| Gorham's avant-garde and entirely handmade Hamburg pattern dating from the early to mid 1880s featured irregularly hammered surfaces with stamped animal and other natural motifs. Frequently the designs were strange and unexpected. The cocktail fork shown depicts a realistic cricket and a swallow. It comes from a set with other odd animal choices such as a centipede, frog, squirrel, and others. I have also seen cows, cherubic faces, and what appeared to be chicken footprints on the Hamburg pattern. |
