AN AMERICAN SILVER THREE-PIECE COFFEE SET AND MATCHING TRAY, MARTELÉ, Gorham Mfg. Co., Providence, RI, 1918, signed by William Christmas Codman

comprising: Coffee Pot, Creamer, two-handled open Sugar Bowl and two-handled Tray, of baluster form, chased with fluted panels and sprigs of prunus, on shaped lobed bases, the shaped oval tray with cut-out handles and border chased to match

Sotheby's, New York, 17 June 1999, lot 242.

Larry Pristo, Martelé Gorham's Nouveau Art Silver, 2002, pgs. 157-158, 403.

tray with some very light scratches from use and some light salt stains, otherwise good condition, decoration crisp
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

According to Gorham's records as reproduced by Larry Pristo in Martelé Gorham's Nouveau Art Silver, p.403, this three-piece coffee set and matching tray were completed on 7 June 1918. In total, it took craftsman Nels N. Ha(a)rklou one hundred and thirty-five hours to create the coffee set. Individually, the coffee pot took seventy of those hours-- the creamer, thirty, and the sugar bowl thirty-five. The matching tray was made by an unknown craftsman taking twenty-nine hours and fifteen minutes.

Like the maker of the tray, we are unable to identify the chaser of this set. However, from Gorham's records we were still able to determine the chasing time. Totalling one-hundred-and-ninety-two hours and thirty minutes, the chasing on the coffee pot alone was accomplished in seventy-one hours and thirty minutes; the creamer took thirty-two hours, the sugar bowl, forty hours, and the tray forty-nine.  

The net factory cost was $648.00 in total. The coffee pot alone was $248.00, the creamer, $100.00, the sugar bowl, $120.00, and the tray $180.00. Later, the prices for both the sugar bowl and the tray were increased. The price of the sugar bowl was revised on 4 September 1924 to $180.00 wholesale and $300.00 retail. The price of the tray was revised on 31 October 1921 to $250.00.