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For decades, our fine jewelry has been curated from around the globe.

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(playful music) - [Mike] There is perhaps no better way to define the Gilded Age than to take a stroll down Bellevue Avenue in Newport, Rhode Island.

Dotted with summer cottages of the elite, the Avenue flaunts the excesses of the economic boom following the civil war.

Railroads, factories and coal mines, catapulted families such as the Vanderbilts and Asters into obscene wealth and opulent living.

- The people who are occupying those summer cottages need to have wares that match this architecture.

And so, what better place to go to than Gorham for the silver that would be there at their summer cottage and as well as in their other residents in New York City, let's say.

- The Victorians just did not want empty space on their table.

So, Gorham felt that they could certainly provide for that need, and it became a way of discerning class.

Like, if you didn't know how to use all these pieces, you didn't belong at this dinner table.

It met a need for the wealthier.

It was a distraction, it was a show off, it was class distinction.

You know, in fact, you could have eaten with your fingers, but it was Victorian.

So, what can we say about the Victorians?

(playful music) - [Mike] It was the winter of 1878, and John Gorham's departure from the Gorham Manufacturing Company, didn't incite a blizzard, or a squall.

In fact, it barely caused a draft through the factory.

John, with his long periods of absence, had succeeded in making himself expendable, and thanks to the taboo of his bankruptcy and embarrassment.

In his place, the Gorham board swiftly elected William Crins as the new president.

Crins was a respected Providence businessman, who was also a complete industry outsider.

- I have a sense that Crins was somebody who watched the books and managed probably a lot of the internal workings of the plant and all of that, and probably did not get much involved in the marketing and sales, and even the design part of it.

- They made him the titular president, but really the power behind the throne was Edward Holbrook.

- [Mike] Holbrook, who's been described as the John D. Rockefeller of the silver industry, was an ambitious and brilliant salesman hired at Gorham in 1870.

In his early 20s, he traveled the United States scoring lucrative sales for the company and learning the ins and outs of the silver business.

Six years after starting at Gorham, Holbrook was put in charge of New York sales.

With this new position, came a yearly income of $7,500, making Holbrook the highest paid employee at Gorham.

But Holbrook set his eyes on a bigger prize, taking advantage of John Gorham's misfortune.

- Because of the bankruptcy, all that Gorham stock was on the market.

That's where Edward Holbrook came in.

- [Mike] Taking on an enormous amount of debt, Holbrook purchased $59,000 of Gorham stock.

By 1878, he held enough shares to become one of only four company officers, the other three being Gorham Thurber, George Wilkinson, and the new president, William Crins.

- Crins knew what his role was, and Holbrook knew what his role was, and Wilkinson knew what his, and they didn't kind other than privately confess, maybe some kind of tension, but they each just run or reign their own part of the business.

- [Mike] As the hardships of the civil war and the financial panic of 1873 faded, Gorham entered a new era of prosperity, fueled by the growing wealth throughout the country, and even at home.

- We can't forget about the fact that Rhode Island is also the wealthiest state in the country in this period.

And so, not only do we have the outside wealth that might be coming in and building these absolutely gorgeous mansions in Newport, we have a lot of wealth right here in Rhode Island, and that is fueled by these industries.

- In the 1870s and the 1880s, there were basically two main styles, a very neoclassical style.

So, looking back at Greek and Roman influences, and then when Japan showed at the 1876 World's Fair in Philadelphia, the aesthetic movement was kicked off.

- [Mike] The Japanese government sponsors a huge display, that is a sensation of the exhibition.

People had not seen the kinds of Japanese art, we're all familiar with today, like woodblock prints.

They were so different from what Western art looked like, that they were immediately sought after by everyone.

- [Mike] At the exhibition, the Japanese display also enthralled with its unique use of mixed metals, unfamiliar to Western audiences.

- British silversmith are not allowed to mix base and precious metals, and still have the piece be hallmarked.

And of course, American silversmithing traditions derived from British silversmithing traditions.

So, this was very new, and Gorham immediately latched onto this idea and took it in a number of different directions.

- [Mike] Directions that were frequently inspired by the volumes of Katsushika Hokusai's Manga in Gorham's extensive design library.

At times, images by this famous Japanese artist, were lifted directly from the pages.

- In the 19th century, it was very much the way design worked was that you looked at the best of the past, and you created something new out of the bits that you felt were the best.

- [Mike] A revered item from Gorham's mixed metal creations, is a vase adorned with a three-dimensional brass lizard and a copper Japanese warrior.

- [Man] I don't think you could find a better example of the way in which Gorham took Japanese models and made something very original out of them.

There's no Japanese object that looks like this, but all of the component parts of it are clearly influenced by Japanese prototypes.

