Gorham Hotel Astor Silverplate and Gorham King Albert Sterling Spoon - 1.05 ozt. The smaller one is sterling silver, marked on the underside, in the King Albert pattern. The larger one is a rare find, silver plated with the ornate Hotel Astor style pattern, but with the name "Muschenheim" embossed on the underside, along with "Gorham" and the date 1903. Given that the Hotel Astor opened in 1904, and Frederick A. Muschenheim acted as its manager for about fifty years until his death on December 8th, 1956, this is likely either a prototype for the form the hotel would use or his personal silver ware. Weight is for sterling spoon only. 

Condition: Commensurate with age. 

Largest Size: 8 3/4 in. 

Weight: 1.05 ozt. 

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.

Commensurate with age. 

All items are sold AS IS. Lot and condition details are for descriptive purposes only. Sarasota Estate Auction is not responsible for errors and/or omissions of condition. The absence of a condition report does not imply that the lot is perfect or free from wear, flaws, or characteristics of age. Please bid according to your own expertise, or request any additional information and/or photographs you deem necessary.