Gorham Manufacturing Company
Dates
- Existence: 1831 (date of establishment)
Biography
Gorham Manufacturing Company was established in 1831 in Providence, Rhode Island, by Jabez Gorham. The company produced many different proucts made out of silver, but was best known for its high quality flatware and other household items. Gorham also created a great number of bronze statues, over 700 of which are now at the Smithsonian Institution. However, the most famous statue is the monument of George Washington in the United States Capitol Rotunda. While Gorham focused on working with metals, it sometimes included glass in its pieces or collaborated with glass companies such as Tiffany and Company.
Gorham Manufacturing Company was purchased by Textron in 1967 and became a division within that company. At the time, many viewed this as the end of the company. Despite this setback, however, Gorham has lived on through various mergers and bankrupties and continues to produce silverware today. In fact, three different U.S. presidents commissioned Gorham Manufacturing Company for work; most recently George W. Bush selected their Chantilly patterned flatware for Air Force One.