- [Mike] Like all aesthetic movements, the Japanese style reached its peak.

By the mid 1880s, there was a return to historical revival, the wheelhouse of George Wilkinson, who continued to be the driving force behind Gorham's design.

- Wilkinson must have been a design director that allowed for a lot of different kind of design at the same time.

- I mean, you look at some of Wilkinson stuff, and you just smile because they're filled with life, they're filled with joy.

- Design in the late 19th century, was an incredible smorgasbord of armchair traveling.

From one design to the next, you never knew what you were seeing.

And the names they gave them were sometimes quite hilarious.

- [Mike] Names like Knickerbocker, Dowager, and Fontainebleau, were a nod to Gorham's multicultural influences, not only evident in their design, but also their workforce.

By the 1880s, half of Gorham's employees were immigrants, mostly from England, but also from Germany and France, where one highly sought after designer was recruited.

In fact, he was practically stolen from under Tiffany's nose.

- Antoine Heller was an extraordinary dye chaser and designer who worked at Gorham and was fought over by Gorham and Tiffany.

And, you know, he's the only silversmith I know who actually won awards as collaborators at World Fairs for two different companies.

- [Man] The story is that he trained at the Echols de Bozar, although apparently there's no record of him ever having been a student there, but he certainly trained in Paris and was steeped in the style of the Echols de Bozar.

The ancient world was the gold standard from which everything derived.

- [Mike] In a Gorham publication, Heller was described as having a hand for which no obstacle exists.

He not only created elaborate and exquisite designs, but also chase them into the steel dyes necessary for mass production.

At Tiffany, Heller was the creative force, behind the complex Olympian flatware pattern.

And at Gorham, he designed popular patterns, such as Fontainebleau, Cluny and Mythologique.

- Well, regardless of what type of piece was going to be made, it all started in the design department.

A drawing would've been made, a working drawing, which would've shown the metal thickness, the overall dimensions, and it would've been very, very detailed.

- [Mike] To make a piece of flatware such as a spoon, Gorham would create a dye from the design.

Then, similar to using a cookie cutter, blanks would be stamped out of a silver sheet, producing the basic form.

A single blank would then be placed into the dye on the drop press.

And once the press slammed down, the brute force would cause the blank to conform to the shape and design of the steel dye.

- When they came out of the drop press, they could be very rough.

They weren't ready to go.

It would have to be finished and polished.

And that process involved hand work of one by one, finishing those spoons to the point that they could be sold.

- [Mike] By 1889, the Gorham plant had grown to occupy almost an entire city block in the heart of Providence, but it still wasn't enough space to support Gorham's booming sterling silver business, along with their mass-marketed and more affordable silver plate.

- The silver plate business gave people like my grandmother, a price point that they could afford.

It's no different than the custom jewelry business.

"Oh, you guys in Providence made all that cheap stuff."

It wasn't cheap, it was just affordable.

We were an immigrant nation, and we were a mass merchandise nation.

So now, a Gorham silver pot in sterling that was $400, was now in silver plate for $100.

It was a market difference in price points.

And now, you have the requirement and the capacity problems of being in the high volume business.

And that's where Gorham grew, and grew, and grew, and now we have to plant it on Rhode Avenue.

- [Mike] On a Saturday in may of 1888, the Gorham board met to address these capacity problems.

Fortunately, there were no profit problems.

Sales had increased from $521,000 in 1878 to about $3 million per year by the late 1880s.

Holbrook, who had quietly continued to buy up shares of Gorham stock, now fully owned the company.

His new title was that of treasurer, while he kept Crins on his president.

- Holbrook stayed in New York and sold from there, but really called the shots at the headquarters in Providence from there.

- [Mike] The two men had a close relationship, and Holbrook entrusted Crins to oversee the construction of a new state-of-the-art facility in the Elmwood neighborhood of Providence.

- There are diaries existing of William Crins, and they are written at a very pivotal point of the company's history.

- [Mike] In his private confessions, Crins provides a glimpse into the inner workings at Gorham as well as his long-standing frustration with George Wilkinson.

On October 4th, 1888, he wrote, "Wilkinson put in an appearance this morning, after an absence of seven days on a lark."

Another entry dated January 11th, 1889 states, "Wilkinson went to New York on 11:00 am train, ostensibly for business, but really for a good time generally, how this man humbugs the corporation and hood winks Holbrook."

Through his diaries, one can senses the weight of responsibility on Crins' shoulders as he supervised the construction of the New Gorham plant, a plant that sprawled over 30 acres, and where no amenity, utility or expense was spared.

- It was Jurassic.

It was the biggest effort in making an autistic metal building in the world.

