Establishment,
253 Washington Street, Boston." Gleason's Pictorial Drawing-Room
Companion, July 23, 1853.

After about 1840, the American silver industry was divided into manufacturers and retailers. Small silver workshops produced silverware for retail establishments that specialized in luxury goods such as silver and jewelry. Occasionally, silversmiths entered into a contract to produce silver exclusively for a local retail firm. Large-scale silver manufacturers both retailed silver in their own showrooms and sold it on the wholesale market to silver retailers. 

Styles

Silver design during the Victorian years reflected the influence of the same revival styles and reform movements that were fashionable in furniture and other decorative arts of the period.

Hot Water Urn and Covered Sugar Bowl

Wood &  Hughes (active 1845-1899)

c.1850

New York City, New York

Silver

White House Historical Association,
Washington, D.C.

The Grecian or Classical style was favored in silver during the 1830s and 1840s. Classical forms were divided into broad, flat panels and decorated with simple moldings. More elaborate examples are embellished with die-stamped bands of classical motifs or flat-chased decoration of naturalistic flowers and leaves that reflected the emergence of the Rococo Revival style in silver. 

Pitcher

Newell Harding (American, 1796-1862)

c.1851

Boston, Massachusetts

Silver

Museum of Fine Arts, 
Boston, Boston, MA

Coffee Pot
John C. Moore (active 1832-1851)

c.1835

New York City, New York

Silver

Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY

Milk Jug

William Forbes (active 1826-1863)

1835-1840

New York City, New York

Silver

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY

Teapot
Manufactured by John C. Moore (active 1832-1851)
Retailed by J. & I. Cox (active 1817/18-1852)
c.1835-1852
New York City, New York
Silver

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Boston, MA

The Gothic Revival style was popular for ecclesiastical silver because of its association with christian churches of the middle ages, but had only limited appeal in the realm of domestic silver. Forms are typically polygonal and the ornament consists of decoration derived from Gothic architecture, including pointed arches, crockets, cusps, cluster columns, and tracery. Periodically Gothic Revival silver incorporates details from other contemporaneous styles such as the broad panels associated with Grecian silver or naturalistic flowers and leaves derived from the Rococo Revival.

Hot Water Kettle on Stand
Manufactured by William Forbes (active 1826-1853)
Retailed by Ball, Tompkins & Black (active 1839-1851)
New York City, New York
Silver

Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA

Pitcher
Zalmon Bostwick (active 1846-1852)
c.1845
New York City, New York
Coin silver

High Museum of Art, Atlanta, GA

Cake Basket

Manufactured by Edward C. Moore (American, 1827–1891)

Retailed by Tiffany & Company (active 1837-present)

c.1854-1855

New York City, New York

Coin silver

Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, TX

Rococo Revival silver, first introduced in the 1830s, reached the height of fashion in the 1850s. Silver in this style features rounded forms with naturalistic decoration of flowers, leaves, vines, grape clusters, and shells. These motifs were frequently hammered into the silver to produce decoration in high relief, called repoussé. Ornament borrows extensively from mid-eighteenth-century French Rococo and includes asymmetrical cartouches, swirling scrolls, and rocaille (rockwork), typically embossed into the silver, as well as diaperwork, which was usually engraved or flat chased. The bulbous forms of Rococo Revival silver hollowware are usually raised on scrollwork feet or bases.

Cream Pitcher

Manufactured by Charters, Cann & Dunn (active 1848-1854)

Retailed by Ball, Tompkins & Black (active 1839-1851)

1848-1851

New York City, New York

Silver

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY

Pitcher

Manufactured by John Cann and David Dunn (active 1855-1860)

Retailed by John Cox & Co.

