Research into Carter & Howe and Carter & Gough has continued, and it is quite interesting:
Aaron Carter Jr. was the driving force behind this company, the first to use a steam engine, and the largest jewelry company in the world for a time....
1) Pennington, Carter & Doaremus founded in 1841.
2) Carter runs the company alone for a few years after the original partners accept other offers from other companies.
3) Carter gets new partners and becomes "Carter, Hawkings & Dodd".
4) Carter gets new partners and becomes "Carter, Sloane & Company".
5) Carter gets new partners and becomes "Carter, Hastings & Howe" and this is the company we refer to as "Carter & Howe".
6) Carter gets new partners and becomes "Carter, Gough & Company" in 1915.
The available literature claims that "Carter, Gough & Company" closed in 1922, however, I have discovered evidence that it survived until 1925:
In the newspaper "The Jeweler's Circular," on January 23rd 1923, a meeting of the leading regional jewelry companies was held, and the president and the two vice presidents failed to appear, so in their absence William T. Gough was appointed "Pro Temp" on a temporary basis to fill the position of president. The article states that William T. Gough presently heads the company of "Carter, Gough & Company." So, in early 1923, it appears that the company is still in business. Not only is the company still in business, but the article goes on to state that William T. Gough was elected to serve as a representative of this board of regional jewelry companies for the entirety of the year 1923. It seems to me that Gough was still in good health, and his business was still running strong, otherwise why would he have been appointed as a representative of this board of regional jewelry companies for the entirety of the year 1923? I believe he was held in very high esteem by the community of Jewelers, as he approached his 75th year on Earth, he was still very active in his company and his regional community of jewelers.
However, in January of 1925, we have the passing of William T. Gough:
It would seem to me that this passing was quite sudden, since William T. Gough was elected to serve as a representative of the aforementioned board for the entirety of the year 1923. At the time of his passing in early 1925, there must have been a substantial inventory of jewelry still waiting to be shipped out, and some pieces which were under contract for completion. After all, this was the largest jewelry factory in the world, so there must have been pieces which had not yet been hallmarked. I believe the "ARROW + G" hallmark which I found was in honor of William T. Gough, who had just passed away, or perhaps his passing was imminent in late 1924. I believe the "ARROW + G" hallmark was purposefully created to resemble a "G", and it is not just a slightly misshapen letter "C," but I suppose you could argue the latter. That is a possibility, but I truly think the item in question was made in 1924 or 1925, due to its Art-Deco styling which has absolutely nothing to do with the Art-Nouveau styled purses of 1890-1920. This particular purse seems firmly rooted in the 1920s, and this is the first example of the type I have ever seen. Of course, they had many different purse designs, so it is not surprising to find a particular purse form which has not yet been documented. However, due to the "ARROW + G" hallmark, which has never been documented, at least not to my knowledge, I believe this piece was made in 1924 or 1925, in honor of William T. Gough.
