1937 Gorham and Durgin Sterling Silver Trophy Pitcher - 20.475 ozt. Classic flared rim, a molded shoulder band, and an angled loop handle. Inscription opposite of handle reads "American Chesapeake Club Trophy M. & E.K.C. 1937 Best Opposite Sex." Marked on underside. 

Size: 8 x 5 1/2 x 7 1/2 in. 

Weight: 20.475 ozt. 

The William B. Durgin Company was a prominent American manufacturer of sterling silver flatware and hollowware established in Concord, New Hampshire in 1853. Founded by silversmith William Butler Durgin, who was eventually joined by his son George F. Durgin, the company grew into one of the largest sterling flatware producers in the United States, particularly known for their extremely opulent styles during the Aesthetic Period. Following the deaths of both Durgin and his son in 1905 the company began a gradual merger with the Gorham Manufacturing Company, officially completed in 1924, and production moved entirely to Providence, Rhode Island, in 1931, where Gorham continued to use their patterns and their silver mark until the late 1930s. 

The Gorham Manufacturing Company was founded in Providence, Rhode Island in 1831 by Jabez Gorham and Henry Webster. Their coin silver flatware was selected by Mary Todd Lincoln for the White House in 1859. In 1868, they made the switch from coin silver to sterling silver and produced everything from knives, forks, and spoon sets to coffee pots and serving bowls. In 1848, Gorham’s silver marks consisted of a lion, an anchor, and the letter “G.” Then, from 1848 through about 1860, the lion markings faced left instead of right. Sterling tea sets and some other hollowware items were assigned numbers in a decimal sequence. Pieces created between 1868 and 1884 were marked with capital letters. From then until 1933 unique iconography was used, including wolf’s heads and open parachutes. A series of mergers eventually ended in 2009 when the company went bankrupt after being acquired by Lenox Holdings. 

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