Creator Record

Images

1 of 1977 Gorham Factory Illustration

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Metadata

Name (Artist/Photographer/Author)

Gorham

Other names

Gorham Manufacturing Company

Caption

Gorham Factory Illustration

Places of residence

Gorham Manufacturing Company was initially founded in 1831 by Jabez Gorham (1792-1869) in Providence, Rodhe Island. In 1837, William Price joined Gorham and his partner Henry Webster to form Gorham, Webster & Price. In 1850 Gorham’s son, John Gorham, and his cousin, Gorham Thurber, took over the company and changed the name to Gorham & Thurber. Under the two cousins’ leadership the company expanded their production of hollowware and flatware with the aid of new manufacturing technologies. In 1865, the business was incorporated as Gorham Manufacturing Company, at which time electroplating was also introduced. Over the next century the company frequently brought in designers to keep Gorham’s products current and fashionable—from English silversmith Thomas Joseph Pairpoint’s (active 1868–77) High Victorian designs to the Danish designer Erik Magnussen’s (active 1925–29) radically modern, Cubist-inspired coffee service. During World War II Gorham’s production diminished as resources were redirected to the war effort. Production was resumed in the 1950s. In 1967, the company merged with Textron Corporation of Providence.