MARK OF GORHAM MFG. CO., DESIGNED BY ERIK MAGNUSSEN, PROVIDENCE, 1925-1929

Erik Magnussen was a well-established Danish designer when he was hired by Gorham in 1925 to create silver in a modern style. Magnussen's work in the 1920s combined traditional motifs and modern design, as with this pair of candlesticks which updates the neoclassical columnar form in a modern fashion. For decoration, Magnussen incorporated incised radial lines, a decorative technique he shared with Puiforcat. Magnussen's association with Gorham was an unhappy one; he left in 1929 and began working with the German firm Dingeldein. In the 1930s Magnussen had a workshop in Chicago, worked in Los Angeles and was employed by the International Silver Company. He returned to his native Denmark in 1939. (See: Scott Braznell, "Advent of Modern American Silver." The Magazine Antiques, January 1984, pp. 236-37).