The Gorham Story
The Story of Gorham Craftsmanship in Silver since 1831
Since the year 1831, Gorham Silver Manufacturing has been the industry leader in crafting sterling silver flatware and holloware items as well as silver plated items. In this article learn about the history of Gorham's manufacturing process.
In 1831, Jabez Gorham began to craft table silver of extraordinary quality in Providence, Rhode Island. His work was the birth of Gorham Sterling Silver destined to grace the world's finest tables.
Under the leadership of Gorham's son John, the company saw growth and its reputation became widely known. John studied silver manufacture in England and brought back to America some of its best silversmiths. These craftsmen created Gorham's first tea sets, pitchers and holloware.
By 1868, the Gorham Company had adopted a trademark to identify its fine sterling products: A lion, representing the English hallmark for sterling; an anchor, for the state of Rhode Island; a capital "G," signifying the firm's name. The mark has since been recognized the world over as a symbol of uncompromising quality.
In 1856, Gorham introduced its line of silverplate, producing it with the same care as they did their sterling. Gorham Silverplate has always been treasured for its superior quality and value. Today, Gorham's master craftsmen continue to produce sterling, silverplate and pewter with the same care and concern. Using time-honored techniques combined with the newest technology the level of painstaking craftsmanship never varies.
To make sterling, Gorham first selects silver of the highest grade which is melted poured and rolled out at Gorham's own foundry. Each sheet is then closely inspected and carefully hand-polished, as Figure 3 illustrates.
In the next step, (depending on its final form), each piece is meticulously wrought by stamping, hydro forming, casting or spinning. Figure 1, for instance, captures the artisan's skill in forming sterling holloware on a spinning lathe.
An elegant design is patiently chased (Figure 2)
onto a sterling teapot.
In Figure 5, craftsmen shape the individual items by hand. Later the pieces will be finished to a soft luster (Figure 6).
Gorham Silver-plate begins with the finest brass as a base. It is
worked in the same way as is sterling. Here again, the Gorham craftsman brings his special touch to every phase of production. Borders and feet are carefully hand soldered (Figure 7).
Gorham craftsmen also take the extra time to polish the brass foundations just prior to plating (Figure 8). The result is truly distinctive hollo-ware, to be cherished by its fortunate owners.
This article was originally written and published in the year 1981 by Gorham Manufacturing and was included in their dealer handbooks of all retailers that sold Gorham products. We were actual retailers of Gorham at that time era. The article was restored for web form by Greg Arbutine CEO of the Silver Museum LLC on March 8, 2025.
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Awesome article!