They had their own train station.

They not only had departments for everybody and everything, they had floor to ceiling windows, because they used natural light during the day, wasn't a lot available electricity.

They had a carriage house for the horse and buggies with an elevator, and the horses would stay downstairs and feed, and the carriages would be put on an elevator, out of sight for the horse and put on the second floor.

It was dynamic.

It was the most phenomenal factory that was ever built.

- [Mike] The factory also had its own water supply, fire department, photographic studio, bronze foundry, and a building for the construction of wood cases.

To design this ambitious complex, Crins hired a well-known architect, Frank Perry Sheldon.

- [Man] They build, basically, a self-sufficient plant on the HSAP design.

And you know, by this point, mills don't have to be narrow anymore for the admittance of light, because you have even electric lighted by 1890, but they still have to be long, because they're still powered by steam.

And so, the length of your mill is determined by how much power you can provide to it.

So, to drive your shaft linkage, but runs all your machinery in there.

- [Mike] To provide the power to run this machinery, Crins purchased a 450 horsepower Corliss steam engine, nearly 10 times the capacity of the one installed by John.

- That powered the plant, and they needed power because they had the drop hammers where they would drop on the silver, and they needed to turn that shaft and have the power to lift those weights that they could hit the dice with.

- The thunderous smashing of the drop hammers, imagine a man in front of that drop hammer, 40 hours a week, the whole earth was shaking, your chest was shaking.

And then you'd get in the design room or the finish room, and you would go from all this Jurassic gigantism, and all of a sudden you'd see this beautiful, magnificent bowl just there on a table.

It was the juxtaposition of the beauty and the beast.

It was incredible.

And each one of their buildings had specific functions.

- [Mike] The railroad spur that came off the main line, allowed raw materials such as silver for Gorham silver production, bronze for their foundry, and wood for their display case department to be delivered by train and distributed in a flow that allowed form to follow function.

- Of course, form is following function.

That didn't mean, however, that it was going to be an unattractive building.

They still thought about elegance and beauty and details, like brackets and brick work.

So, there was a feeling that these buildings should be hardworking, but they should also be monuments to industry, and they should be beautiful places on the landscape, beautiful to the industrial eye.

- Holbrook became a practitioner of welfare capitalism, the idea being that if we give the workers some nice amenities, then they'll do better work.

And probably not coincidentally, be less likely to unionize.

- [Female] People are working very long hours and they're working sometimes a half day or a slightly shorter day on Saturdays.

And so, it is fully expected to have a six-day work week.

So, Gorham is making efforts to make more salubrious workspace, better lighting, better ventilation.

- We look back at this today thinking, "My gosh, God, these people worked hard.

The conditions were terrible.

I mean, OSHA would have a field day in the plant that Gorham was so proud of."

But you know, back then, those were really good working conditions.

Not only did they demand from their employees, they took care of their employees as well.

Edward Holbrook paid for the casino out of his own money, as soon as the plant was finished.

- [Mike] The new casino was not for gambling, as we may associate the word today.

Instead, it represented a space for Gorham employees and visitors to gather, socialize, and share a meal.

The upper floor offered lodging for out-of-town visitors, and the basement provided parking for up to 400 bicycles.

When cycling to work fell out of vogue, that space was converted into a bowling alley.

- Edward build a free decor amongst the workers to have their own bowling leagues right next to where they go to work.

And he also, Holbrook, built a great library, but that library, it was partly for welfare capitalism, and workers could come in and browse and enjoy themselves, but it was really for the designers.

There wasn't a good book on design or art that he didn't have.

And he wanted his designers to go in there and not copy, but to understand possibilities and combine them in new uniquely Gorham and American ways.

- It is seen as ways that they can support the edification of their workers, but then also, in terms of supporting their healthcare as well, not in the kind of health insurance that we are used to today, but in ways that are better than some of their peers.

- [Mike] While many Gorham jobs paid a good, if not excellent living wage, it was men who largely benefited from this prosperity.

silver manufacturing like most industries at the time, typically relegated women to jobs that Gorham referred to as incidental operations.

There were no women at the design table, and certainly, no opportunities available to women in silversmith apprenticeship programs.

A publication produced by Gorham in the 1890s, stated that jobs for women were, "Confined to a comparatively few of the numerous departments."

One such instance was the case department where the work was particularly adapted to the nimble deftness of touch, so natural to the average woman, and so foreign to the average man.

Aside from sewing the linings of these beautiful cases that stored silverware and other Gorham treasures, women were also hired in the photography and enamel departments.

- Women were often employed as technicians, gluing prints to the cardstock or enhancing the pictures with crayons and oil paints, and things like that.

