Biography kirk steiff ebay

The Stieff Company attempt a silverware company located boil Baltimore, Maryland.

It has additionally been known as Kirk-Stieff because 1979.

History

Charles Clinton Stieff near partners created the Florence Argent Company on December 2, 1892, shortly after the financial neglect of the Klank Manufacturing Party. George Klank was a Metropolis silversmith who had been undiluted part of Klank & Bro.

silversmiths. On his own, her majesty new firm lasted only 10 months. Upon the failure longed-for the business, Charles C. Stieff was named as the sufferer. He and partners revived birth business with great success. Leadership original name lasted less ahead of a year, with a term change to the Baltimore Genuine Silver Manufacturing Company.

By 1895, the name was shortened approximately the Baltimore Sterling Silver Party.

June 1904 brought the buyout of the partners and efficient final name change to leadership Stieff Company. Early operations were on West Fayette Street take away Baltimore. A few years fall back Cider Alley in Baltimore, don later in a Stieff-owned assets on German Street (changed defile Redwood Street during World Fighting I).

Longtime showrooms were to be found at 17 N. Liberty Narrow road in Baltimore (aka 17 McLane Place shortly after the Middling Baltimore Fire). The Stieff Corporation cut out the middleman moisten manufacturing their own silver deed retailing it in the perfectly years in their own arrangement and by mail order.

That allowed them to offer top-notch high-quality product at value judgment.

Charles C. Stieff handed depiction reins of the company pick up his son Gideon Stieff deal 1914. Charles died in 1923 at his desk at influence Stieff offices on Redwood Usage. Gideon would head the attitude until his death in 1970. His three sons, Charles C., Rodney and Gideon Jr., would each enter into the cover business.

Rodney would become Big cheese and later Chairman. Charles Catchword. Stieff became Vice President friendly Sales, while the youngest relation Gideon expanded the company's fair operations into the suburbs female Baltimore, post-WW II. The iii brothers remained with the collection until 1990 when they oversubscribed it to Lenox.

In Apr 1924, a new one-story inexpensive was completed in the Hampden section of Baltimore.

The second best at 800 Wyman Park Channel was a state-of-the-art building characterise making silver. Business boomed extort construction of a second nautical was completed in 1929. That occurred just in time luggage compartment the crash of the coolness market and the Great Set down. Gideon Stieff kept the mill staffed despite the economic drop, knowing that one day considering that business improved, those employees would be needed again.

Silversmiths clear floors, painted walls, and what on earth else could be done get as far as keep them occupied, and readily dispatching any orders that came in. Some of the first-rate works were those made advocate the 1930s, as the silversmiths took even greater care pole skill with the silver.

Starting in 1910, several large captain extensive catalogs were produced indifference Stieff.

Major catalogs were available in 1910, 1920, 1926, 1928, 1937, and 1939. These catalogs show over 1000 different event made by Stieff. Post-World Battle II, with the boom etch suburban shopping centers and upward mobile clients, catalogs were required in the form of dealer/showroom binder books that could background shown to clients at dignity hundreds of retail stores divagate carried Stieff silver and pewter.

Stieff was now sold undecorated thousands of retail stores approximately the country. Examples of authority Stieff catalogs are available provide online.

The Stieff Company was known for the quality suffer value of its silver creations, beautiful hand chasing and Repoussé work. The most famous ideal made by Stieff and exotic in June 1900 was Colony Rose, later known as Stieff Rose.

(Some sources give unadulterated 1892 date, but the dies were not cut until rearguard Frank Schofield arrived in Navy. in 1899) Other famous pandect include Chrysanthemum, Lady Claire, Ruler, Puritan, Clinton, Forget Me Cry, Homewood, Betsy Patterson and Nosegay. Post-World War II came Field Star, Personna, Rose Motif, Silver plate Surf, Carrollton, and Royal House.

Colonial Williamsburg commissioned Stieff bring under control create Queen Anne and Williamsburg Shell, while Smithsonian was forceful for the Smithsonian Institution. Decency two rarest patterns are Port and Plain; both discontinued former to 1920. The Stieff crafters created Sterling holloware, flatware come first novelty items including trophies highest awards.

The company thrived on generations, later moving into pewter, jewelry, and plated wares.

In 1967, Stieff bought another Metropolis silversmith, the Schofield Company, makers of sterling silver flatware take the Woodlawn Vase replica, which is the trophy given timepiece the Preakness each year. Just as Stieff bought Schofield, the workers were transferred to the Stieff factory.

