Can anyone share some info? - SMP Silver Salon Forums

SM Publications

Silver Salon Forums - The premier site for discussing Silver.

SMP | Silver Salon Forums | SSF - Guidelines | SSF - FAQ | Silver Sales

The Silver Salon Forums
Since 1993
Over 11,793 threads & 64,769 posts !!
American Silver before sterling Forum

A GLOSSARY of MILLED BANDS
Past American Coin Silver Forum topics/threads worth a look
WEV's American Silversmith's Family Tree Project Smith's Index

Silver Salon internal search
or

How to Post Photos

REGISTER (click here)

SMP Silver Salon Forums
tline

American Silver before sterling
tline3

Can anyone share some info?

profile | register | preferences | faq | search

SSFFriend: Email This Page to Someone!

next newest topic | next oldest topic

Author	Topic: Can anyone share some info?
jersey Posts: 1203 Registered: Feb 2005	posted 03-01-2007 09:30 AM Hello! I have a friend who is looking to clarify some info re Baldwin Gardiner. They have asked me this question and my knowledge is very limited. I am in hopes that perhaps some of you could share your expertise, (if it is not too much trouble), & help with the answer they are seeking. The question is being asked only for the purpose of gaining more information regarding the works of Baldwin Gardiner. Here is the question. I have read that Baldwin Gardiner, when he opened his own business in New York City in the 1830's was really a retailer, not a manufacturer of the the items he sold. (SOURCE: Metalwork in Early America ~ Copper and Its Alloys from the Winterthur Collection, by Donald L. Fennimore. This was in reference to argand lamps that bear Baldwin Gardiner's name on a brass label, but were actually made, complete with that custom label, by Thomas Cook, in Birmingham, England.) Nothing was written to indicate that he might not have made, by his own hand, the silver items he sold, but it did get me to wondering, did Baldwin Gardiner, and/or other silversmiths in major metropolitan areas, actually fashion the objects marked with their names? Or did they maintain workshops with unnamed silversmiths in their employ, working in the capacity of smiths and/or perhaps even designers? Or did they in some cases simply job out their silver to other shops, perhaps in other cities, or even in other countries, and simply have their own mark struck on the pieces? Is there any scholarship to provide the answer? Thank you in advance for your any help for my friend. Jersey IP: Logged
swarter Moderator Posts: 2920 Registered: May 2003	posted 03-01-2007 11:48 AM Any or all of the scenarios you mention are known to have been used by silversmiths who were also retailers. McGrew records half a dozen different sets of pseudohallmarks that appear on silver that bears Gardiner's "personal" mark. Three of these bear the letter G, which has led some to speculate thaat he may hace been the maker, but the letters D and W also appear. Some of these were used by many other sellers, and others by only a few, so it cannot be certain who was the maker or supplier of any of them. IP: Logged
jersey Posts: 1203 Registered: Feb 2005	posted 03-21-2007 01:11 PM Swarter! Thank you for your response. I have advised my friends accordingly & it has apparently confirmed their suspicions regarding Baldwin Gardiner. I am sorry I have not gotten back to you sooner but I have been out of it for a month with this awful flu bug. Thanks again. Jersey IP: Logged
bascall Posts: 1629 Registered: Nov 99	posted 03-21-2007 04:36 PM One thing that I can add which is also from The Winterthur Library in The Joseph Downs Collection of Manuscripts and Printed Ephemera and found online is that Baldwin Gardiner was employed by his brother Sidney a silversmith and Charles Fletcher in 1810. Because of Balwin's early connection with his silversmith brother, it seems reasonable that he too was actually a silversmith by trade as well as a merchant. IP: Logged

All times are ET	next newest topic \| next oldest topic
Administrative Options: Close Topic \| Archive/Move \| Delete Topic
	Hop to:

Ultimate Bulletin Board 5.46a

^1. Public Silver Forums (open Free membership) - anyone with a valid e-mail address may register. Once you have received your Silver Salon Forum password, and then if you abide by the Silver Salon Forum Guidelines, you may start a thread or post a reply in the New Members' Forum. New Members who show a continued willingness to participate, to completely read and abide by the Guidelines will be allowed to post to the Member Public Forums.
Click here to Register for a Free password

^2. Private Silver Salon Forums (invitational or $ donation membership) - The Private Silver Salon Forums require registration and special authorization to view, search, start a thread or to post a reply. Special authorization can be obtained in one of several ways: by Invitation; Annual $ Donation; or via Special Limited Membership. For more details click here (under development).

^3. Administrative/Special Private Forums (special membership required) - These forums are reserved for special subjects or administrative discussion. These forums are not open to the public and require special authorization to view or post.

| Home | Order | The Guide to Evaluating Gold & Silver Objects | The Book of Silver