Gorham Victorian Classical 6-Piece Coffee & Tea Set
About the Item
- Creator:Gorham Manufacturing Company (Maker)
- Dimensions:Height: 7.5 in (19.05 cm)Width: 10 in (25.4 cm)Depth: 5 in (12.7 cm)
- Sold As:Set of 5
- Style:Victorian (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:Sterling Silver,Repoussé
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1885
- Condition:
- Seller Location:New York, NY
- Reference Number:
Gorham Manufacturing Company
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.
- ShippingRetrieving quote...Ships From: New York, NY
- Return PolicyA return for this item may be initiated within 7 days of delivery.
- Antique Gorham Chantilly-Grand Sterling Silver 3-Piece Coffee SetBy Gorham Manufacturing CompanyLocated in New York, NYTurn-of-the-century Chantilly-Grand sterling silver 3-piece coffee set. Made by Gorham in Providence. This set comprises coffeepot, creamer, and sugar. Scrolled rims, spread and scro...Category
Antique Late 19th Century American Victorian Sterling Silver
MaterialsSterling Silver
- Antique Tiffany Edwardian Classical 5-Piece Coffee & Tea SetBy Tiffany & Co.Located in New York, NYEdwardian Classical sterling silver coffee and tea set. Made by Tiffany & Co. in New York, ca 1910. This set comprises 5 pieces: Coffeepot, teapot, creamer, sugar, and waste bowl. Ta...Category
Early 20th Century American Edwardian Sterling Silver
MaterialsSterling Silver
- Gorham Fairfax Art Deco Sterling Silver Coffee & Tea Set on TrayBy Gorham Manufacturing Company, William B. DurginLocated in New York, NYFairfax sterling silver coffee and tea set on tray. Made by Durham, which was part of Gorham, in Concord, ca 1926. This set comprises 7 pieces: Hot wa...Category
Early 20th Century American Art Deco Sterling Silver
MaterialsSterling Silver
- Tiffany Edwardian Classical Sterling Silver 3-Piece Coffee SetBy Tiffany & Co.Located in New York, NYEdwardian classical sterling silver coffee set. Made by Tiffany & Co. in New York, ca 1907. This comprises coffeepot, creamer, and sugar. Coffeepot: Tapering body on raised foot, hin...Category
Early 20th Century American Edwardian Sterling Silver
MaterialsSterling Silver
- Antique Tiffany Victorian Classical Sterling Silver Coffee & Tea SetBy Tiffany & Co.Located in New York, NYVictorian Classical sterling silver coffee and tea set. Made by Tiffany & Co. in New York. This set comprises coffeepot, teapot, creamer, sugar, and waste bowl. Each: Bellied bowl o...Category
Antique Late 19th Century American Victorian Tea Sets
MaterialsSterling Silver
- Antique Tiffany Victorian Classical Repousse Sterling Silver CoffeepotBy Tiffany & Co.Located in New York, NYVictorian Classical sterling silver coffeepot. Made by Tiffany & Co. in New York. Baluster with vertical spout and hinged and domed cover. Stained-wood finial and capped scroll handl...Category
Antique Late 19th Century American Victorian Sterling Silver
MaterialsSterling Silver
- Victorian Siver 4-Piece Tea and Coffee ServiceBy Barnard BrothersLocated in London, GBA fine quality antique Victorian silver four piece tea and coffee set in exceptional, original condition. The set comprises a coffee pot, tea pot, milk jug and sugar basin, the latte...Category
Antique 1840s English Victorian Tea Sets
MaterialsSterling Silver
- Antique Victorian 5 Piece Silver Tea and Coffee Set with Kettle, 1881 / 82By Martin & HallLocated in London, GBA magnificent antique Victorian sterling Silver Tea and Coffee set comprising of a Kettle on Stand, Tea Pot, Coffee Pot, Cream / Milk Jug & Sugar Bowl. Each piece of this vase shaped...Category
Antique 19th Century English Victorian Tea Sets
MaterialsSterling Silver
- Antique Victorian Sterling Silver Four-Piece Tea Service SetBy Martin Hall & Co.Located in Braintree, GBAntique Victorian sterling silver four-piece tea service set A truly beautiful and extremely stylish four-piece tea set Maker: Martin, Hall & Co. Made in England, London, 1870 Fully ...Category
Antique 1870s British Victorian Sterling Silver
MaterialsSilver
- Antique Victorian Sterling Silver Four-Piece Tea and Coffee ServiceBy Robert Hennell IIILocated in Jesmond, Newcastle Upon TyneAn exceptional, fine and impressive, composite antique Victorian English sterling silver four-piece tea and coffee service/set; part of our silver teaware collection. This exceptional antique Victorian four-piece sterling silver tea and coffee service consists of a coffee pot, teapot, sugar bowl and cream jug. Each piece has a pear shaped form onto a circular spreading foot. The pieces of this Victorian tea and coffee set are embellished with embossed panels in a swirl design, accented with bright cut engraved segmented quatrefoil leaf motifs on a textured background. One side of each piece incorporates a circular cartouche displaying the engraved initial 'B'. The upper rims are encompassed with plain applied moulded borders. The teapot and coffee pot are fitted with domed hinged hallmarked covers reflecting the identical decoration as that to the body. Each cover retains the original hallmarked cast sterling silver finial embellished with scrolling leaf ornamentation. The components of this antique silver tea set...Category
Antique 1860s British Victorian Tea Sets
MaterialsSilver, Sterling Silver
- Four Piece Melon Style Silver Tea and Coffee SetBy Edward & John BarnardLocated in London, GBAn elegant version of the classic melon pattern, this hand-raised, four-piece antique silver tea and coffee set comprises a coffee an...Category
Antique 1850s English Victorian Tea Sets
MaterialsSterling Silver
- Engraved Victorian Sterling Silver Tea Set - 3 Piece - Urn Shape - 1876Located in London, LondonHallmarked in Sheffield in 1876 by Roberts & Belk, this very attractive, Victorian, Antique Sterling Silver Tea Set, is 'Urn' shaped, and features wonderful engraved decoration throu...Category
Antique 1870s English Victorian Sterling Silver
MaterialsSterling Silver