The gorham manufacturing company started as a one man jewelry making shop in the early 1800s. The owner, Jabez Gorham, created his own jewelry designs as well as repaired jewelry within the Rhode Island, U.S. area. But unfortunately, Jabez saw very little in the way of success.
When Jabez took on his first partner, Henry L. Webster, in 1831, the company started creating coin silver demattise spoons. The small spoons were a popular item in New England at the time, and the company started seeing more profits. But the small company still struggled.
It was the inclusion of John Gorham, Jabez’s son, that the company started to become successful. John Gorham had many ideas to take the company in new directions, but was consitantly denied to impliment those ideas by his father. Eventually, after John left the company and returned a few years later, John bought out his father’s stake, and began to build the company into a silver works giant.
The first thing John did was to move the company to a larger building. He then brought in European masters to help train the American workforce Gorham hired. Up till John’s take over of the company, Gorham continued to use coin silver, which was deemed not as good as sterling silver, even though there was only a 2.5% difference in silver content. This use of coin silver kept the company from truly being competitive to the European makers of silver items.
But John modernized the company and began to produce sterling silver tableware and other items. John even went as far as to do commissioned works for a variety of people, including Mary Todd Lincoln, Admiral George Dewey, and Mrs. Ulysseus S. Grant. By offering commission work, the company realized new profits.
When William Codman, a Gorham artisan, designed the Chantilly flatware line, the company soared to new success. The Chantilly designed became the best selling flatware line the world had ever seen, even beating out European flatware. French flatware designers were stunned that an American company could produce such work, and marveled at the success that Gorham was showing.
Even today, Gorham continues to produce silver flatware, which the company is best known for. However, through the years, the company has produced stunning silver works such as antique silver holloware, tea sets, stainless steel items, and silver plate items.
Gorhams had a large run in the early 20th century by providing tablesets for railway dining cars. The American railway was in its hey day, and the railway companies were often competeing with restaurants in terms of fine dining. Many railway companies used Gorham sterling silver items to show case the amazing meals that could be had both on the trains as well as in the stations themselves. These items are hard to find these days, and many railway tablesets can be seen in museums.
Gorham Silver was created by one man, but it grew into one of the largest silver works companies, in the world. It easily rivaled companies like Tiffanies in the early 20th century. Today, the company still produces items such as flatware, and while the quality of its modern pieces are of high standards, it seems to have lost the magic that made it what it was so long ago.