Gorham Manufacturing Tidbits

When people think of fine silver and stained glass, they think of Tiffany — but one of Tiffany’s major competitors was Gorham, which was very active in making similar items and competed with Tiffany aggressively. Gorham artisans made stained glass windows for churches and buildings all over the U.S. The finest silversmiths in the world worked for Gorham. Some original signed renderings (small paintings called studies) are highly sought after. Gorham had a special department for churches and religious organizations, as did Tiffany.

Today, we share a rare one-of-a-kind 1912 sterling silver prayer book cover made by Gorham in their special order department. The small fish imprint (see detail photo, second) was Gorham’s hallmark for the year 1912. (This was made for W. Igloos Morse, a famous educator, theologian and writer.) It is intricate and finely made. If it were not of a religious nature, it would likely be worth $5,000-$7,000; however, as stated in past columns, religious items often don’t have a high value because of the limited market interested in that particular religion, and because some think it is inappropriate to sell religious items.

Gorham's Hallmark For The Year 1912

silver book cover
stamped sterling book

$400-$5,000 / 1912 STERLING SILVER PRAYER BOOK COVER WITH GORHAM HALLMARK

Gorham also made bronze and other fine and decorative arts. Katrina and I have had this small painting of a stained glass window in our collection for 15 years. It hangs on a wall in our home. These tiny paintings would likely sell for $400-$500 each. If we had the actual stained glass window, it would be worth $50,000 or more.

glass window

$400-$5,000 / 1912 PETITE PAINTING OF STAINED GLASS WINDOW MADE BY GORHAM ARTISANS

This is an archival article formerly written and is for informational purposes only. The valuations in this article have likely changed since it was first written.

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