- Gorham had their own enamel department headed by a man named Gyula de Festetics And he was Hungarian and he hired mostly women, and trained them also in the artistry of doing enamel work.

- There was both enamel directly on top of metal.

And then plique-à-jour enamel, which was very rare.

We do have one example of a bonbon spoon with a peacock pattern that is the plique-à-jour enamel, and this is when the enamel doesn't have a metal backing.

It's translucent, so it kind of creates, a stained glass window effect.

The other thing that we know women did was silver overlay or a silver electro deposit.

You ended up with this kind of lacey silver overlay on top of glass vessels.

They also partnered with the Rookwood Pottery Company of Cincinnati, and did the silver overlay on ceramic pieces as well.

- [Mike] With the new plant, came a pivotal change in Gorham's design department.

George Wilkinson, who had been the head designer for over 40 years, was out on a new lark, his permanent retirement.

Upon his death, a few years later, the Providence Telegraph wrote, "Death of the world's greatest silver worker.

George Wilkinson was to the silver industry.

what Wedgwood was to pottery."

To fill Wilkinson's very large shoes, Holbrook hired an established and talented English designer, named William Christmas Codman.

Christmas, referencing the fact that he was born on Christmas day of 1839.

- He came to Gorham by an interesting route, which is his son, who he had trained as a designer in England, was actually hired for the ecclesiastical department at Gorham at the age of 18.

- [Mike] Gorham's ecclesiastical division had originated in the 1860s, and it was a highly successful branch of the company's production.

- They made both production pieces and unique objects for churches and cathedrals throughout the country.

There was a church going up on every corner, and you can see that Gorham had a gigantic collection of ecclesiastical ware.

When you get to the new Gorham factory, that's when the major bronze foundry was built, which was world class.

And all over the United States, there were world-class statues that were made in Providence, Rhode Island.

- [Mike] Gorham's first, large non-ecclesiastical statue, was made in 1885 and designed by Frederick Kolhagen.

The Skirmisher, also known as Johnny Stoneface, began a frenzy of orders from towns and villages eager to display their own civil war statuary.

- There are statues of both Confederate and Union soldiers.

I mean, Gorham was in a business that had not necessarily great divisions, around patriotic notions and they made statuary, and silverware and money.

- [Mike] While Codman Jr., headed up the ecclesiastical division, his father took the reins as head of design in 1891, helping to lead the company into its golden age.

- Codman had tremendous influence at Gorham.

He was trained in the arts and crafts style in England, the anti-industrial revolution style, where things reflected their honesty of construction and that sort of thing.

So, you would see carving scrapes on a piece of furniture.

You would see hammer marks on a piece of silver that showed the hand of the person who created the object.

- [Mike] Codman's first task at Gorham was to design showpieces for the World's Columbian Exposition, which took place in Chicago in 1893.

One of these showpieces included a yachting trophy, inspired by German Renaissance prototypes.

- During the Renaissance, there was a great interest in the natural world, especially, from foreign places.

So, nautilus cups, coconut shells, things like that, ostrich eggs, were mounted with a elaborate silver mounts.

So, Codman took that idea of looking to the past, but brought it up to the present by mounting it with beautiful silver mounts and semi-precious stones.

- [Mike] In the 19th century, expositions or World's Fairs were extravagant, international and cultural events, used by manufacturers of all industries to showcase their innovation.

The first World Expo was held in 1851 at the Crystal Palace in London's Hyde Park.

John Gorham visited the remnants of that Expo several times, describing it in his diary as wonderful, wonderful, wonderful.

- This was the first time really, the British empire was gonna show their wealth, what they could do in industry, and they were gonna compete internationally.

It was a public exposition, but it was also for manufacturers and designers and students to come and see what the world was producing.

- [Mike] Although Gorham had exhibited and won awards at state and regional fairs, it wasn't until the Centennial International Exposition in Philadelphia, that they would participate on a world stage.

The Centennial Exposition commemorated the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

It was the first official World's Fair on US soil, and ran from May 10th to November 10th, 1876.

Planning an international fair was a behemoth undertaking, akin to planning a city.

- They did all of this, invested tons of resources and tons of time for an event that was just gonna be torn down.

All these buildings and structures were only temporary.

And this shows the importance of these fairs in what it meant for a company.

It could make your business or it could break you.

- [Mike] In Philadelphia, 450 acres were set aside for the project, on which 200, mostly temporary structures were built to welcome visitors from around the globe.

- To know that hundreds of thousands of people are coming every day to see this fair, to see the Rhode Island house, to see the camps that are set up and the animals that are on display.

People are coming to these four spectacle from all over the world.

