What is now The Gorham Corporation dates back to 1831 when Jabez Gorham founded it in Providence, Rhode Island. And in the years following it has been the choice of Mary Todd Lincoln, its pattern Chantilly is used on Air Force One, and it has successfully bought, merged with, or absorbed many of its smaller competitors to become one of the largest sterling silver flatware companies around at one time.
If you ever question whether or not a piece of flatware is a Gorham pattern, look for the markings. Below are the markings they have used over the years. Of course you may have a piece from a company they acquired, years before it was "gobbled by Gorham".
Some of these companies include: Mt. Vernon, Roger Williams Silver, Whiting, William B. Durgin, Alvin (which remained a separate entity), McChesney, Quaker Silver Co., Friedman Silver Co., and Graff, Washbourne, and Dunn. In 2005 The Gorham Company was sold to Lenox. Then 2007 Lifetime Brands acquired Gorham's Sterling Silver division.
And through it all, its most popular pattern has remained Chantilly.
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