GORHAM SILVER MARKS

GORHAM HISTORY

The origins of Gorham are in 1831 when the firm of Jabez Gorham was joined by Henry L. Webster in the Gorham & Webster.
In its history the firm assumed these names: Gorham & Webster (1831-1837), Gorham Webster & Price (1837-1841), J. Gorham & Son (1841-1850), Gorham & Thurber (1850-1852), Gorham & Company (1852-1865), Gorham Mfg. Co. (1865-1961), Gorham Corp. (from 1961).
The company moved into a new headquarters in Providence, RI in 1890 as employment surpassed 500, and in 1905 they opened a retail outlet on Fifth Avenue in New York City. Throughout the latter half of the 19th century and into the 20th, Gorham attracted some of the best designers and silver artisans in the world.
Their rapidly expanding business of doing one-of-a-kind pieces on commission for major world figures and events expanded their profile and introduced Gorham to an international clientele.
The decline of Gorham began in 1967, when the company was purchased by Textron, 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.
Textron sold the company to Dansk International Designs in 1989.
Brown-Forman Corporation acquired Gorham from Dansk in 1991 and in 2005 resold the unit to Department 56 in the Lenox holdings transaction, with the resulting company renamed as Lenox Group.
However, in 2009 Lenox Group filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and it was subsequently acquired by Clarion Capital Partners, operating under the name Lenox Corporation, which has three operating divisions, Lenox, Dansk and Gorham.
Gorham is now (2020) property of Lifetime Brands, Inc. owner of other historic brands as International Silver, Kirk Stieff, Poole, Towle Silversmiths, Tuttle and Wallace.

THE PREDECESSORS

GORHAM MFG CO

GORHAM IN THE UK

GORHAM DATING SYSTEM

This is a preview of date marks symbols. Click on the images to view the complete series of Gorham year's date marks