Gump’s: Blanchard Related?

[Traintime]

Cake servers and long-blade cake knives with a plain HH in the Antique Pointy style, simply marked Sterling, are not unusual to see. Sometimes the blade might indicate a steel source like Sheffield, but this does not preclude domestic sourcing for any component assembly. [Even silverplate and stainless might turn up in this design.] One current on-line knife is claimed to be from Gump’s but they display neither images of a mark nor any packaging (box, etc.) with retailer information. Herewith, we have a similar sample of an 8 3/4” inch cutlery piece which indeed carries the “Gump’s Since 1861” mark which replicates the signage that resided on the plaques outside the San Francisco store frontage:








Entries in SMP Silver Salon Forums do give some background on Porter Blanchard’s workshop having supplied silver items to Gump’s into the 1970’s. One of Blanchard’s known setting patterns (for crafted solid silver) is Pointy. Now I’ve never heard of that shop working in any hollow handles, but might it be the case that Gump’s sought to supply accessory items that would match up to flatwares, assuming anyone can show Blanchard producing this pattern for Gump’s? The blade of this steak knife indicates it was manufactured from stainless steel in Sheffield England (enough for an export mark). But the Sterling handle seems short of any proof that it was foreign sourced and Gump’s is not known to have actually produced finished items. Of course, there were other firms that could have created this besides the Blanchard shop.( Knives such as this might have been made available in a set of four, perhaps with matching forks that could be solid handled if not hollow.) Anyone have insight into the sourcing or what Gump’s was up to?

[Traintime]

Images seem to not be posting. Re-trying:

[Traintime]

I’ve checked two of my long knives with this handle…both blade marked as Raimond using Stainless Sheffield England, but with generically marked handles. But on a third, it has the exact same blade marks as the Gump’s sample and includes WEB as the maker or implied guarantor of the Sterling handle. So, perhaps this was the primary source of the handles themselves.

[Aguest]

:::: The relationship between English Manufacturers and American Department Stores is interesting, Marshall Fields Co even went so far as to have an actual workshop in England, I have a few knives that have full Marshall Fields Co English hallmarks on the blade yet the sterling pistol grip handle is unmarked so I always wondered if they were assembled in the USA and the sterling pistol grip handle is actually of USA origin (usually an English sterling silver handle is at least hallmarked on the collar of the handle), but the vast majority of this category is knives with Sheffield Stainless/Plate blades and Sterling Handles from an American manufacturer. :::::::

::::: Did WEB have pattern names for their flatware? I never thought about it before, but I've never noticed a pattern name with WEB. :::::::

[Traintime]

I’m confining this to just samples approximating the Pointy-style shapes, but here’s a group shot with top-to-bottom Gump’s, WEB (same handle), Raimond (longer/fatter/smoother curve handle), and William Adams of Sheffield & New York (longer again).
In the case of Adams, it only carries an abbreviated “WA Sterling” mark (no true hallmarking) even though the blade shows a definitive exporting mark for Made In Sheffield England. I would assume Adams would have to have a stateside assembly plant at the least unless there was some oddity for British laws allowing exporting with less than full marks on Sterling. Doubtful?

[Aguest]

::::: I don't understand this William Adams hallmark, is it an unknown American manufacturer who has somehow acquired the rights to the English silversmith William Adams so the knife handle is made in the USA? :::::: Is the WA Sterling hallmark somehow affiliated with WEB and/or Raimond? ::::: Was the entire piece made in England and was being exported to the USA so there was some sort of exemption granted? :::::

::::: Good questions. :::::

[Traintime]

This gets even more complicated. There’s a firm marking Sheffield blades attached to very nice Sterling handles using the name”Royall Silver Company” (that’s right, two “L”’s). If they just made the stainless blades, why the silver company name? And then we get others using Royal Cutlery as the blade mark, again attached to the Sterling handles. There was a Royal Works in Sheffield, but nothing immediately connects to this as the sourcing. Some of these handles are so elaborate in design that you have to wonder why they don’t exist as complete services. Guess that’s the power of the wedding business for you. Bridezilla’s gotta have what she’s gotta have…no if’s, and’s, or extra pieces!

[Traintime]

A footnote: Blanchard’s Pointed flatware was available through America House New York (ref. Trev’s postings) in the ‘50’s.