(active 1817-1856)

1855-1856

New York City, New York

Silver

Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL

Hot Water Urn
John Cann and David Dunn (active 1855-1860)
c.1855
Boston, Massachusetts
Silver
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Boston, MA

Coffee Pot

R. & W. Wilson (active 1825-1883)

1851

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Silver

Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA

Vegetable Bowl and Cover

Bailey & Company (active 1846-1878)

c.1850

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Silver

Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA

Centerpiece

Manufactured by John C. Moore (active 1832-1851)

Retailed by Tiffany & Company (active 1837-present)

c.1851

New York City, New York

Silver, silvergilt and silverplated bronze

The Preservation Society of Newport County, Newport, RI

The Renaissance Revival style first appeared in silver during the 1850s and continued to be popular into the 1870s. Silver in this style tends to juxtapose straight and curved lines. Forms are usually classical while the ornament derives from ancient Greece and Rome, the Renaissance, and the Baroque. Typical motifs are classical figures and masks, medallions, acanthus leaves, cartouches, volutes, griffins, caryatids, fluting, gadrooning, and beaded moldings. Hollowware such as teapots, coffee pots, and sugar bowls frequently stands on legs terminating in hoof feet or in lion's paw feet.  

Chafing Dish 

Gorham Manufacturing Company (active 1831-present)

c.1865

Providence, Rhode Island

Coin silver

High Museum of Art, Atlanta, GA

Butter Dish with Cover

Bailey & Company (active 1846-1878)

c.1865

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Silver

Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA

Sugar Bowl

Wood & Hughes (active 1845-1899)

c.1865

New York City, New York

Silver

Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA

Compote

Bailey & Company (active 1846-1878)

c.1865

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Silver

Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA

Coffee Pot
Rogers & Wendt (active 1853-1857)
c.1857
New York City, New York
Silver
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Boston, MA

Centerpiece

Manufactured by Dominick & Haff (1872-1928)
Retailed by Cowell & Hubard Company, Cleveland, Ohio

1872-1875

New York City, New York

Sterling silver, etched glass

Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL

The Néo-Grec and Egyptian Revival styles paralleled the Renaissance Revival in silver in the 1860s and 1870s. Silver in the Néo-Grec taste consists of classical shapes similar to those associated with the Renaissance Revival, but legs and handles tend to be angular and the ornament consists primarily of Greek anthemia and palmettes, Greek key patterns, and Greek male or female busts. Egyptian Revival silver features decoration of sphinxes, Egyptian heads, and lotus flowers. Motifs from all three styles were frequently combined in a single piece.

Tea and Coffee Service

Manufacture attributed to John R. Wendt & Company (active 1860-1871)
Retailed by Crosby & Morse (active 1864-1869)

c.1865

New York City, New York

Sterling silver, ivory

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Boston, MA

Cream Pitcher

Manufactured by Gorham Manufacturing Company (active 1831-Present)
Retailed by Bailey & Company (active 1846-1878)

1860-1870

Providence, Rhode Island

Silver

Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA

Teapot

Retailed by J. E. Caldwell & Company (active 1848-present)

c.1875
Sterling silver

Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY

Vase

Gorham Manufacturing Company (active 1831-present)

1880

Providence, Rhode Island

Sterling silver, silvergilt, copper

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY

In the late nineteenth century, the Aesthetic Movement impacted the design of American silver, which adopted shapes and ornament derived from Near and Far Eastern cultures, including Japan, India, and Persia. Silver in the Japanesque taste consists of either organic or geometric forms with asymmetrical decoration that reflected Japanese design principles of balance and harmony. The Anglo-Japanese style in silver favored contrasts of color inspired by Japanese metalwork that combined a number of different metals. The imitation of Japanese mixed metalwork was achieved by combining the silver with copper and applying gilding to certain details. Decorative motifs include prunus blossoms, chrysanthemums, bamboo, cattails, butterflies, dragonflies, crabs, fish, and water plants. Persia and India also served as sources of designs, inspiring exotic shapes and intricate geometric or stylized floral patterns. Silver of the Aesthetic Movement occasionally adopted trompe l'oeil effects in which the silver imitates other materials or objects.

Fruit Plate

Gorham Manufacturing Company (active 1831-present)

1881

Providence, Rhode Island

Sterling silver, silvergilt, copper

Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, TX

Vase

Designed by Edward C. Moore (American, 1827-1891)
Tiffany & Company (active 1837-present)

c.1877

New York City, New York

Sterling silver

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY

Coffee Pot

Design attributed to Edward C. Moore (American, 1827-1891)
Manufactured by Tiffany & Company (active 1831-present)

1874

New York City, New York

Sterling silver, ivory

Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, TX

Tray

Manufacture attributed to Kennard & Jenks (active 1831-present)

Retailed by Bailey, Banks & Biddle (active c.1878-1880)

