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tline3open  H.E. Baldwin & Co.

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Author Topic:   H.E. Baldwin & Co.
ahwt

Posts: 2334
Registered: Mar 2003

iconnumber posted 04-19-2008 07:41 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for ahwt     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote

Above is a fiddle handle ladle with the mark of Horace E. Baldwin & Co. Mr. Baldwin was a partner in the firm Taylor, Baldwin and Co. in Newark, N. J. prior to moving to New Orleans in 1842. The book Crescent City Silver indicates that Mr. Baldwin appears to have been in New Orleans until 1853 and purchased much of his silver from New Jersey and New York area producers. Some of the silver in the Crescent City exhibit with Baldwin's mark was marked with the letters WF and this latter mark is attributed to William Forbes of New York.

The above ladle has the manufacturer's marks of an eagle plus the letter "c". It is also stamped with the letter "M" that appears to me to be a journeyman's mark. McGrew does show a right facing eagle on page 89 that is similar and it is attributed to some unnamed silversmith from NYC. He also indicates that a right facing eagle + (C), "M" was found on silver from Motts Jr. (Jordan, Jr?) a retailer from NYC. No picture is given of this mark and it may be the same as the marks on the Baldwin ladle. Then again the c and m may be different.

Any ideas as to who Baldwin obtained this ladle from? The ladle is monogrammed on the back as much of the silver from New Orleans was and has a nice drop typical of the time period.

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bascall

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iconnumber posted 04-19-2008 08:49 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for bascall     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
For what it's worth in the 1850 U S Federal Census, Horace E Baldwin along with his father Isaac and his younger brother Wycliffe is in Newark South Ward, NJ. All are listed as jewellers.

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ahwt

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iconnumber posted 04-19-2008 10:17 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for ahwt     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
That is interesting Bascall. Crescent City Silver does list several items with the H.E. Baldwin & Co. mark and the stamp New Orleans. It would appear that Baldwin had an outlet in New Orleans, but perhaps he never did change his domicile to Louisiana.

A cup and a pitcher are shown in Crescent City Silver with the Baldwin mark that also has the mark "Manufacturers". I have not found any evidence that he actually did any manufacturing of silver.

[This message has been edited by ahwt (edited 04-20-2008).]

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wev
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Registered: Apr 99

iconnumber posted 04-20-2008 03:32 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for wev     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
To set the record straight, it was Isaac Baldwin, Horace's father, who was partnered with John Taylor. After the dissolution of the partnership, he continued as Baldwin & Company with his two sons. When he joined with James Durand in 1845, he turned the company over to Horace, becoming H. E. Baldwin & Co. All three Baldwins are listed as resident (Newark) members of the New Jersey Historical Society throughout the 1840s. As for a New Orleans outlet, it would seem more likely that Horace had, like many other entrepreneurial merchants (see my Fletcher letter, On the road) various agents selling wares under his name, following the major waterways. His goods could have been bought as needed from any number of manufacturers from New Orleans to New Jersey, accounting for the eclectic manner in which surviving pieces are marked.

[This message has been edited by wev (edited 04-20-2008).]

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ahwt

Posts: 2334
Registered: Mar 2003

iconnumber posted 04-21-2008 09:23 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for ahwt     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Thanks for the information WEV. The Crescent City Silver book does not provide a source for their placing Baldwin in New Orleans or if he every had a storefront in that town.
I wonder if H.E. Baldwin and Co. mark shows up with a city name other than New Orleans. If Horace did send out agents to sell silver, they may well have attempted to penetrate markets in other cities.

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bascall

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iconnumber posted 04-22-2008 05:35 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for bascall     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Yes, the on road letter is an ideal glimpse at the way manufacturing jewelers operated in those days.

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Ulysses Dietz
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iconnumber posted 04-27-2008 09:38 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Ulysses Dietz     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
The Baldwin family got around! It's an interesting fact that there are many links between Newark, NJ, and New Orleans. Remember that Newark had (and has) one of the best deep-water harbors on the east coast. But part of it probably had to do with northerners fleeing the depression that followed the panic of 1837--and southern cities such as New Orleans and Memphis seemed to have more opportunities for out of work men from the north. The other fact is that Newark was a major center for the production of slave shoes.

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bascall

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iconnumber posted 03-18-2009 12:50 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for bascall     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
From an 1846 New Orleans City Directory: Baldwin, H E & Co fancy jewellery store 7 Chartres Streets.

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Tad Hale

Posts: 120
Registered: Jul 2005

iconnumber posted 03-18-2009 08:16 PM     Click Here to See the Profile for Tad Hale     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
Horace E. Baldwin-Manufacturing Jeweler, working c.1836-1852. Died Nov. 5th, 1852. Son of Isaac Baldwin. Listed as Jeweler at 6 Franklin Street 1836-1845; with firm of Taylor, Baldwin & Co.,1840-1841; Baldwin & Co.,1842-1845. During 1848-1849 worked in New Orleans; returned to Newark 1850 and rejoined Baldwin & Co. until death.

Kovel gives mark H.E. BALDWIN & CO. in arc over NEW ORLEANS in rectangle; Currier says this is a mark of a retailer.

This info was published by the Newark museum, entitled "Silver in Newark" a Newark 300th Anniversary Study by J. Stewart Johnson (The Museum New Series, volume 18, Nos. 3&4, Summer to Fall 1966)

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bascall

Posts: 1629
Registered: Nov 99

iconnumber posted 05-29-2009 02:20 AM     Click Here to See the Profile for bascall     Edit/Delete Message   Reply w/Quote
quote:
Originally posted by wev:
As for a New Orleans outlet, it would seem more likely that Horace had, like many other entrepreneurial merchants ... various agents selling wares under his name, following the major waterways.

Reports of Cases Argued and Determined in the Supreme Court of Louisiana By Louisiana Supreme Court, Louisiana, Merritt M. Robinson, Louisiana (Google Books) has an 1845 case involving J Garland a New Orleans partner of the house of Taylor Baldwin & Co, of Newark as the plaintiff. The defendant was a shipping company. The case was a suit for the value a package of undisclosed contents that was shipped from Newark to Garland in New Orleans and never arrived.

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