Durgin Military Silver?

[Aguest]

Hello there, I found some silverware by Durgin with military inscriptions for a camp which trained soldiers to enter World War One, aka The Great War, and the pieces have an "M" stamped right next to the Cursive Durgin Hallmark, so I guess I am wondering if Durgin had a contract with the military to produce flatware, perhaps only for high-ranking officers of the camp?

I assume the "M" stamp is for "Military," but if this is incorrect I just thought I would ask and perhaps someone knows about Durgin and World War One.

[Traintime]

This would be a "marks" query which could be moved after posting a photo. But since it's not new, searching "Durgin codes" will reveal the answer...your "M" is likely a weight code for "Massive".

A reference thread: viewtopic.php?f=23&t=35030&p=151146&hilit=durgin+codes&sid=c7605ed331101a1722f78598fc6d0507#p151146

[Traintime]

And in this thread, Gorham is misleading as it was a Durgin piece...page 2 reveals at least on jeweler who may have had naval clientele by location, so military inscriptions on non-government ordered items could have gone through a jeweler. Units did have budgets for special things (china, glass, silverware, etc.) outside of normal supply lines. Thread: viewtopic.php?f=2&t=37848&p=102330&hilit=durgin+codes&sid=c7605ed331101a1722f78598fc6d0507#p102330

[Aguest]

Thanks for the information, aside from the mark, I was just wondering if Durgin (or Gorham) had contracts with the military during World War One.
I knew the fork was made by Durgin, so I didn't want to post in the Mark section because the Maker was already known.

[Traintime]

Gorham is a likely yes, for at least plated wares and maybe sterling. Though Wallace and the components of International turn up more often as makers marks, Gorham did produce naval related services at least as early as the 1890's. The army related transport service (ships) began to order topmarked china around the time of the Spanish-American War, so accompanying silverware is likely there (the name changes over time USATS, USAT, Transportation Corps...). Gorham may turn up on a published contractor list (free on-line access to antiquated navy publications pop up), but a commercial supplier's name might be more likely...companies like Dohrman or Pick turn up. [Un-marked flatwares exist and perhaps could be linked to Gorham.] In addition, Contributor's Notes section has some references about Gorham increasing their employee base for war related work during WWI...not necessarily silver related, possibly other materials like munitions.
Not sure about Durgin. They did issue a copper-based war service medal in 1919. Perhaps they were using up surplus war materials used to produce other wares. Many firms were forced to temporarily shift to war production (we seem to know more about the effect on the toymakers industry than the silvermakers). After the war,(1919 & 1920), Durgin and Gorham made sterling teasets for Bailey, Banks, and Biddle with the West Point emblem dated, but these may not be government contracts.
Hopefully, if someone finds some items they'll let us know. If they were made before the big switch to stainless steel, then topmarked unit china sets would seem to suggest a silverware pattern should exist to go with it.

[Aguest]

Yes good points, and in general there was a profound cultural shift between the years 1914-1918. First was the Great Financial Panic of 1914, then there was the entry into WWI, and then the influenza epidemic of 1918.

Many documents from that era stress the need for frugality and not spending on extravagant personal needs. That makes sense given the need for raw materials for the war. This is helpful to understand the transition from the more ornate forms circa 1910 to the more basic and much less ornate forms circa 1920. This can most evidently be seen in Gorham, as the Athenic and Greek Revival Patterns gave way to much more austere and streamlined forms.