Boston, Massachusetts

Sterling silver

Mr. and Mrs. Alexander C. Speyer III Collection

Fruit Stand

Gorham Manufacturing Company (active 1831-present)

1881

Providence, Rhode Island

Sterling silver and silvergilt

The Masco Art Collection

Two-Handled Bowl

The Kalo Shop (active 1900-1970)

1905-1914

Park Ridge, Illinois

Sterling silver

Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA

At the end of the nineteenth century, American silver makers adopted the new Arts & Crafts and Art Nouveau styles. Silver in simple, elegant shapes with restrained decoration of hammer marks on the surface reflected the tenets of the Arts & Crafts Movement. The Art Nouveau style produced organic, writhing, often asymmetrical silver forms with ornament of abstract curves, stylized leaves and flowers, and female figures with long, flowing hair. Decoration is frequently suggestive of moving water.

Tea and Coffee Service

Robert Riddle Jarvie (American, 1865-1941)

1911

Chicago, Illinois

Sterling silver

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Boston, MA

Covered Pitcher

Shreve & Company (active 1852-present)

c.1910

San Francisco, California

Sterling silver, ebony

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston,
Boston, MA

Vase

Designed by William C. Codman
(American, born England, 1839-1921)

Manufactured by Gorham Manufacturing Company
(active 1831-present)

1899

Providence, Rhode Island

Silver

Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, TX

                   

Ashtray

Unger Brothers (active 1872-1919)

c.1900-1910

Newark, New Jersey

Sterling silver

Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, TX

Wine Pitcher

Designed by William C. Codman (American, born England, 1839-1921)

Manufactured by Gorham Manufacturing Company (active 1831-present)

1904

Providence, Rhode Island

Silver

High Museum of Art, Atlanta, GA

Waffle Server

Tiffany & Company (active 1837-present)

1872

New York City, New York

Sterling silver

Collection of the Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, TX

Types of flatware diversified in the second half of the nineteenth century with the emergence of new dining practices. Place settings expanded to include fish forks and knives, oyster forks, salad forks, and pastry forks. Serving pieces multiplied, encompassing tomato servers, macaroni servers, asparagus tongs, sardine forks, olive forks, waffle servers, ice cream servers, and berry spoons. Flatware was produced in the same revival and Aesthetic Movement styles that influenced the design of holloware.

Fish Slice and Fork

Bailey & Company (active 1832-present)

c.1860

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Sterling silver

Private Collection, San Antonio, TX 

Asparagus Tongs

Manufactured by Frank W. Smith Silver Company (active 1886-1958)

Retailed by J. E. Caldwell &  Company (active 1848-present)

c.1890-1900

Gardner, Massachusetts

Sterling silver

Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA

Salad Serving Fork and Spoon

Manufactured by Wood & Hughes (active 1845-1899)
Retailed by A. B. Griswold & Company, New Orleans, LA

c.1885-1895

New York City, New York

Sterling silver and silvergilt

Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, TX

Sardine Fork

George W. Shiebler (active 1876-1891)

c.1880-1890

New York City, New York

Sterling silver and silvergilt

Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, TX

Silverplate

Teapot
Roswell Gleason & Sons (active 1851-1871)
c.1851-1871
Dorchetser, Massachusetts
Silverplate
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Boston, MA

A more affordable alternative to coin or sterling silver during the Victorian period was silverplate. Silverplated wares, also known as "electroplate," were made of an inexpensive base metal such as brass, Britannia metal, or nickel silver, onto which a thin layer of silver was deposited by means of an electrical current. In 1840, the English metalworking firm of Elkington & Company patented a process for making silverplate, which involved submerging an object made of an inexpensive metal in a solution suffused with silver, to which an electrical current was introduced. By means of the current, a thin layer of silver was deposited onto the surface of the metal object.

Experiments with the silverplating process began in the United States around 1843. By the 1850s, a number of companies located in Connecticut and Massachusetts were successfully producing both silverplated flatware and hollowware.

Silverplate was made in the same revival and reform styles found in more expensive silver. The decorating techniques and machine methods of production used in the manufacture of silver were also employed in the production of silverplate. 

