Derby Silver Company Explained

Derby Silver Company
Location City:Derby, Connecticut
Shelton, Connecticut
Location Country:United States
Area Served:Internationally
Products:silver products, hollowware and flatware
Divisions:Victor Silver Company [1] [2]

In 1872, the Derby Silver Company began production in Derby, CT. Over the years, the company made bathroom-related items, clocks, tableware and flatware, tea sets, candlesticks, fruit baskets, dishes, and more object types made of silver and silver plate. The Derby Silver Company operated showrooms in New York, Chicago, and San Francisco. As of 1893, the President and Manager of the company was Watson J. Miller. Wesley L. Clark was the Secretary and Treasurer.[3]

In 1898, the company became a division of the International Silver Company headquartered in Meriden, CT, but continued making silver with its brand name until 1933, when the plant was closed.[4] [5]

Derby Silver Company designs are in a variety of museum collections including the Brooklyn Museum; Mint Museum in Charlotte, NC; the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; the Wolfsonian-FIU in Miami Beach; and the Yale University Art Gallery in New Haven, CT.[6]

Over the years, Derby Silver Company designs have been in exhibitions including the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia; In pursuit of beauty: Americans and the Aesthetic Movement at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York (1986-87); Silver in America, 1840-1940: A century of splendor at the Dallas Museum of Art (1994-95); and Shaken, stirred, styled: The art of the cocktail also at the Dallas Museum (2016-17).

Notes and References

  1. (undated). "The Derby Silver Company". Connecticuthistory.org. Retrieved December 29, 2016.
  2. Hogan, Edmund P. (1980). The elegance of old silver plate and some personalities. Schiffer Publishing Ltd: Exton, PA. Retrieved December 29, 2016.
  3. D. Hurd & Co. (1893). "Derby Silver Co." (page 211). In Town and city atlas of the State of Connecticut. Boston, MA. Retrieved December 29, 2016.
  4. (undated). "A Guide to the International Silver Company Records, 1853-1921". UCONN University Libraries, Storrs, CT. Retrieved December 29, 2016.
  5. May, Earl Chapin. (1947). A century of silver 1847-1947, (p. 118). New York: Robert M. McBride & Company. Retrieved December 29, 2016.
  6. (May 30, 2016). "Derby Silver Co. designs in collections, at auction, and in exhibitions". artdesigncafe.com. Retrieved December 29, 2016.