Gorham Manufacturing Company Archive

Archival records (approximately 6,200 linear feet, dating from 1831 to 2005) of the company founded in 1831 by silversmith Jabez Gorham in Providence, Rhode Island, and expanded under the leadership of his son John in the 1840s. At various times the company was the largest manufacturer of silver products, producer and distributor of ecclesiastical wares, and art bronze foundry in the United States.

The collection features many thousands of drawings and photographs of Gorham products, reflecting American taste from Victorian times to the present. It also contains corporate, personnel, costing, sales, and advertising records, as well as blueprints, plaster casts, and copper printing plates. Incorporated into the collection are the records of fourteen companies acquired by Gorham prior to its acquisition by larger companies, first by Textron Inc., then by Dansk International, and finally by Brown-Forman Corporation in 1991.

The Gorham Manufacturing Company records are not processed. A small portion of the records is accessible. See the Research Guide and the Inventory of Accessible Records linked below for further information.



Format(s): Books, Serials, Pamphlets, Manuscripts, Microform, Museum Objects, Graphics, Video Files, Letters, Documents, Scrapbooks
Library: John Hay, Collections Annex
NOTE: Portions of this collection are housed off-site. Prior notice is needed for retrieval

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Access to the collection:

Online Catalog (BruKnow):
Individual records for most printed materials available on BruKnow
General description of the collection available on BruKnow

Other Online Access:
Digital Collection: Gorham Collection
Research Guide: The Gorham Manufacturing Company Archive
Publication: When there's a drill there's a way (Among Friends)
RIAMCO: Guide to the Gorham Manufacturing Company Records
Other: Gorham Manufacturing Company - Inventory of Accessible Records

In-house Access to the Collection:
Typescript Inventory

Related Collections:
Cramer Silver Collection