Draft:Marquand and Co.

History
Marquand and Company was founded in 1804 by Connecticut silversmith Isaac Marquand. Over the course of several years, the company grew and prospered significantly. In 1810, the company was headquartered in New York City, near Maiden Lane. In 1820, Isaac's son Frederick moved to Savannah, Georgia with his cousin, Josiah Penfield, to open their own silversmith trade. However, the two left Savannah in 1824, with Frederick taking over the flourishing Marquand and Co. from his father. The company was headquartered at 166 Broadway, and overtime became regarded as "the principal jewelers in the country," as stated in the obituary of Tiffany and Co. secretary Edward C. Moore.

Throughout their history, Marquand and Co. created a vast array of silver products, including "helmet" shaped gravy boats from 1833-39, as well as intricate full-service tea sets. Frederick, according to a contemporaneous article in the New York Times, was "the most prominent jeweler in the city." Many of their pieces are currently held in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Marquand was working at a period when there was much general interest in what the silversmiths of New York City were capable of. Organizations, such as the American Institute of the City of New York, which supported inventors, created a special class of awards for "precious metals" that was granted to the firm, as well as noted designer William Gale. An 1835 article featured in Mechanics' Magazine and Register of Inventions and Improvements described the impact of the firm, writing: "The specimens of silverware exhibited by Mr. Marquand, 181 Broadway... produced the most agreeable astonishment, especially to us, who well remember when to produce a silver buckle in this country was a thing viewed with utter astonishment."

Henry Marquand, an original trustee of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, briefly worked for the company before working on Wall Street in investment banking. Henry served as the second President of the Metropolitan Museum, where to this day his bequest of Old Master paintings is a central piece of the collection.

Marquand and Company served as a prototype for American-made silver products, paving the way for present-day success stories such as Tiffany and Co. For instance, as the United States economy began to transform in the nineteenth century, Marquand and Co. was the top silver making firm available for costly commissions from business titans. Marquand silver was treated as a status symbol, and entered the art collections of numerous affluent collectors, such as that of Alphonso T. Clearwater. In 1836, Frederick was commissioned by the prominent Schemerhorn Family to design an elaborate water pitcher, now held in the permanent collection of the New York Historical Society, for John Peter Schemerhorn, the paternal uncle of Caroline Schemerhorn Astor.

In 1832, Frederick Marquand completed a commission for a gold medal, commemorating the role of a volunteer honor guard of George Washington's during the Revolutionary War. The medal contains miniature portraits of Washington and the Marquis Lafayette. It also contains the words "N. America" and "France." While James Fenimore Cooper was serving as the American consul in Paris, he presented this object to Lafayette. It is now in the collections of the Winterthur Museum.

Frederick Marquand, aside from creating his own pieces, also promoted and sold work from other renowned artists. John C. Moore, renowned for his famous tea sets, also worked predominately with Marquand and Co. before he entered an exclusive deal with Charles Tiffany. Frederick also worked with renowned craftsman William Garrett Forbes, with their two names sometimes appearing on one piece, while in other situations Marquand and Co. would sell Forbes' solo work.

Frederick Marquand, after serving at the President of Marquand and Company, sold the business in 1838 to former apprentices William Black and Henry Ball. The firm soon took the name Black, Ball, and Co. Frederick took the proceeds from the sale of his business, and invested it in New York City real estate, as well as other financial ventures.

Collections
Many of these pieces ended up in Gilded Age mansions throughout the East Coast. Henry Gurdon Marquand, having grown wealthy, built his own mansion, "Linden Gate," in Newport. Constructed by Richard Morris Hunt in 1872, architecturally, it drew comparisons to Chateau sur Mer, owned by the Wetmore Family. When the contents of Chateau sur Mer were auctioned off by Christie's, pieces of Marquand silver were in the collection. The Wetmore's maintained many pieces of Marquand silver, eventually donating several to the New York Historical Society. Long after the company had been absorbed, original Marquand silver still maintained it's collectability. Renowned curator and collector Sam Wagstaff had numerous pieces of Marquand and Co. silver in his personal collection. The partner of Robert Mapplethorpe, after his death, the New-York Historical Society held an exhibition of his silver collection. Many of these pieces have migrated to the permanent collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Winterthur Museum, founded by Henry Francis DuPont, also contains a vast collection of Frederick Marquand's silver, as well as the Museum of the City of New York.

Boston's Museum of Fine Art maintains a rare silver spoon made by Frederick Marquand, dated 1830. It's description reads: "Fiddle-shaped, wheat sheaf stem with curved shoulders, downturned end and shell drop at back joint; egg-shaped bowl." This highlights the intricacy innate in Marquand Silver, as this spoon is relatively mundane in comparison to the larger commissions the firm completed during this period. Yale University's Art Gallery maintains many pieces of more intricate Marquand and Co. silver, including very examples of clockmaking. While the Marquands mainly worked in New York City and Connecticut, the bulk of collections containing Marquand silver are located in the northeast. However, owing to Frederick's early start in Savannah, Georgia, there are quite a few southern museums with vast collections. For instance, the Georgia Museum of Art has an incredibly intricate pitcher designed by Frederick with biblical scenes of the "Good Samaritan." Savannah's Telfair Museum also contains several unique pieces, including an incredibly detailed water pitcher. Many of Telfair's Marquand and Co. objects were previously in the collection of James A. Williams, made famous through John Berendt's bestselling nonfiction book "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil." Colonial Williamsburg also has Marquand objects in its permanent collection, including a remarkable silver urn-form pitcher, as does Atlanta's High Museum.