And I think that it's amazing to see then what is it that Rhode Island chooses to put on display when there's so much to choose from, what do we choose?

And in these instances, we choose things like Gorham silver.

- [Mike] Gorham received the highest awards at the Centennial Exposition with stunning works of art, such as Century Vase, Hiawatha's boat, and items from the Furber service on display.

In 1889, Gorham crossed the Atlantic to participate in the Exposition Universelle in Paris with the newly built Eiffel Tower serving as the expositions grand entrance.

Once again, Gorham silver was a sensation.

Four years later, in 1893, the World's Columbian Exposition debuted in Chicago.

It celebrated the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the new world.

Centered around a lagoon, the fair featured the original 264-foot Ferris wheel, an engineering marvel designed in response to the Eiffel Tower.

Each of its 36 cars could accommodate up to 60 people.

A midway area at the Exposition was filled with amusements and side shows.

- [Female] You literally could spend all day and all evening going to beer gardens, going to look at manufacturing halls, having a complete and utter immersive experience.

- In 1890, there were 63 million Americans on the census, and in 1893, 27 million people were recorded going to the fair.

So, what we're talking about is representative of half the population of the United States, but these were actually people from all over the world, coming to the United States to see the latest inventions, the latest products and the highest degrees of art that were available.

- [Mike] Along with high exposure at these exhibitions, came high expense.

To save money, Gorham decided to forge an unusual partnership.

They pooled their resources with their major competitor, Tiffany & Company, to fund the American Silverware Pavilion.

- Each company had its own entrance, and yet the whole pavilion really drew attention with American flags and eagles and things like that.

And both were showing their wares.

Tiffany & Company, and Gorham, had I think, a very healthy rivalry throughout the history of the companies.

And I often think that Gorham was by far the more innovative company.

In a way, almost being outside of New York City, a little more underdog, a little more striving, and I think a lot more experimental, and maybe even when might say a little wacky in terms of where they went with design.

- One of the most important pieces that Gorham brought to the World's Fair was a life-size sculpture of Christopher Columbus made in solid sterling.

It consisted of 30,000 ounces of silver, which is basically a ton of silver.

- [Mike] The sculptor of the six-foot Columbus statue, was Frederic Auguste Bartholdi, the same French artist who designed the Statue of Liberty.

- And they melted down that sculpture, 'cause you're not gonna just have a squall, statue stand around forever.

But they used the castings to cast, and I believe in bronze or some other metal that statue of Columbus.

- [Mike] The statue stood on a busy road near the Gorham plant for over 100 years.

In recent times, it was frequently vandalized in protest of Christopher Columbus.

Finally, in June, 2020, the City of Providence decided to remove the statue and put it into storage until it finds a new home.

- I think that monuments, their meaning doesn't change, but our relationship to them changes.

So, I think that that should be taken into account.

When we put up monuments, when we're thinking about monuments that exist, do we still have the same values that the culture did who established them.

- [Mike] Back in the late 1800s, items like the statue and even the Century Vase were made as special orders by Gorham to show off and bring audiences through their pavilion doors.

Many other wears were showcased at fairs, far more diminutive in scale, though equally impressive.

And at the Columbian Exposition, Gorham put their very best foot forward, bringing with them a variety of innovative wares.

- It was the first fair in which Holbrook had time to really plan for.

And the number of new lines that they bring to the fair is breathtaking.

They brought silver deposit pieces on glass.

They brought them on Rrookwood Pottery.

They had invented a way with the Whore Glass Company of Corning, New York, of blowing glass into silver, so that it came out in the Pierce recesses.

And this was something no one had done before.

And they exhibited it first at the Columbian World Fair.

- [Mike] Gorham won 47 awards at that fair, the largest number of any single exhibit.

It was an accomplishment that grew their market and helped their reputation soar.

- Awards were extremely important.

First of all, you can put it on your label, your advertising, you can say you won the gold medal, especially, if you're in competition with another firm that did not win a gold medal, then you look even better.

And so, I think it's you even find them today on labels, look at your Campbell's soup cans.

- [Mike] The same year as the Columbian Exposition, another significant event was brewing, the Panic of 1893.

This new economic depression hit all sectors of the economy, and silver played a key role in sparking the crisis.

- In 1859, you had the discovery of the Comstock load in Nevada, that just set off a silver fever, and it really starts to flood the market, depressing the prices.

So, there's a Nevada Senator, John Jones, who owns a silver market, and he's really not happy about seeing his silver price plummet.

So, he helps passed a law and watch the United States agrees that it will buy silver at inflated prices.

It doesn't take long for investors to realize, and they can buy silver at market prices.

Go to the US Treasury and say, "I'm selling this to you, and I want to be remitted with gold dollars."

