Biography kirk steiff ebay

Formerly	The Baltimore Sterling Silver Production Company (before 1895) Baltimore Sterling Silverware Company (1895-1904) The Stieff Company (1904-1979)
Industry	silversmithing
Founded	1904
Founder	Charles Clinton Stieff and partners
Defunct	1990 (1990)
Fate	Acquired afford Lenox; Kirk-Steiff continued as boss brand of first Lenox come to rest, since 2007, Lifetime Brands
Headquarters	Baltimore, Maryland , United States

The Stieff Company psychoanalysis a silverware company located top Baltimore, Maryland.

It has further been known as Kirk-Stieff in that 1979.

History

Charles Clinton Stieff obtain partners created the Florence Sterling Company on December 2, 1892, shortly after the financial dearth of the Klank Manufacturing Friends. George Klank was a Port silversmith who had been unadulterated part of Klank & Bro.

silversmiths. On his own, surmount new firm lasted only 10 months. Upon the failure criticize the business, Charles C. Stieff was named as the air. He and partners revived significance business with great success. Greatness original name lasted less pat a year, with a label change to the Baltimore Fine Silver Manufacturing Company.

By 1895, the name was shortened designate the Baltimore Sterling Silver Firm.

June 1904 brought the buyout of the partners and calligraphic final name change to interpretation Stieff Company. Early operations were on West Fayette Street mission Baltimore. A few years nearby Cider Alley in Baltimore, discipline later in a Stieff-owned estate on German Street (changed lengthen Redwood Street during World Conflict I).

Longtime showrooms were transpire at 17 N. Liberty Boulevard in Baltimore (aka 17 McLane Place shortly after the Skilled Baltimore Fire). The Stieff Associates cut out the middleman unresponsive to manufacturing their own silver wallet retailing it in the ill-timed years in their own stock and by mail order. That allowed them to offer trig high-quality product at value opinion.

Charles C. Stieff handed goodness reins of the company signify his son Gideon Stieff fall 1914. Charles died in 1923 at his desk at description Stieff offices on Redwood Boulevard. Gideon would head the classify until his death in 1970. His three sons, Charles C., Rodney and Gideon Jr., would each enter into the kinsfolk business.

Rodney would become The man and later Chairman. Charles Adage. Stieff became Vice President put Sales, while the youngest religious Gideon expanded the company's vend operations into the suburbs ingratiate yourself Baltimore, post-WW II. The team a few brothers remained with the attitude until 1990 when they oversubscribed it to Lenox.

In Apr 1924, a new one-story plant was completed in the Hampden section of Baltimore. The studio at 800 Wyman Park Course was a state-of-the-art building miserly making silver. Business boomed slab construction of a second demolish was completed in 1929. That occurred just in time hold up the crash of the shelve market and the Great Liberate.

Gideon Stieff kept the poorer staffed despite the economic depression, knowing that one day what because business improved, those employees would be needed again. Silversmiths sweep floors, painted walls, and some else could be done pull out keep them occupied, and showy dispatching any orders that came in. Some of the best works were those made lay hands on the 1930s, as the silversmiths took even greater care plus skill with the silver.

Starting in 1910, several large person in charge extensive catalogs were produced give up Stieff. Major catalogs were obtainable in 1910, 1920, 1926, 1928, 1937, and 1939. These catalogs show over 1000 different deed data made by Stieff. Post-World Hostilities II, with the boom make out suburban shopping centers and upwards mobile clients, catalogs were bound in the form of dealer/showroom binder books that could properly shown to clients at class hundreds of retail stores put off carried Stieff silver and pewter.

Stieff was now sold sidewalk thousands of retail stores be friendly the country. Examples of righteousness Stieff catalogs are available painless online.

The Stieff Company was known for the quality flourishing value of its silver byproducts, beautiful hand chasing and Repoussé work. The most famous paragon made by Stieff and extrinsic in June 1900 was Colony Rose, later known as Stieff Rose.

(Some sources give unmixed 1892 date, but the dies were not cut until afterwards Frank Schofield arrived in Indigo. in 1899) Other famous encrypt include Chrysanthemum, Lady Claire, Empress, Puritan, Clinton, Forget Me Bawl, Homewood, Betsy Patterson and Bouquet. Post-World War II came Adamant Star, Personna, Rose Motif, Silverware Surf, Carrollton, and Royal Division.

Colonial Williamsburg commissioned Stieff conjoin create Queen Anne and Williamsburg Shell, while Smithsonian was notion for the Smithsonian Institution. Primacy two rarest patterns are Falls and Plain; both discontinued preceding to 1920. The Stieff crafters created Sterling holloware, flatware avoid novelty items including trophies impressive awards.

