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The Gorham Manufacturing Company is one of the largest〔(【引用サイトリンク】 title=Gorham Manufacturing Company )〕 American manufacturers of sterling and silverplate and a foundry for bronze sculpture. ==History== Gorham Silver was founded in Providence, Rhode Island, 1831 by Jabez Gorham,〔(【引用サイトリンク】 url=http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~silversmiths/makers/silversmiths/28414.htm )〕 a master craftsman, in partnership with Henry L. Webster.〔(【引用サイトリンク】 url=http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~silversmiths/makers/silversmiths/28018.htm )〕 The firm's chief product was spoons of coin silver. The company also made thimbles, combs, jewelry, and other small items. In 1842, the Congress enacted a tariff which effectively blocked the importation of silverware from outside the United States, which aided the American silver industry. Jabez Gorham did not take full advantage of this opportunity, but in 1847 Jabez retired and his son, John Gorham〔(【引用サイトリンク】 title=John Gorham )〕 succeeded him as head of the company. John Gorham introduced mechanized production methods, enlarged the premises in downtown Providence, improved the designs, and expanded the product line. In 1852, Gorham toured many of Europe's silver workshops and manufacturers, speaking with individual specialists, including master craftsmen and toolmakers. He sought highly skilled foreign workmen to train his American workers and hired George Wilkinson, a premier designer and workshop manager, from England. In 1865, the Rhode Island legislature granted a charter in the name of ''Gorham Manufacturing Company'' and in 1890, the company relocated to a factory on Adelaide Avenue in Providence. During the heyday of American silver manufacturing, approximately 1850 - 1940, Gorham was highly influential. William C. Codman, one of Gorham's most noted designers, created the ''Chantilly'' design in 1895, which has become the most famous of Gorham's flatware patterns. The company has produced matching holloware in both sterling and silverplate. In 1884, the company opened a store in the Ladies' Mile shopping district in Manhattan, New York City, but moved in 1905 to a Fifth Avenue building which it commissioned from architect Stanford White. In 1906, Gorham purchased another long-time rival, New Jersey-based Kerr & Co. Textron purchased the company in 1967, a move that some critics claim decreased quality due to management's lack of understanding of Gorham's specialty, producing high-quality sterling silverware and holloware. Textron began planning to sell the unit in 1988, completing the sale in 1989 to Dansk International Designs.〔Louise,Elaine. ("Design School Goes For Silver" ) ''Chicago Tribune'' (February 16, 1992)〕 Brown-Forman Corporation acquired Gorham from Dansk in 1991.〔Strom, Stephanie. ("Business People: New Owner Replaces President of Dansk" ) ''The New York Times'' (July 6, 1991)〕 The unit was sold in 2005 to Department 56 in the Lenox holdings transaction. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Gorham Manufacturing Company」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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