So now, gold is flooding out of the US Treasury, because a lot of people are coming in and just basically giving up silver and getting gold and getting more value.

So, when the threshold of gold in Fort Knox and other US repositories, remember they were on the gold standard, falls below $100 million, investors and banks in other countries that loan to the US are like, "I really don't know that you could back your dollar now."

And this causes a Panic of 1893.

- [Mike] The panic lasted four years until 1897.

Hundreds of a bank's closed, thousands of businesses failed, and unemployment soared to staggering numbers.

The crisis was a devastating blow to many silver manufacturers, but Holbrook ever the shrewd businessman, took the opportunity to buy up Gorham's struggling competitors, and gain a controlling stake in a consortium called the Silversmiths' Company.

- By the turn of the 20th century, Holbrook owns 40% of all silver manufacturer in the United States, and he owns Gorham, but he also has these other half dozen companies, under the umbrella of the Silversmiths' Company.

- [Mike] Holbrook ran the two entities independently of one another, with Gorham continuing to push the limits of silver as art.

- Codman with the support of Edward Holbrook, comes up with the idea of creating the Martelé line, and that's his great contribution to Gorham.

Martelé is probably the most significant statement of the Art Nouveau style in American silver.

- Martelé comes from the French verb to hammer.

It was all made by hand.

And often, when you look on the surface of the Martelé vessels, you can see the remainder of hammer marks, and it creates kind of this shimmering surface, which was intentional.

- [Man] They actually increased the silver content to Martelé, so it would have a warmer, touchier feeling, and it was easier to chase.

- [Man] At that purity, silver is so soft that you know, it's like soft butter almost.

So, it's great for the craftsman.

They can mold this stuff, they love it.

They make some exquisitely, beautiful stuff.

A problem for the consumer, of course, is almost anything that comes in contact with is harder than it.

So, it's pretty easy to ding up.

- [Mike] The Martelé line was first shown in New York in 1897, but made its big debut at the Exposition Universelle in Paris.

Over half of Gorham's display was Martelé objects.

with Codman's silver dressing table and mirror offering a shining example of Martelé that was hard to miss.

Wrought from over 78 pounds of silver, the piece took a team of silversmiths, over 2,300 hours to create.

- It's an exceptional example of the Martelé style in that it has all of this organic floral ornament on it, that was typical of Martelé.

But most Martelé objects were not conceived on this kind of scale.

- [Mike] Gorham received the grand prize at the Exposition, but the accolades didn't end there.

Codman won a gold medal, and Holbrook was given the highest French order of merit, when he was made a chevalier of the Legion of honor.

For Holbrook, it was a professional achievement to be sure, but it also helped further his social aspiration of marrying his daughter, Lillian, to European nobility.

This practice was common during the Gilded Age, among the new rich who were marrying off their daughters, dubbed American Dollar Princesses to Europe's elite.

A match or money in need of social standing, merged with aristocracy in need of cash.

These unions produced progeny such as Sir Winston Churchill, and even Princess Diana.

When Lillian married the French Count, Guillaume de Balincourt, on January 3rd, 1906, the Holbrooks were the envy of New York's social elite.

- It was, I think, largely because of that motivation to impress the relatives over there, that Edward invested so much to establish, you know, that the Holbrooks, were the family worth marrying into.

- [Mike] Holbrook's investment in the Martelé line paid off in dividends, not only helping him gain a titled son-in-law, but also high praise of Gorham's craft.

The respected Art Journal published in London wrote, "It can be said with truth that in many respects, they have no superiors on either side of the Atlantic."

- Speaking from an artistic perspective.

I think, that probably, the 1900 World's Fair in Paris and the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis, were Gorham's most successful endeavors.

They were a company that was making lots of money and could invest lots of money in the pieces that they brought to these fairs.

- [Man] This writing table was made for the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis in 1904 by Gorham.

And it's one of these over-the-top exhibition pieces.

It was really meant to show off the company's prowess.

- [Mike] Codman's Martelé writing table and chair, took over 10,000 hours to create.

Exotic woods were painstakingly crafted with ivory, mother-of-pearl, and approximately 50 pounds of silver.

The female masks on each leg represent the four seasons.

The writing table and chair eventually found their way to a country estate in England.

In the 1950s, the set was put on auction in London.

- [Female] The Thurber family, long-standing family of Providence, saw the piece come up.

They knew what it was, and they purchased it, brought it back home to Providence, and gave it to the museum in 1958.

And it is one of the most significant pieces in our collection of Gorham.

- [Mike] Aside from the spectacular Martelé writing desk and chair, Gorham's work at the St. Louis Fair, included mixed metal pieces, a complete dinner service in the Florentine line, and and a Louis the XVI dessert service.

