Any thoughts about these salt spoons? Gorham Japanese?

i believe these salt spoons are Gorham Japanese. They are marked sterling and have the typical Gorham mark of lion, anchor and G, but the marks are a bit blurred and rubbed, not crisp. Is this a cause for concern? Not authentic Gorham? Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Hi there, Kelly. Yes, they are Gorham, one of the older marks. I looked up the Japanese pattern of Gorham on www.replacements.com and that source shows a different pattern from yours, and says the pattern dates to 1871. The rubbing of the mark is not a signifigant issue, it is clear enough.

Regards,

Uncle Vic

Gorham Japanese is a multi-motif pattern, and even as such is far more varied than most. I have 2 pieces in this pattern, and they are quite substantially different from one another. I wouldn’t yet rule out that these might be the Japanese pattern until you find another salt spoon in the pattern to compare.

Well, nutmegr is correct. I went back and looked again at some examples on the replacements, Ltd. site and sure enough, there are multiple motifs in that Gorham pattern. Even this old dog learned a new trick today, that’s what makes this fun.

Uncle Vic

Thank you both for your thoughts. I did some more research and if you look on replacements.com and look up the Gorham Japanese pattern you will that the demitasse spoons have the same motif as the salt spoons. I think this confirms to a degree that the pattern is indeed Japanese. At least that is my conclusion.

Kelly - my view would be near 100% that your salt spoons are Gorham sterling Japanese pattern. Little salt spoons are not worth a lot, we see them at the big antique shows in boxes for $10, take your pick if you want to root through the box. The Gorham ones are probably worth a bit more, yours on the top end.

Regards, and thanks for letting us help.

Uncle Vic

Thank you Uncle Vic for your help. Thank you also nutmegr for your opinion as well. I have just started to collect aesthetic silver and this forum has been a great resource.