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 SMP Silver Salon Forums
 Silverplate Forum
 Gorham bells--sterling or plate?
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| Author | Topic: Gorham bells--sterling or plate? |
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Polly Posts: 1970 |
posted 03-09-2009 01:59 PM
  
[13-0703] Did Gorham ever mark their silverplate with date letters? I bought a sweet pair of dinner bells, for a silverplate price. They're both marked "G MFG CO" with an anchor, but no accompanying lion and G, and they're not marked sterling. But they do have date marks and model numbers. One has the star for 1888 and the other has the rooster for 1890. They're very heavy, with sweet tones when rung. Do the date marks mean they're sterling? Or does the lack of a sterling mark and the lack of the lion and G mean silverplate? I don't see any base metal showing through anywhere, but they're awfully heavy for sterling. Here are photos of the bells and their marks: IP: Logged |
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Brent Posts: 1507 |
posted 03-09-2009 02:35 PM
Definitely plate, but early and beautiful. Gorham plate was of much better quality than average, and can fool people even today because it just doesn't wear out. Gorham did use the date codes on both sterling and plate, as did Reed & Barton. Hope this helps! Very nice bells. Brent IP: Logged |
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Polly Posts: 1970 |
posted 03-09-2009 02:42 PM
Thank you, Brent! I knew I shouldn't have posted in the sterling forum--sort of like making it rain by forgetting your umbrella. Perhaps a moderator will move this to the right forum? I'm very impressed with how good they made the bells sound. I wonder whether they took the musical requirements into account when deciding what alloy to use. IP: Logged |
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Brent Posts: 1507 |
posted 03-09-2009 03:56 PM
No problem. They could actually be bronze under the plating. I have a Gorham toothpick of similar age that is actually plated bronze. If they do seem unusually heavy, that would be my guess. As for the marks, these are typical Gorham marks for their early plate. Generally, if you don't see the Lion Anchor G on a known piece of early Gorham, it is probably plate. The anchor on its own is the trademark to look for on old plate. That said, early Gorham pattern coin flatware is often just marked COIN with no trademark at all. IP: Logged |
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Paul Lemieux Posts: 1792 |
posted 03-10-2009 02:27 PM
The numerical prefix "0" on a Gorham piece's model number indicates plate, as does the anchor trademark (i.e., no lion or G). IP: Logged |
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Polly Posts: 1970 |
posted 03-10-2009 03:07 PM
Thanks, Paul! And thanks for the move to the proper forum. IP: Logged |
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Dale Posts: 2132 |
posted 03-10-2009 08:14 PM
Gorham produced a great deal of plated holloware in the 19th century. I have never seen a whole lot of plated flatware. Gorham also supplied a lot of commercial silver for rail roads, restaurants and hotels. The designs tended not to be different from the household market which has led me to suspect that all Gorham plate was of commercial quality, which is higher. Are there any engravings on the bells? Most that I have seen were a gift to a school teacher or had the name of a tea room on them. Thanks for sharing. IP: Logged |
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Polly Posts: 1970 |
posted 03-10-2009 09:36 PM
No, no engravings, just the cast--stamped? rolled? probably rolled, right?--decorations. IP: Logged |
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