With all the accolades and the claim, sales, both nationally and abroad, continued to soar.

- I would say the majority of the production was coming from Rhode Island, but then later on, they establish a manufacturing in London, so that they can market wares there with the London hallmarks, and they don't have to pay import taxes.

And then those goods are going out to other areas across Europe and Africa as well.

So, quite a large range.

They also open up a factory in Canada for a short time.

- [Mike] Fueling this expansion, was a marketing strategy as ambitious as Gorham silver.

- Gorham really thought about marketing at all its different levels, and through all different, kinds of channels of communication.

From big displays at international expositions, smaller ones, maybe at state ones to print advertising, to catalogs, it was a multi-layered, and I think pretty comprehensive marketing campaign that evolved over the years.

- [Mike] Under Holbrook, who in 1894, officially took the title of president and CEO, sales conventions were held at Gorham's headquarters in Providence to educate and empower a stronger salesforce.

For retailers and consumers, beautifully illustrated brochures, helped guide customers' social aspirations.

- If you like to live in the era of Maria Antoinette, you could choose silver that evoked the French society of her age, or if you preferred the Georgian life of English, you could find something that matched.

So, these were aspirational brochures to help brides and other prospective buyers to decide who it was they were trying to be, or maybe what kind of way they were decorating their room, and to match it accordingly, or just serve in a style to which they felt was appropriate.

- [Mike] Gift giving was a major market for Gorham, and weddings were perhaps the most obvious occasion, where silver was not only desired, but expected.

- In the mid 19th century, it was not uncommon for weddings to occur in public places, and the reception to occur in a place where all of the wedding gifts would have been displayed without their packaging in all their glory for everyone to see, and of course, to compare.

And this was the source of some consternation.

For some people, the donors as well as their recipients, I would imagine, because people would be scrutinizing what was given.

- [Mike] A Harper's New Monthly Magazine article wrote, "There are few families among us, so poor as not to have a few ounces of silver plate.

And for forlorn indeed must be the bride who does not receive upon her wedding day, some articles made of this beautiful metal."

Aside from wedding gifts, Gorham produced a wide variety of wares for occasions such as births, christenings, awards, and even travel.

In the late 19th and early 20th century, a national passion developed for souvenir spoon collecting, and Gorham was very happy to oblige the avid spooner.

- [Female] It was the kind of thing that you could pick up, when you went to a famous site, and information on that particular location, let's say, New York City, would be imprinted on the bowl, and other information imprinted on the handle.

And because they were small and portable and silver and attractive, many people strove to collect them.

So, they were sort of flagged the baseball cards of your time.

Some people got very serious about it and amassed enormous numbers of spoons.

- [Mike] Back on the table and away from the souvenir spoon rack, Codman struck gold, so to speak, with his new Chantilly pattern.

Produced in 1895, it would go on to be the most popular, sterling flatware pattern ever created.

And the service of choice on Air Force One, during George w. Bush's presidency.

- It's in a Louis the XV style, but very simplified.

And it has just captured the imagination of the American consumer from the moment it was introduced until now.

- In 1899, Gorham was commissioned to produce another project that captured the imagination and enthusiasm of Americans.

The Admiral Dewey Cup, presented to Admiral George Dewey, a hero of the Spanish American war.

This loving cup, was Gorham's largest presentation piece ever made, spanning over eight feet tall and weighing 350 pounds, a significant amount of silver.

- To obtain this silver, there was a promotion.

Every American was asked to send in one dime, and you could only send in one dime.

Gorham received 70,000 dimes, many of them from school children, and they melted down nearly all of those dimes to make the Admiral Dewey Cup.

Of course, this was a time when our dimes, were still 90% silver.

However, they saved some of the dimes and very cleverly overlapped them to create the dolphin feet that you see at the base of the cup.

It's interesting to look at the presentation drawing and then compare it to the finally realized object because they did change a couple things.

I think, sometimes the design is maybe not possible to produce in silver.

So, from a physical standpoint, sometimes there may need to have some adjustments made.

- [Mike] In much smaller incarnations, loving cups were typically given to esteemed colleagues, couples who were marrying and to honor the birth of a child.

- So, a loving cup, usually, it has three handles, and it is a way that I could take a drink and I could pass it to you, and you could take a drink.

We think of that as completely unhygienic, but really up until the 20th century, sharing containers was not uncommon, but they're mostly for display.

- [Mike] In an era where silver represented the height of refined living, the United States Navy decided to commission silver services for their battleships.

The contracts were competitive and Gorham didn't always win.

But when they did, it was an enviable marketing opportunity.

- The public would have awareness of this.

