Gorham Martele silver tea service circa 1902-16
lobed bulbous form with hammered and chased flower-and-foliage design and engraved with initial D, comprising: teapot, H5 1/2"; open sugar, H3"; creamer, H2 3/4"; kettle on lampstand, H12"; underside marked: Martele, 950/1000, kettle marked .9584 with coded KXT.
76.9oz all in
(4pcs)

Provenance : The engraved initial is that of John Fairfield Dryden (1839-1911) in whose family this piece descended to present family member.

John Fairfield Dryden Senator from New Jersey; born in Temple, Franklin County, Maine, August 7, 1839; moved to Massachusetts in 1846 with his parents, who settled in Worcester; attended Yale College; founded the Prudential Insurance Co. of America in Newark, N.J., in 1875, becoming its first secretary and in 1881 its president, and served in the latter position until 1911; one of the founders of the Fidelity Trust Co.; involved in the establishment and management of various street railways, banks, and other financial enterprises in New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania; elected as a Republican to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the death of William J. Sewell and served from January 29, 1902, to March 3, 1907; was a candidate for reelection, but withdrew because of a deadlock in the legislature; chairman, Committee on Relations with Canada (Fifty-seventh Congress), Committee on Enrolled Bills (Fifty-eighth and Fifty-ninth Congresses); resumed his former business pursuits; died in Newark, N.J., November 24, 1911; interment in Mount Pleasant Cemetery.

Literature: DICTIONARY OF AMERICAN BIOGRAPHY; Reynolds, Robert D., Jr. "The 1906 Campaign to Sway Muckraking Periodicals." Journalism Quarterly 56 (Autumn 1979): 513-20, 589.

Dryden, John Fairfield. ADDRESSES AND PAPERS ON LIFE INSURANCE AND OTHER SUBJECTS . Newark, NJ: Prudential Insurance Company of America, 1909.

Prudential Insurance Company of America. JOHN FAIRFIELD DRYDEN . Newark, NJ: Prudential Insurance Company of America, 1912.

Other Notes: This Martele 3-piece tea service is listed in the Pristo book (code CMV), noted as having taken a total of 70 hours to make and 48 hours to chase. The kettle was made by Thomas Singleton and chased by Herbert C. Lloyd in 1916 to match the original service. This kettle is listed in the Martele papers has having taken 95 hours to make and 53 hours to chase; the complete service is listed as having a net manufacturing cost of $298, or $6,290 in today's dollars.

Pristo, L.J. MARTELE. GORHAM'S ART NOUVEAU SILVER. Phoenix: Heritage Antiques, 2002. pp.288 and 369