Gorham Manufacturing Company
Tablespoon (one of a set of three)

Public Domain

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Maker Gorham Manufacturing Company (Providence, Rhode Island, founded 1831)Providence, Rhode Island, founded 1831

Retailer B. C. Wells (American, active c. 1871–1890)American, active c. 1871–1890

CultureAmerican

Titles

Tablespoon (one of a set of three)

Datec. 1871–1890

Retailed inAustin, Texas, United States

Made inProvidence, Rhode Island, United States

MediumSilver

Dimensions1 3/8 × 1 5/8 × 8 1/8 in. (3.5 × 4.1 × 20.7 cm)

Credit LineThe Bayou Bend Collection, gift of William J. Hill

Object numberB.2018.57.1

Current Location

Bayou Bend Collection and Gardens

Texas Room

On view

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Department

Bayou Bend

Object Type

METALWORK

DescriptionBenjamin C. Wells (1841–1913) came to Texas from East Tennessee. His father, James Wells, was a gold- and silversmith in Blount County, and Benjamin likely received some training from him. By 1870 Wells had married and struck out on his own. In Yalobusha County, Mississippi, he is recorded in the 1870 census as an apothecary. It is unclear how long he resided in Mississippi, but in May of 1871 advertisements first began to appear in Austin’s Tri-Weekly State Gazette for B. C. Wells as a “Watchmaker and Jeweler.” Wells entered a crowded market; Adolph Bahn and the jeweler Carl Mayer operated stores on the same block of Congress Avenue, but Wells’s ability to open his first store at this prestigious address must speak to his business acumen. All three men contributed prizes to the 1882 Capitol State Fair. Wells never advertised as a manufacturer of silver, usually being referred to as a watchmaker and jeweler. His 1872 advertisements feature the usual mixture of fancy goods, silverware, and jewelry, but in them Wells noted that he gave “special attention” to the repairing of watches. In 1890 Wells relocated to Fort Worth, Texas, and operated a store under the same name on Main Street there. By 1892, after advertising his Fort Worth stock for sale at cost through an agent, he left Texas. Wells was listed in California as a jeweler in 1900, where he remained until his death.
ProvenanceWilliam J. Hill (1934–2018), Houston; given to MFAH, 2018.
Exhibition History"Made in Texas: Art, Life and Culture: 1845–1900," Beeville Art Museum, Texas, September 20, 2014–January 10, 2015.

"A Texas Legacy: Selections from the William J. Hill Collection," Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, October 2, 2016–January 2, 2017.

"Texas Silver, William J. Hill," Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, March 1–June 1, 2017.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks

Inscribed on handle: V. M.

Marked on back of handle: [Gorham mark] / STERLING / B. C. WELLS [incuse]

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

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