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 John Polhamus/Polhemus Tiffany silver in the West
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| Author | Topic: John Polhamus/Polhemus Tiffany silver in the West |
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Johncollector44 Posts: 10 |
posted 12-06-2011 08:24 PM
  
I am new to this forum and look forward to participating occasionally but even more so to learning about collectable silver. I buy silver and other art as an investment but I am also fascinated by the history of the material that catches my eye. Among my current interests is silver designed by John Polhamus/Polhemus. I have always been curious about the origin of a heavy Tiffany luncheon fork in John Polhamus's Honeysuckle pattern my mother owned. It is marked J.P. Patent 1867 as well as Tiffany and Co. and is engraved "Laramie" in the medallion. Then I came across the report of a large set of Polhamus/Tiffany silver now owned by the Nebraska Historical Society that was made to commemorate the completion of the Union Pacific Railroad and presented to contractor Lewis Carmichael. Quoting from the Society newsletter, "The hollowware from the set was manufactured by Tiffany & Co. of New York. The flatware, made by New York silversmith John Polhemus, was sold by Tiffany and carries both the maker's and seller's marks. Unfortunately the showpiece for the set, a large tray with scenes from the railroad's route etched into it was not included in the bequest to the Society." Also unfortunately the museum's newsletter does not mention design or pattern so I don't know whether Polhamus designed special flatware for this purpose or Tiffany used an existing pattern. So my question is this: Did Tiffany specifically market commemorative silver in the American West as new territories opened in the mid-19th century? Are there other examples? Or is it more likely that my mother's fork was engraved locally for a high-end tourist market, a hotel or a club? John IP: Logged |
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wev Moderator Posts: 4121 |
posted 12-06-2011 09:45 PM
Tiffany would make anything you could afford; more money, more originality. As for your spoon, are you assuming the engraving refers to the city? The surname goes back centuries, the town not so far. Did she buy it new? IP: Logged |
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Scott Martin Forum Master Posts: 11520 |
posted 12-06-2011 10:22 PM
Polhemus/Polhamus/Polemus -- you say potato I say spud IP: Logged |
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Johncollector44 Posts: 10 |
posted 12-07-2011 05:34 PM
Thanks for your observation about Tiffany. I don't know how my mother got the fork. She is now 92, but she has had it for years. Laramie could be a family name but most engraving on family flatware is in the form of initials or, mostly in Europe, crests. IP: Logged |
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Kimo Posts: 1627 |
posted 12-07-2011 06:11 PM
It is very hard to discuss this without some nice clear photos - both overall and also closeups of the markings. Could you please post some photos to help us see what the discussion is about? IP: Logged |
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wev Moderator Posts: 4121 |
posted 12-07-2011 06:30 PM
quote: Actually, at the end of the 19th century, it is not uncommon to see a family name spelled out in full, though it was not the genral rule. IP: Logged |
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Johncollector44 Posts: 10 |
posted 12-11-2011 09:11 AM
I took me a few days to get photos of the fork in appropriate format for this site. The marks (third photo) include the date after J. P. Patent as well as Tiffany and Co. and sterling. Does anyone have a copy of the original patent application for this pattern? IP: Logged |
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Kimo Posts: 1627 |
posted 12-12-2011 06:33 PM
On seeing the fork and engraving (thanks for adding the well done photos - they are always important) my thought is the engraving is a family name rather than the town or a hotel or company. If it were the town I would expect some additional feature such as a date of some kind, or even a bit of a small scenic touch. Engravers of tourist and souvenir silver typically could not resist such flamboyances to show their skills. Also, they would have been unlikely to be engraving Tiffany silver for the tourist trade since even back in the day Tiffany was a big name and there was much less costly silverware to engrave for tourists. IP: Logged |
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Johncollector44 Posts: 10 |
posted 12-12-2011 07:47 PM
Many thanks for your reply. What you say makes sense to me. It is hard to imagine Tiffany silver as tourist ware. But Laramie was founded in the mid-1860s and in 1868 the first train came through town on the brand new Union Pacific railway. Since Tiffany/Polhamus apparently made an enormous set of silver about that time to honor one of the Union Pacific contractors as I noted in my first post, I had to wonder if the flamboyance you see in some of the early western towns, Leadville, Colorado's extravagant opera house for example, could have extended to buying Tiffany silver for some celebration. That does seem highly unlikely. But I'm curious now about Tiffany's and Polhamus's contract for the set of flat and hollow ware, so I'll contact the Nebraska Historical Society to find out more about the Union Pacific Tiffany silver there. John IP: Logged |
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dragonflywink Posts: 993 |
posted 12-13-2011 05:42 AM
Polhamus' patent for the Honeysuckle pattern was #D2539, issued Jan. 1, 1867. While I've handled a pretty good number of regular line pattern spoons, including Tiffany, engraved as souvenirs with only a location name (on either side of the handles, as well as the bowls) - they've all dated from the 1890s or later. Doubt this fork is a souvenir, unless done a couple of decades after its manufacture; agree that "Laramie" is more likely a surname. ~Cheryl IP: Logged |
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Johncollector44 Posts: 10 |
posted 12-13-2011 06:45 AM
Many thanks for sharing your experience. IP: Logged |
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Johncollector44 Posts: 10 |
posted 12-13-2011 10:48 AM
And my thanks also for the patent document. I didn't scroll down far enough early this morning when I first looked at the message. John IP: Logged |
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