William B. Durgin Furniture
In its heyday, the Durgin Silver Company was one of the largest sterling silver flatware and hollowware manufacturers in the United States. Responsible for the trailblazing Fairfax pattern — one of the most popular patterns in the U.S. for a time during the early 20th century — Durgin Silver established a reputation for quality and durability.
The company was founded in 1853 in Concord, New Hampshire, by William Butler Durgin. Raised by farmers in Campton, New Hampshire, in 1833, Durgin grew up learning about agriculture from his parents. To their dismay, he decided life as a farmer wasn’t for him, and he shifted his focus to jewelry.
Durgin left Campton for Boston, where openings in the jewelry trade were scarce at the time. Undaunted, he became an apprentice to a silversmith named Newell Harding. In his second year as an apprentice, however, Durgin fell ill and returned to New Hampshire, settling in Concord. After he recovered, Durgin established his eponymous company.
Over the next 50 years, the Durgin Silver Company earned accolades for its role as one of the finest producers of sterling silverware in America. From its large brick factory in Concord, the firm manufactured exquisite tableware, serving pieces, tea sets and home decor such as candleholders. Its variety of elegant patterns, including Chatham, Chrysanthemum, English Rose, Louis XV, Victorian, Orange Blossom and the aforementioned Fairfax, were extraordinarily popular.
In 1878, Durgin’s son George Francis, who had learned silversmithing from his father, became a partner and the company enjoyed considerable success around the turn of the 20th century. Among their clients were the Packard Motor Company, the Davis Cup, the National Cash Register Company and the battleship U.S.S. New Hampshire, for which they made a 72-piece silver service and bell.
Durgin died in 1905 of cystitis and pneumonia, and tragically, George died soon afterward. That year, Durgin Silver became a division of another well-known American silver firm, the Gorham Silver Manufacturing Company. Today, Durgin Silver remains highly coveted among collectors of American silver.
On 1stDibs, find a range of antique William B. Durgin silver.
Early 20th Century American Regency Revival William B. Durgin Furniture
Sterling Silver
20th Century American Other William B. Durgin Furniture
Sterling Silver
Early 20th Century American Edwardian William B. Durgin Furniture
Crystal, Sterling Silver
Late 19th Century American Japonisme Antique William B. Durgin Furniture
Sterling Silver, Copper
Late 19th Century North American Edwardian Antique William B. Durgin Furniture
Silver, Sterling Silver
Early 20th Century German French Provincial William B. Durgin Furniture
Silver Plate
1970s Italian Art Deco Vintage William B. Durgin Furniture
Malachite, Sterling Silver
1890s American Antique William B. Durgin Furniture
Sterling Silver
Late 19th Century Antique William B. Durgin Furniture
Sterling Silver
Late 19th Century English Victorian Antique William B. Durgin Furniture
Silver
1940s American Vintage William B. Durgin Furniture
Crystal, Sterling Silver
Early 1900s British Edwardian Antique William B. Durgin Furniture
Silver, Sterling Silver
1930s British Vintage William B. Durgin Furniture
Silver, Sterling Silver
Early 20th Century English Victorian William B. Durgin Furniture
Sterling Silver
1910s American Vintage William B. Durgin Furniture
Crystal, Sterling Silver
Late 19th Century Spanish Art Deco Antique William B. Durgin Furniture
Gold Plate, Silver, Sterling Silver
1910s English Vintage William B. Durgin Furniture
Sterling Silver
Early 20th Century William B. Durgin Furniture
Sterling Silver
Early 1900s Edwardian Antique William B. Durgin Furniture
Crystal, Sterling Silver
Mid-20th Century American Modern William B. Durgin Furniture
Sterling Silver
Early 20th Century American Edwardian William B. Durgin Furniture
Sterling Silver