Gorham Manufacturing Company Records (Ms.74)

Biographical/Historical Note

Gorham Silver was founded in Providence, Rhode Island 1831 by Jabez Gorham, in partnership with Henry L. Webster. The firm's chief product was spoons of coin silver. The company also made thimbles, combs, jewelry, and other small items. In 1842, a tariff which effectively blocked the importation of silverware from outside the United States was passed, which aided the American silver industry.

In 1847 Jabez retired and his son, John Gorham succeeded him as head of the company. John Gorham introduced mechanized production methods, enlarged the premises in downtown Providence, changed the designs, and expanded the product line. In 1852 Gorham toured many of Europe's silver workshops and manufacturers, speaking with individual specialists, including master craftsmen and toolmakers. He also sought out highly skilled foreign workmen to train his American workers. George Wilkinson, a premier designer and workshop manager, was hired from England. In 1865 a charter was granted by the Rhode Island legislature by the name of "Gorham Manufacturing Company".

In 1890 the company relocated to a factory on Adelaide Avenue in Providence.Gorham's presence in Rhode Island changed both the physical and human make up of the area. Gorham's skilled craftspeople, many of whom immigrated from Europe, built houses in the Mashapaug Pond area near Gorham's Adelaide Avenue factory. Gorham's use of the Mashapaug Pond area for its waste caused the water and ground of the area to become toxic.

During the heyday of American silver manufacturing, approximately 1850 - 1940, Gorham was influential both in its hold on the silver market and its design . William C. Codman, one of Gorham's most noted designers, created Chantilly in 1895, which has become the most famous of Gorham's flatware patterns. Matching holloware has been made in both sterling and silverplate.

In 1884, the company opened a store in the Ladies' Mile shopping district in Manhattan, New York City, but moved in 1905 to a Fifth Avenue building which was designed for the by Stanford White. In 1906 Gorham purchased another long-time rival, Kerr & Co, which was based in New Jersey.

The company was purchased by Textron in 1967, a move that some critics claim decreased quality due to management's lack of understanding of Gorham's specialty, producing high-quality sterling silverware and holloware. In 1985, Textron closed the Adelaide Avenue factory in Providence. Gorham was owned by Brown-Forman Corporation from 1991 to 2005 until it was sold to Department 56 in the Lenox holdings transaction.