Reed & Barton Modern Art Patent

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Seem to be only able to find my pattern books for Sterling and none for plate! Modern Art pieces carry Patent grant date of Sept. 20 1904, supposedly designed by Ernest Meyers. From a Big-G machine search, I get USD #'s 37,140 through 37,146 with Charles A. Bennett Assignor to Reed & Barton Corporation...filed July 28, granted Sept. 20...none looking like Mod. Art. details. For Ernest Meyers, he is scattered over the decade but some items in 1902 seem closer to the Nouveau style here. Anyone got the actual patent number and dates on this one? Or any early advert. links? The pattern is in the 1908 catalogue pages.

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Got it...USD #37,147 filed July 28 1904 (Serial #218,553) right behind Bennett's.

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Just found a new problem with dating this pattern. A single piece is on-line marked for the hotel "Jefferson-St. Louis" Missouri. This hotel was planned for the heavy traffic expected to attend the 1904 World's Fair Exposition. First guests arrived at the end of April 1904, well before the patent filing date on this pattern. Normally, furnishings for large hotels are put in production as early as two to three years before an opening...they must be shipped, stored, prepared and even used for run-through training of staff. (This was originally a 400 room hotel, expanded later.) So Modern Art could have been crafted as early as c.1900 and simply kept secret by not openly filing a patent...all dependent upon this being the first service for The Jefferson (which we have yet to verify). Whatever was the hollowares for the hotel may be a design meant to accompany this flatware. Anyone got some?

[Traintime]

This pattern gets more interesting because of who used it commercially. Both the Chicago & Northwestern Railway and the "Omaha Road" that they controlled had it. Now a sugar tong for Union Pacific System surfaced, and these roads are part of the Overland Route. In addition, it was used by the Rock Island which, shortly after the turn of the century, happened to partner with Southern Pacific on the Golden State Route (at a time when Harriman controlled UP and SP.) [Southern Pacific is a Reed & Barton user, but for another pattern. During this time, the Harriman Roads become a significant customer for International Silver, suggesting a move away from Reed & Barton.] In one case, Modern Art is used on a company car of the Long-Bell Lumber Company which just happens to be extending its reach into the Pacific NW region (I'll need to look closer at them). Beyond this, it comes into use on the Colorado & Southern, formed from lost parts of the old Union Pacific, as well as their partner road to the south (both absorbed into the Burlington Route after 1908). Not sure yet, but supplier Albert Pick & Co. Chicago might be involved here, and could be the link to the hotel useage.

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The point (1908) at which Harriman related lines award large silverware contracts to International Silver: viewtopic.php?f=38&t=36151&p=108553&hilit=union+news+company#p108553

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An additional known commercial user of M.A. was the Chicago Beach Hotel. Wares were backstamped with the name, but not all pieces carry the Intertwined "CBH" topmarked monogram. The hotel, built for the 1893 Columbian Exposition, was expanded with a new structure on the east (lake) side by 1921, but losing direct beach access with the filling in of the shoreline of Lake Michigan and the construction of the southern extension of Lakeshore Drive. The original structure was demolished by 1927. All flatware seems to carry the full 1904 patent date, so it must have been ordered somewhere in this interval (1904-21). Albert Pick & Co. supplied hollowares from the Bridgeport source, but the backstamps are not viewable to ascertain dating. This hotel is yet another to use the term "Casino" in describing a dining/refreshment related facility.

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Another user has been found to be Hotel Alexandria Los Angeles (1905-) posted here: viewtopic.php?f=18&p=174211#p174211

Backtracking through Worthpoint, Reed & Barton hollowares for this user are also marked simply "Alexandria" rather than "The Alexandria". Bearing that hotel's raised-coin styled emblem, the known pieces seem to have the 066 or 066-H code and "Pat. Applied For" mark. [One item carried an added set of numbers which the seller concluded were a date, but this has not been confirmed.] 066-H hollowares were apparently also ordered by a "Mid Day Club", but it is not yet known if they used the Modern Art flatware to accompany the service. If there is a specific relationship between the holloware designs and this flatware pattern, some digging may bear this out.

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We can add Chicago & Northwestern Railway (back mark fancy C.&N.W. Ry.) to the user list on this (via a listing). Also a hotel called The Margaret (per listing).