MARK OF GORHAM, MFG. CO., PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND, CIRCA 1865

John Wilkinson, designer for Gorham Mfg. Co., was awarded the second United States design patent for ‘Medallion' flatware in 1864. The first patent was granted John Wendt two years earlier. Wendt and Wilkinson were reportedly in business together in the early 1860's, and therefore it is likely Wilkinson was involved in the first ever patented design for Medallion style flatware (D. Albert Soeffing, Silver Medallion Flatware, 1988, pg. 13). The inspiration for the Medallion cameo portraits is seemingly derived from the mid-19th century design books, and is why the same standard portraits can be seen on various manufacturer’s versions of the pattern (Soeffing, pg. 19). In the 1880’s, George W. Schiebler started to use cameo medallions as decoration on other mediums such as hollowware, a fashion which many other companies soon imitated (Soeffing, pg. 15).