Busacca Gallery

Being offered is a fine antique circa 1930 1940 sterling silver and ebony toy 'top' by Gorham of Providence, RI, that will help you spin your fortune. Here is a vintage Gorham sterling silver and ebony bottom executive decision making spinning top. On the top has impressed decision options "Play Golf", "Hire Assistant", "Buy Low", "Leave Early", "Work", and "Sell High". Vintage Antique Gorham Sterling Golf Spinning Top Xmas Ornament Toy. This is a hard to find~great looking 3D classic toy ornament. Super find for your 3D ornament collection or your classic toys ornament display, or a special gift for your favorite golfer! Ornate design, sterling silver spinning Golf top toy made by Gorham is a working top. This is properly hallmarked Gorham Sterling 50. It measures 2 3/4 inches in diameter and 2 1/2 inches tall. Although designed by Gorham as a toy, the top has become popular with sterling silver Christmas ornament collectors. The top is in excellent condition. Gorham's specialty, producing high-quality sterling silverware and holloware. In the early 1880s Gorham began casting ecclesiastical items, such as lecterns and in 1889 the cast their first statue, The Skirmisher by Frederick Kohlhagen, located at Gettysburg National Military Park. In 1896 their casting of W. Granville Hastings bust, Judge Carpenter was the first in America using the lost-wax casting method. After that the foundry went on to become one of the leading art foundries in the United States. A 1920 book published by the Gorham Company featured full page photographs of sculptures by such notable sculptors. The Smithsonian archives of American art list Gorham foundry over 700 times in their inventory of American sculpture. We are committed to enhancing our customers lives by discovering creating, and pointing out only the best art we can find in the world today. We Are Taste-Makers, Art Advisers, Consultants & Publishers of Great Stories.

Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gorham_Manufacturing_Company

The Gorham Manufacturing Company is one of the largest American manufacturers of sterling and silverplate and a foundry for bronze sculpture.



Gorham Silver was founded in Providence, Rhode Island, 1831 by Jabez Gorham, a master craftsman, in partnership with Henry L. Webster. The firm's chief product was spoons of coin silver. The company also made thimbles, combs, jewelry, and other small items. In 1842, a tariff which effectively blocked the importation of silverware from outside the United States was passed, which aided the American silver industry. Jabez Gorham did not take full advantage of this opportunity, but in 1847 Jabez retired and his son, John Gorham succeeded him as head of the company. John Gorham introduced mechanized production methods, enlarged the premises in downtown Providence, improved the designs, and expanded the product line. In 1852 Gorham toured many of Europe's silver workshops and manufacturers, speaking with individual specialists, including master craftsmen and toolmakers. He also sought out highly skilled foreign workmen to train his American workers. George Wilkinson, a premier designer and workshop manager, was hired from England. In 1865 a charter was granted by the Rhode Island legislature by the name of "Gorham Manufacturing Company". In 1890 the company relocated to a factory on Adelaide Avenue in Providence.



During the heyday of American silver manufacturing, approximately 1850 - 1940, Gorham was highly influential. William C. Codman, one of Gorham's most noted designers, created Chantilly in 1895, which has become the most famous of Gorham's flatware patterns. Matching holloware has been made in both sterling and silverplate.

In 1884, the company opened a store in the Ladies' Mile shopping district in Manhattan, New York City, but moved in 1905 to a Fifth Avenue building which was designed for the by Stanford White. In 1906 Gorham purchased another long-time rival, Kerr & Co, which was based in New Jersey.