Ice Water Pitcher and Goblets

Pairpoint Manufacturing Company (active 1880-1929)

c.1885

New Bedford, Massachusetts

Silverplate

Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY

Dinner Caster
Designed by Edward Gleason (American,1822-1871)
Manufactured by Roswell Gleason & Sons (active 1851-1871)
c.1857
Dorchester, Massachusetts
Silverplate, brass, glass
Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, TX

Teapot

James W. Tufts Company (active c.1875-1915)

c.1880

Boston, Massachusetts

Silverplate

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Boston, MA 

Soup Tureen and Cover

Reed & Barton (active c.1875-1915)

c.1873

Taunton, Massachusetts

Silverplate

Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, TX 

Bowl

Wilcox Silver Plate Company (active 1865-1898)

1880-1890

Meriden, Connecticut

Silverplate, gilding

Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA

Silver Manufacturers and Retailers

The City of New York was home to a large number of silver manufacturers and retailers, including Tiffany & Company, William Gale, James C. Moore, and Ball, Black & Company. An example of a silver maker who sold his wares to fashionable retail establishments is William Gale. Gale founded a silver manufactory in New York in 1821. From the time he established his firm until his retirement in the early 1860s, Gale worked in partnership with other silversmiths and the name of the firm changed numerous times. Gale’s son continued the business after his father’s death in 1864. In 1870, the silversmiths Henry B. Dominick and Leroy B. Haff, who took over the firm two years later, joined William Gale, Jr.  The Gale firm was one of the largest manufacturers of silver in nineteenth-century New York City, supplying both hollowware and flatware to retailers of luxury goods such as Tiffany & Company and Ball, Black & Company.

Another important maker was John Chandler Moore, who was active as a silversmith from 1832 to 1851. He produced high quality revival-style silver that was sold by leading retail establishments such as Tiffany & Company and Ball, Black & Company. Before his retirement in 1851, Moore entered into a contract to produce silver exclusively for Tiffany & Company. About 1856, the business was taken over by his son, Edward C. Moore. Tiffany & Company purchased the workshop in 1868 and appointed Moore director of its new silver department.

"Contribution of Ball, Black & Co., to the New York Crystal
Palace," 1853. Gleason's Pictorial Drawing-Room Companion,
October 1, 1853.

Ball, Black & Company was a highly fashionable retail establishment that sold jewelry and silver to wealthy Americans. Because the firm did not produce its own silver, it sold pieces purchased from local New York City silver makers.  The business began as Ball, Tompkins & Black when founded in 1839 by the three partners William Black, Henry Ball, and Erastus Tompkins. The name changed to Ball, Black & Company in 1851. The firm was the leading supplier of fashionable jewelry and silver in New York City until Tiffany & Company rose to prominence in the late nineteenth century. As a result of changes in partnership over the years, the firm was variously named Black, Starr & Frost, Black, Starr & Gorham, and ultimately Black, Starr & Frost, Ltd. until closing in 1990.

The most famous name associated with fine silver is Tiffany & Company. Initially retailing silver made by various manufacturers, the firm later established its own department for the production of silverware. In 1837, the partners Charles L. Tiffany and John B. Young founded a firm for the sale of stationery and fancy goods. A third partner, J. L. Ellis, joined the firm in 1841, when the name changed to Tiffany, Young & Ellis. The company’s offerings expanded to include furniture, glassware, jewelry, and ladies’ accessories, and by 1847, silver was included in the line of luxury goods. At this stage, the firm retailed silver made by local silversmiths as well as by large manufacturers such as the Gorham Manufacturing Company in Providence, Rhode Island. In 1851, Tiffany and his partners contracted the New York City silversmith John Chandler Moore to produce silver exclusively for the firm, but continued to obtain silver from other sources. Two years later, Tiffany’s partners retired and the name of the firm was changed to Tiffany & Company. In 1868, the firm decided to introduce a silver manufacturing department and purchased the workshop of Edward C. Moore, who in 1856 had taken over his father’s business. Moore was appointed director of Tiffany & Company’s newly created silver division. While both manufacturing and retailing silver, the firm continued to offer jewelry and luxury furnishings to its clients.  Tiffany & Company is still active and maintains its long-standing reputation for fine silver and jewelry.