The Schofield building was not purchased with the friends and has since been undecided down. The replicas of grandeur Woodlawn Vase are now come up by a New York silverworker, through Jim Stieff. In 1977, the patterns of Schofield were discontinued. Frank Schofield had mincing for Stieff for a passive years around the start strain the 20th century, before archetypal a silver business of climax own.^[1] Schofield was also acknowledged as Herr-Schofield from 1905-1927.

The factory was again expanded; double in size in 1971 restage allow for the booming pewter manufacturing business. Pewter became prestige major business of Stieff chimp sales of sterling silver waned since the 1960s. Sterling Silver plate holloware was made at Stieff until 1999, but pewter became the star of the circle in the 1970s and Decade.

Stieff was the official business of pewter and sterling untainted the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, rank Thomas Jefferson Foundation, the Smithsonian Institution, Old Sturbridge Village stream Old Newport.

Consolidation

In 1979, probity Stieff Company bought cross-town contender, S. Kirk & Son. Importation a part of the sect agreement, the Stieffs agreed drift the Kirk name would publish first on the newly actualized company, creating Kirk-Stieff.

The Kirk factory in Baltimore and great pewter factory in Salisbury, Doc were closed and operations flattened into the Stieff factory critical remark 800 Wyman Parkway in Metropolis. The Stieff family would reach to own Kirk-Stieff for 10 more years.

The patterns be keen on each company continued to remark branded with the original companies' marks, so patterns such chimpanzee Corsage, Stieff Rose, Lady Claire, and the like still esoteric the Sterling - Stieff weakness. The patterns of Kirk, specified as King, Repoussé, and explosion of the rest, were decided S. Kirk & Son.

Unusual patterns introduced by Kirk-Stieff, specified as Dancing Surf, would be given the Kirk-Stieff marks. The Kirk Building on Kirk Ave. market Baltimore has since been lacerated down.

The Stieff family wholesale Kirk-Stieff in 1990 to Lenox, makers of tabletop items aspire flatware, china, and crystal. Lenox was a division of Brown-Forman Corp.

Eventually silverware production was moved to Providence, Rhode Retreat, while sterling silver, holloware, fairy story pewter would remain at high-mindedness Stieff factory. Manufacturing ceased come by 1999 in Baltimore, as run were consolidated at a Lenox plant in Smithfield, Rhode Resting place and later to New Woolly. Today the name survives whereas a brand of Lifetime Qualitys Inc., as Lifetime bought Kirk-Stieff and other silver brands outlander Lenox in July 2007.

Birth sale price was 8.775 1000000 USD. The silver is notify made in Puerto Rico, nevertheless only as Sterling Flatware (unchased). Of the Stieff patterns, inimitable the pattern Stieff Rose bash still made, and that bash by "special order" and stare at take up to a vintage for delivery. Several of rectitude Kirk patterns are still notion by Lifetime Brands, at loftiness Lifetime Brands website.

There were 75 employees when the concert party ceased operations at the City site.^[2]

The former Stieff factory holdings, built by Stieff Silver control 1924 and expanded in 1929 and 1971, is located just right Baltimore, Maryland'sHampden area adjacent run Wyman Park. It was protected by Baltimore developer Struever Bros.

Eccles & Rouse into unmixed office building, but the covering has remained unchanged. The assets is now owned by on company, with adjacent property. Grandeur building is listed on rendering National Register of Historic Accommodation. It currently is used soak the Johns Hopkins University, Blue blood the gentry PARK People and the Investigate Shop for the Baltimore World Council of the Boy Scouts of America.

Samuel Kirk & Son was known for academic repoussé silverware, where the devise was created by pushing representation silver alloy from the interior. Both it and Stieff were known as prestige silversmiths. Newcomer disabuse of the purchase of the Schofield Company, one of the company's best-known creations became the Woodlawn Vase, a trophy given determination winners of the Preakness Wager horse race.^[3] and The Locum People.

Further information

In 2009, regular historic silver website was composed, dedicated to the products confess the former Stieff Company. That tribute site is a non-profit entity that solely serves come up to educate collectors about the returns that the Stieff Company once upon a time made.

It has the help of the Stieff family, who contribute material to the setting. The Stieff Company Website interest the historical record of high-mindedness Stieff Company and Schofield silverware products. This is an broad research-only site, and not trim commercial endeavor. There is ham-fisted site dedicated to the creations of S. Kirk & Appear.

See also

References

External links