Gorham Sterling Silver Harness Racing Trophy Centerpiece
Unique sterling silver harness racing trophy by Gorham. Designed with beautiful acid etching of harnessed racing scene, double handled. Measuring 8 1/2'' in height and 7 1/3'' from handle to handle and weighing 20.5 troy ounces. Bearing hallmarks as shown in images.
Founded in 1888 by Henry A. Spaulding, Spaulding & Co., a Chicago-based firm, was owned by Gorham in the late 1920s to 1943. Well known as a jewelry retailer, Spaulding & Co. also manufactured and retailed sterling hollowware.
During the heyday of American silver manufacturing, approximately 1850–1940, Gorham was highly influential. The White House has used Gorham silver services during many administrations. Mary Todd Lincoln purchased an impressive tea and flatware service for use in the White House in 1859. Mrs. Ulysses S. Grant asked Gorham to commemorate the country's one-hundredth anniversary with a spectacular Century Vase that contained over 2,000 oz (57,000 g) of sterling silver, and in 1899, it produced a grand "loving cup" composed of 70,000 dimes was designed for Admiral George Dewey. Colonel Henry Jewett Furber placed the largest single commission Gorham ever received for what became known as the famous Furber service. The opulent 740-piece service represents Victorian era dining at its most elaborate. The monumental silver and parcel-gilt "Neptune" epergne made for Furber as part of this service was displayed at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition in 1876. Gorham artisans also sculpted the famous monument of George Washington in the Capitol's Rotunda and the statue of Theodore Roosevelt in New York.
Please feel free to e-mail us with any questions, and please see our other listings. We hand polish all items before shipping them out, but if there is interest for a professional polishing and/or engraving removal, we can take care of that for an additional charge and with delayed shipping.