Advertisement for Gorham Manufacturing Company,

1852. Brown University Library, Providence, RI. 

The Gorham Manufacturing Company was the largest and most successful silver manufacturer in nineteenth-century America. Founded in Providence, Rhode Island, by Jabez Gorham in 1831, the firm began as a modest workshop that manufactured small silver items including spoons, forks, thimbles, and ladies’ buckles and combs.  Shortly after joining his father's business in 1841, John Gorham proposed expanding the company by erecting a new and much larger building and acquiring a steam engine to power silver making machinery. When Jabez Gorham withdrew from the company in 1848, John Gorham assumed full control. He entered into a partnership with his cousin Gorham Thurber in 1850 and obtained the necessary capital to promote the growth of the firm. In 1851, the company introduced the manufacture of hollowware. The mid-1860s witnessed the introduction of a line of silverplated wares.  By 1865, when the firm assumed the name Gorham Manufacturing Company, a variety of steam-powered machines were used to produce large quantities of both flatware and hollowware, making Gorham one of the most successful and prolific silver manufacturers in the United States. Initially, Gorham sold strictly to the wholesale trade, providing silver wares to retailers across the country, including firms such as Tiffany & Company. In 1873, the company opened showrooms in New York City to retail its silver, but continued to sell silver wares on the the wholesale market.

The city of Philadelphia also had a number of talented silver makers, including George B. Sharp and John T. Vansant. Among the leading retail establishments were Bailey & Company and J. E. Caldwell & Company, which sold both jewelry and silver to the city’s affluent residents. Each of these firms purchased silver from both local and national manufacturers.

George Sharp established a silver manufactory in Philadelphia about 1850. For several years, he worked in partnership with a William Sharp, most likely his brother. The two craftsmen produced both silverware and jewelry that was sold to local retailers. In 1852 or 1853, the fashionable jewelry and silver retail business of Bailey & Company hired Sharp to make silver exclusively for the firm. In the mid-1860s, Sharp left Bailey & Company and resumed manufacturing silver independently. His workshop closed in 1874 due to the depression in the previous year. Sharp produced revival-style silver for wealthy Philadelphians. His specialty was flatware, for which he obtained a number of design patents.

The John T. Vansant Manufacturing Company was a small, short-lived concern, but it produced some of the most fashionable silver in late nineteenth-century Philadelphia. Founded in 1881, the company witnessed a number of changes in ownership (and names) due to financial difficulties. The firm specialized in flatware, but also produced stylish pieces of hollowware. The Philadelphia firm of Simons, Brother & Company acquired the Vansant manufactory in 1892.

One of the most fashionable retailers of silver and jewelry in the city of Philadelphia was Bailey & Company. The business was initially named Bailey & Kitchen when founded in 1832 by the partners Joseph T. Bailey and Andrew B. Kitchen. Joseph’s brother, Eli W. Bailey, joined the firm in 1840, the year that Kitchen died. In 1848, the name of the firm was changed to Bailey & Company. The company retailed silver made by local manufacturers until 1853, when it employed the silversmith George Sharp to head silver production for the firm. In the mid-1860s, Sharp left Bailey & Company, which ceased production of silver and resumed purchasing wares made by local manufacturers. Later renamed Bailey, Banks & Biddle, the firm is currently owned by a corporation in Texas and retails only jewelry.

Bailey & Company’s leading competitor was J. E. Caldwell & Company. James E. Caldwell, who trained as a watchmaker, founded the company in 1839. Like Bailey & Company, Caldwell’s firm specialized in jewelry and silver. For a brief period, the company manufactured its own silver, but primarily retailed silver made by a number of manufacturers. Throughout the second half of the nineteenth century, the firm catered to Philadelphia’s wealthiest citizens. A North Carolina jewelry concern purchased the Caldwell firm in the 1990s.

Silverplate Manufacturers

The Rogers Brothers Manufacturing Company was among the earliest silverplate manufacturers in the United States and is credited with being the first company to successfully produce silverplated wares on a commercial level. The company was founded in Hartford, Connecticut, by the brothers William, Asa, and Simeon Rogers, a family of silversmiths specializing in coin silver flatware. After experimenting with and perfecting the electroplating process, the brothers switched from the production of coin silver to the manufacture of silverplate in 1847. The business grew rapidly and was reorganized as Rogers Brothers Manufacturing Company in 1853. In 1861, the company was consolidated with another silverplate manufactory, founded by William Rogers in 1856 after he left the partnership with his brothers.