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International Silver Company

Name: International Silver Company
Dates:
1898-1981 (Life/Active Dates)
Biography/History: When the International Silver Company formed in 1898, it was already a colossus. It was the economic downturns of 1893, 1894, and 1896 that convinced the smaller silver companies to band together to take advantage of economies of scale. The businesses that merged to form the new company produced about 70 percent of the silverware manufactured in the U.S. As a result, silver bearing the IS label was considered middlebrow or hyper-commercial because it made silver items to be sold at many different price points. International produced wares ranging from the thinnest silverplate to elegant hand-chased sterling. Its main products fell into two categories: flatware (eating utensils made from sheets of metal) and hollowware (pitchers, vases, and bowls, etc.). The initial companies that formed International included: Barbour Silver Co., Hartford, CT; Holmes & Edwards Silver Co., Bridgeport, CT; Manhattan Silver Plate Co., Lyons, NY; Meriden Britannia Co., Meriden, CT; the Meriden Silver Plate Co., Meriden, CT; Norwich Cutlery Co., Norwich, CT; Rogers & Brother, Waterbury, CT.; Rogers Cutlery Co., Hartford, CT; the Rogers & Hamilton Co., Waterbury, CT; William Rogers Manufacturing Co., Hartford, CT; Standard Silver Co., Toronto, Canada; Watrous Manufacturing Co., Wallingford, CT, and Wilcox Silver Plate Co., Wallingford, CT. Despite its success, certain business decisions that diversified the company beyond silver ultimately led to its downfall. The last day for International’s venerable plated hollowware division was March 20, 1981 and the last remnants of the silver business were sold by 1983.
Related Participants:
Related Objects:
3998.3 (Teapot, Davenport Hotel Teapot, 1930-1960)