It would be publicized in the newspaper.

Look at, you know, this silver service for the new battleship that's named for our state.

It's been done by Gorham, here it is, in all its glory.

- [Mike] Gorham entered the 20th century, standing tall as a world leader in silver manufacturing.

The company had weathered financial panics, the civil war, and even a devastating fire that ravaged its New York headquarters in 1877.

- They lost $175,000 worth of stock, which in today's money is about $4 million worth.

So, it was a very impactful event for the company.

- [Mike] In the spring of 1884, a new headquarters was established at 19th and Broadway with expansive display cases and new Edison lights.

A New York Times article warned, "The glitter of silver on each floor is ruinous to weak eyes."

The electricity and the dazzling display of silver, were not the only features the store boasted.

- When we think about silver, especially, in the 19th, early 20th century, we don't maybe as a collective realize how important and dominant Gorham actually was over Tiffany.

So, it's fun to think that Gorham had 177 clerks working in that particular store, which I believe was about 20 more, versus Tiffany & Cmpany.

- [Mike] By 1905, Gorham was operating out of a new eight-story building at 36th and 5th Avenue.

It would not be their last New York headquarters, but it was indeed their first fireproof one.

At this fashionable midtown address, large display windows enticed passers by while inside.

10,000 square feet of retail space, blinded shoppers with gleaming silver.

The second floor serve the needs of Gorham's more elite clientele, who wanted to shop free from all fear of interruption, while the third floor was reserved for Gore's ecclesiastical bronze and hotel divisions.

Under Edward Holbrook and William Christmas Codman, Gorham reached the pinnacle of its success, but this dynamic partnership could not last forever.

And after 23 years at Gorham, Codman retired and returned to England.

The year was 1914, and change was in the air, not only for the company, but for the entire world.

- [Announcer] England joins the battle royal.

The king, his uncle, his son send the little army, the Kaiser said, "Contemptible little army," over the old road, the road took Cali.

- [Mike] Before the United States entered World War I in 1917, Gorham received contracts to supply ammunition to the Serbian, French and Russian armed forces.

- So here, you're making the most civil, Martelé silver stuff ever made, and you're also making bullet casings.

And then when United States gets into the war, he actually builds a whole plant over in the Phillipsdale section of East Providence.

- [Female] This is where you are loading up their grenades, and it's women who are working, and they're loading up to 100,000 grenades a day at that Phillipsdale Landing plant.

- One thing you'll observe in that factory floor, crowded with women as they're all white, and the NAACP actually file suit against Gorham.

You know, for saying that, "Look, you're hiring people, you're hiring woman like crazy, and you're not hiring any black woman, and you know, what's going on?"

And Gorham responded, "The white woman wouldn't work with the black woman."

Well, that's not a good answer.

People of color were historically shut out if the metal trades.

I doubt that any metal working company in Rhode Island or New England are just but anywhere, was employing black people or people of color.

In fact, the machinist union would not admit people of color until Franklin Roosevelt made them in the 1940s.

Yes, you've got a place like Gorham, really adding a lot of prosperity to the city, but you know, black workers, aren't gonna get a piece of that.

- [Mike] During the war, Gorham signed at least 24 contracts with the US military.

When an armistice was declared on November 11th, 1918, those contracts abruptly ended.

After four years of wartime efforts, life and business could return to normal, but for Gorham, it was unclear what that normal would be.

New designs for products had been sorely neglected, and the sale of silverwares and bronzes had plummeted.

The Martelé line that was so artistically celebrated had, in fact, been a drain on the company's resources.

To add to their financial burdens, Gorham was now left with two wartime manufacturing facilities that were of no use.

The biggest blow, however, came when the company's longtime visionary leader, Edward Holbrook, died unexpectedly on May 19th, 1919.

He was a month shy of his 70th birthday birthday.

In the absence of strong leadership, Gorham found itself entering the 1920s aimlessly adrift in an ocean of change.

The patina of the Gilded Age had fully worn off, exposing the challenges that the company would face in the years ahead.

On the next episode of "Chasing Silver."

- Everybody calls it the Gorham-Textron Merger, but actually Textron was a white knight, and had that not happened, Gorham would've disappeared.

- Little old ladies were standing on corners and Providence with their 1860s tea sets that their grandparents had paid $1,200 for, that now in scrap value, it was worth $4,000.

They melted them.

It was the holocaust of the silver business.

(gentle music) - [Announcer] Funding for "Chasing Silver: The Story of Gorham," has been provided in part by.

- [Announcer] Our story began 70 years ago.

For decades, our fine jewelry has been curated from around the globe.

At Ross Simons, we believe that every piece of our jewelry can be part of your story.