The Life Collection of Terry & Ralph Kovel 
1 November 2023
The Life Collection of Terry & Ralph Kovel 
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Gorham Manufacturing Company

Collection of four Aesthetic Movement mixed metal works

Providence, USA, c. 1883
patinated copper, silver largest vessel: 3½ h × 4½ w × 4 d in (9 × 11 × 10 cm) tray: 8 h × 8 w × ¾ d in (20 × 20 × 2 cm) cigar lamp: 2¾ h × 5 w × 2¾ d in (7 × 13 × 7 cm)
estimate: $1,200–1,800
result: $1,048
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Lot is comprised of two vessels, one tray, and one cigar lamp; four pieces total. Impressed manufacturer's mark to each example ‘Gorham Co.’ with numbers and anchor mark. Etched monogram to three examples ‘CHC’.

This work will ship from Lambertville, New Jersey.

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Ralph & Terry Kovel

The Duke and Duchess of the Antiques World

Ralph and Terry Kovel

Ralph (1920 - 2008) and Terry (b. 1928) Kovels' influence on the world of collecting is incalculable and their accomplishments innumerable. The couple married in 1950 and wrote their first book together, now titled Kovels' Dictionary of Marks: Pottery and Porcelain, 1650-1850, in 1953. In 1986, they released a new book, Kovels' New Dictionary of Marks: Pottery and Porcelain, 1850 to the Present. As the definitive source for collectibles and values, the Kovels are renowned for their eye for antiques, art, and design.

When the Kovels began their collecting journey they were complete neophytes. Terry remarked in an interview: "In the beginning, we were always doing it together. He was a super salesman and I was a good researcher... So it was fun for me. We found subjects that no one else was doing." They learned by looking, researching, and collecting. The success of their first book led Ralph to pitch a column on antiques and collectibles to the Cleveland Press, "Know Your Antiques," which became the longest-running syndicated column in the country. Their secret, as Terry has said, was making it approachable: "We always include definitions on the things we don't know. We make it easy for people to understand what we are writing about." For perhaps the first time, at least in the United States, antiques and collecting were made accessible to the masses.

The Kovels were also incredibly diversified in their interests, collecting everything from banana stickers and textiles to furniture and American art pottery; as Ralph used to say when asked why he only collects: “If we own it, it’s priceless.” Over the decades that followed the publication of their first book their business developed into a multi-million-dollar enterprise. They wrote over 100 books, one of which, the Kovels' Antiques & Collectibles Price Guide, has sold over four million copies and is considered one of the bibles of the field. They have been consulted numerous times for their expertise in court cases and various newspapers; wrote the "Collectibles" entry for the Encyclopedia Britannica; appeared on talk shows and starred in three TV series, “Know Your Antiques” for PBS, “Flea Market Finds with the Kovels” for HGTV, and "Collector's Journal with Ralph and Terry Kovel" for the Discovery Channel; and won two Emmy Awards. Their eponymous website, Kovels.com, was created in 1998 and to this day remains a priceless resource for collectors worldwide where one can check over 1,000,000 prices.

Terry remarked recently: "Building a great collection takes a lot of time, extensive knowledge and some luck, too. I am thrilled to pass our legacy of great finds onto the next generation of passionate antiques collectors." It is with great pride that Rago and Toomey & Co. offer a selection of Ralph and Terry's impressive collection here.

We came from Nowheresville as far as the experts were concerned. Maybe that’s why we can write what we write, because we think like beginners and write in plain language.

Terry Kovel

Gorham Manufacturing Company

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In 1831, Jabez Gorham (pictured) founded Gorham Manufacturing Company in Providence, Rhode Island with Henry L. Webster. Initially, the firm focused on making spoons from coin silver as well as combs, thimbles, jewelry, and other small items. An 1842 tariff passed by Congress prevented the importation of silver from abroad. While Jabez Gorham did not take full advantage of this, his son John Gorham, who took over in 1847, began to streamline operations and expand the range of offerings. Following an 1852 tour of Europe, John Gorham recruited Englishman George Wilkinson to train his designers and workers in the latest techniques.

Gorham Manufacturing Company eventually became the largest silver producer in the world. Starting with the Lincoln Administration, various Presidents commissioned metalwork by Gorham for use in the White House. After being granted a charter from the Rhode Island legislature in 1865, Gorham moved into a factory on Adelaide Avenue in Providence in 1895. That same year, noted designer William Christmas Codman created the famed Chantilly flatware service. Gorham soon added matching holloware to the Chantilly line. In addition to making silver, Gorham began casting sculptures in the 1880s. This included a silver likeness of Christopher Columbus for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, which was designed by French sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi of Statue of Liberty fame.

Starting in 1884, Gorham maintained a retail presence in New York City, first in the Ladies' Mile shopping district and then on Fifth Avenue. In the early 20th century, Gorham acquired longtime rivals Kerr & Company of New Jersey and Whiting Manufacturing Company of Massachusetts. As the demand for silver decreased during the mid-20th century, Gorham was forced to sell in 1967 to Textron, a multi-industry conglomerate based in Providence. Textron in turn sold Gorham to Dansk International Designs in 1988 and Dansk sold to the Brown-Forman Corporation in 1991. Department 56 bought Gorham in 2005 as part of the Lenox holdings transaction, but the renamed company, Lenox Group, went bankrupt in 2009 and Clarion Capital Partners bought the entity, which now has three divisions: Lenox, Dansk, and Gorham.

Despite Gorham's recent succession of owners, it is still regarded as one of the finest American silver makers in history. To honor the company's important legacy, the Rhode Island School of Design Museum held a comprehensive exhibition, Gorham Silver: Designing Brilliance 1850-1970, from May 3 through December 1, 2019, which subsequently visited the Cincinnati Art Museum from March 13 through July 5, 2020. Examples of Gorham holloware, flatware, jewelry, decorative arts, and sculpture are today part of the permanent collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, and other distinguished institutions.

Auction Results Gorham Manufacturing Company

Gorham Manufacturing Company

Aesthetic Movement mixed metal punch bowl with grape cluster handles, #1745

estimate: $25,000–35,000

result: $23,750

Gorham Manufacturing Company

Rare Aesthetic Movement Man in the Moon condiment set

estimate: $800–1,200

result: $15,120

Gorham Manufacturing Company

Six-piece Martelé coffee and tea service, model 3882

estimate: $10,000–20,000

result: $13,750

Gorham Manufacturing Company

rare artillery shell cocktail shaker

estimate: $3,000–4,000

result: $11,875

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