Samuel Kirk & Son Sterling Hostess Set in the company's best
known and most popular Repousse pattern.
Samuel Kirk started with a small store in Baltimore in 1815. In
1846, his son became a partner and the company name was changed to
Samuel Kirk & Son. Later, in 1861 two of his other sons were
admitted into the firm as well and the company name became Samuel
Kirk & Sons. This set was made between 1846 and 1861 while the
company name was Samuel Kirk & Son as this is the name impressed on
the back of every piece in the set. Kirk is very famous for his
silver work which was collected by many American Presidents and
other famous individuals. His customers included F.D. Roosevelt,
Lafayette, the Carrolls, the Astors, and the brother of Napoleon
Bonaparte. Kirk started making repousse, a very elaborate style of
raised relief, in 1820. Repousse designates the technique of pushing
out sculptural forms from within the silver vessel and then defining
them further with exterior chasing.
This hostess set consists of the following:
- One (1) 5-3/8" Small Berry/Fresh Fruit Spoon
- One (1) 9" Berry/Fresh Fruit Spoon Mark #264
(matches above spoon)
- One (1) 6" Sugar Shell Mark #465
- One (1) 7" Large Ladle Mark #4413
- One (1) 6-1/4" Gravy Ladle Mark #145
- One (1) 5" Cream Ladle Mark #335
- Six (6) 5" Cocktail/Oyster Forks Mark #361
- Six (6) 5" Bouillon Spoons Mark #37
Any collector who is not trying to find vintage Kirk silver is
missing the opportunity to own genuine American art, in addition to
the value of the metal itself, which is 925/1000 silver, marked on
the back of each piece. Kirk never wavered from his elegant artistic
style and his work still is highly prized today.
