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Gorham Manufacturing Company Archive

More than 6,000 linear feet of records dating back to the founding of the Gorham Manufacturing Company in 1831

Notice to Researchers

 

The Gorham Manufacturing Company records are open to researchers.  Library staff provide guidance to researchers but are not able to provide in-depth research services.  Researchers are encouraged to visit the John Hay Library to conduct research.

The library has books, journals, and other materials related to the Gorham Manufacturing Company.  Other collection materials include:

Primary Sources for Researching Gorham

Brown Digital Repository (Brown University Library)

Provides online access to digital images representing a small selection of material from the Gorham Company Archive and other sources.  Includes materials from the Gorham Company Archive at the John Hay Library, the Fleet Library at RISD and the RISD Museum that were imaged for the IMLS grant project in 2007-2008, along with related images and other materials created by Brown students and faculty.

Fleet Library, Special Collections (Rhode Island School of Design)

RISD Museum (Rhode Island School of Design)

Gorham Bronze Division records, 1905-1978 (Smithsonian Archives of American Art)

Romaine Trade Catalog Collection   (University of California at Santa Barbara)

ArtSTOR Digital Library  (subscription resource, requires Brown login)

 

GORHAM PUBLICATIONS:

Famous Small Bronzes (1928)

Gorham Suggestions (1898) [FULL TEXT]

Bronze Memorials (1916)  [FULL TEXT]

 

MUSEUM CATALOGS:

Brooklyn Museum

Metropolitan Museum of Art

Boston Museum of Fine Arts

Cooper-Hewitt (National Design Museum)

Dallas Museum of Art

Gorham Virtual Reference

Compiled by Samuel J. Hough:

Roster of Gorham Craftsmen

Gorham Marks

Compiled by Giorgio B.:

Gorham Silver Marks

Gorham Flatware Patterns

Gorham Date Marks

 From the Online Encyclopedia of Silver Marks:

Gorham Marks & Date Codes

Whiting Silver Date Marks

The Gorham Process

Gorham Collectibles

Silver Chatter Blog

A general discussion of sterling silver issues, sponsored by Georgia Silver in Atlanta, GA

PBS Antiques Roadshow Archive

The captioned clip reviews a pair of 1904 Martele vases, but you can search the Roadshow Archive for other Gorham clips

Spencer Marks, Ltd.

Blog post on the history of steam power at the Gorham Manufacturing Company by Mark McHugh and Spencer Gordon, dealers in and scholars of silver history.  The site also includes a link for their Gorham Archive, which includes images of many Gorham pieces handled by Spencer Marks, Ltd.

Glass by Gorham (2012)

Produced by the American Cut Glass Association as an annual meeting souvenir.

Environmental Legacy

RI Dept. of Environmental Management

Urban Pond Procession

Archival materials documenting the work of the Urban Pond Procession project (now UPP Arts) since 2007 are available to researchers at the Providence Public Library

RI Art in Ruins