Description:
A Very Fine Chased Sterling Silver Six Piece Tea and Coffee Service by The Geo C. Shreve & Co. Comprising of a hot water Samovar with burner, a coffee pot, a tea pot, a creamer, a sugar bowl and a candy bowl, all finely embossed with a floral design. The bottom of the candy bowl engraved with the initials "S W". Stamped: Geo C. Shreve & Co. Sterling. Circa: 1920
Condition: Excellent.
Samovar overall height: 12 inches.
Samovar width: 9 1/8 inches.
Coffee pot height: 7 3/4 inches.
Coffee Pot width: 9 3/8 inches.
Kettle height: 4 5/8 inches.
Kettle width: 9 7/8 inches.
Sugar pot height: 4 1/8 inches.
Sugar pot width: 7 1/2 inches.
Creamer height: 3 inches.
Creamer width: 6 1/8 inches.
Candy bowl height: 2 1/2 inches.
Candy bowl width: 5 1/2 inches.
Total Weight: Unknown (Not weighted)
Ref.: A2094
Shreve & Company
Shreve & Company is an established retailer of jewelry, from timepieces to diamonds, headquartered in San Francisco, California. Incorporated in 1894 by George Rodman and Albert J. Lewis, it is considered the oldest commercial establishment in San Francisco.
History
The company's precursor, The Shreve Jewelry Company, was established by Rodman's father and uncle, George and Samuel Shreve, who had moved to San Francisco from New York. George learned goldsmithing from his older half-brother, Benjamin. The latter had established Shreve, Crump & Low in Boston.
By the 1880s, The Shreve Jewelry Company was considered among the finest silversmiths in the United States, selling high quality timepieces, gold, and silver jewelry, aside from diamonds and precious stones. The store, which had opened at Montgomery and Clay, soon moved to Market Street.
Just a month before the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, Shreve & Co. opened its new eleven-story building at Post and Grant. Built with the latest engineering technologies of its time, the Shreve & Co. building was one of a few San Francisco buildings that survived the April 18 earthquake. With its building rendered unusable, the company opened shop in Oakland, where it stayed for two years. The company's first flatware products and illustrated catalogs were created at this time.
Notable Collections
Ice cream fork, Shreve & Company, Iris service, silver, 1903-1917
The de Young Museum has on exhibit Shreve & Co. silver, featuring a complete set of the Iris pattern, including flatware, candlesticks, serving bowls and centerpieces. Its archives houses over 1,600 of the Shreve & Co. factory drawings and photographs taken at the Shreve & Co. factory.
The California Historical Society has the silver spade used by President William Howard Taft, and other objects from Shreve & Co., including the Mellon Tea Set, Silver Punch Bowl presentation piece, The Huntington Prize, 1899, a matching silver tray, a Horse Show prize dated 1899; silver medals, 1902, Mechanics Institute with presentation case.
The San Francisco Museum and Historical Society has the silver spade used by San Francisco Mayor James Rolphe at the groundbreaking for city hall and the civic center, and other objects made by Shreve & Co.
The Oakland Museum of California has a large collection of Shreve & Co. silver from the collection of the late Dr. Elliot Evans, curator of the Society of Pioneers, 1956–1971.
The San Francisco Public Library main branch has on exhibit the silver trowel used for the Library groundbreaking by Mayor Rolphe, an original miniature spade and the original enclosure card, and the tower of jewels souvenir made by Shreve & Co.
In 2011, after more than a century of operating within California, the company launched its first store in Portland, Oregon, offering timepieces from A. Lange & Söhne, Baume & Mercier, IWC, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Officine Panerai, Patek Philippe, Rolex, Wellendorff, Harry Winston, and David Yurman.
Even though the company had been bought by Schiffman's in November 1992, the company retained its name.
Source: Wikipedia
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