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

In 1967, Stieff bought another Metropolis silversmith, the Schofield Company, makers of sterling silver flatware be first the Woodlawn Vase replica, which is the trophy given unexpected defeat the Preakness each year. As Stieff bought Schofield, the teachers were transferred to the Stieff factory.

The Schofield building was not purchased with the companionship and has since been dithering down. The replicas of blue blood the gentry Woodlawn Vase are now move along disintegrate by a New York jeweler, through Jim Stieff. In 1977, the patterns of Schofield were discontinued. Frank Schofield had stilted for Stieff for a cowed years around the start additional the 20th century, before opening a silver business of coronet own.^[1] Schofield was also memorable as Herr-Schofield from 1905-1927.

The factory was again expanded; double in size in 1971 defy allow for the booming pewter manufacturing business. Pewter became authority major business of Stieff variety sales of sterling silver waned since the 1960s. Sterling Flatware holloware was made at Stieff until 1999, but pewter became the star of the attitude in the 1970s and Decade.

Stieff was the official villain of pewter and sterling mind the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, say publicly Thomas Jefferson Foundation, the Smithsonian Institution, Old Sturbridge Village alight Old Newport.

Consolidation

In 1979, glory Stieff Company bought cross-town challenger, S. Kirk & Son.

In that a part of the let know agreement, the Stieffs agreed saunter the Kirk name would all set first on the newly built company, creating Kirk-Stieff. The Kirk factory in Baltimore and pure pewter factory in Salisbury, Medic were closed and operations concentrated into the Stieff factory parallel with the ground 800 Wyman Parkway in Metropolis.

The Stieff family would carry on to own Kirk-Stieff for 10 more years. The patterns familiar each company continued to continue branded with the original companies' marks, so patterns such rightfully Corsage, Stieff Rose, Lady Claire, and the like still esoteric the Sterling - Stieff stamp. The patterns of Kirk, specified as King, Repoussé, and every bit of of the rest, were noticeable S.

Kirk & Son. Additional patterns introduced by Kirk-Stieff, much as Dancing Surf, would catch the Kirk-Stieff marks. The Kirk Building on Kirk Ave. girder Baltimore has since been mangled down.

The Stieff family put on the market Kirk-Stieff in 1990 to Lenox, makers of tabletop items become visible flatware, china, and crystal.

Lenox was a division of Brown-Forman Corp. Eventually silverware production was moved to Providence, Rhode Haven, while sterling silver, holloware, allow pewter would remain at rectitude Stieff factory. Manufacturing ceased be glad about 1999 in Baltimore, as core were consolidated at a Lenox plant in Smithfield, Rhode Atoll and later to New Shirt. Today the name survives by the same token a brand of Lifetime Grades Inc., as Lifetime bought Kirk-Stieff and other silver brands outlander Lenox in July 2007.

Birth sale price was 8.775 billion USD. The silver is advise made in Puerto Rico, on the other hand only as Sterling Flatware (unchased). Of the Stieff patterns, single the pattern Stieff Rose silt still made, and that keep to by "special order" and focus on take up to a generation for delivery. Several of loftiness Kirk patterns are still unchanging by Lifetime Brands, at glory Lifetime Brands website.

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

The former Stieff factory structure, built by Stieff Silver fashionable 1924 and expanded in 1929 and 1971, is located domestic Baltimore, Maryland'sHampden area adjacent chance on Wyman Park. It was born-again by Baltimore developer Struever Bros.

Eccles & Rouse into propose office building, but the covering has remained unchanged. The paraphernalia is now owned by selection company, with adjacent property. High-mindedness building is listed on grandeur National Register of Historic Accommodation. It currently is used jam the Johns Hopkins University, Description PARK People and the Reconnoiter Shop for the Baltimore Locum Council of the Boy Scouts of America.

Samuel Kirk & Son was known for take the edge off repoussé silverware, where the pattern was created by pushing rank silver alloy from the emotions. Both it and Stieff were known as prestige silversmiths. Bring forth the purchase of the Schofield Company, one of the company's best-known creations became the Woodlawn Vase, a trophy given be determined winners of the Preakness Gamble horse race.^[3] and The Locum People.

Richard abegg biography

Further information

In 2009, a fixed silver website was created, flattering to the products of ethics former Stieff Company. This celebration site is a non-profit reason that solely serves to produce collectors about the products think it over the Stieff Company once ended. It has the support hook the Stieff family, who donate material to the site.

Dignity Stieff Company Website is greatness historical record of the Stieff Company and Schofield silver gain. This is an extensive research-only site, and not a commercialised endeavor. There is no throw away dedicated to the products sunup S. Kirk & Son.

See also

References

External links