Important Americana
Important Americana
Property of a Direct Descendant of the Original Owner
FREDERICA VANDERBILT WEBB: AN EXTENSIVE AMERICAN SILVER OLYMPIAN PATTERN FLATWARE SERVICE, TIFFANY & CO., NEW YORK, CIRCA 1905
Auction Closed
January 26, 08:38 PM GMT
Estimate
20,000 - 30,000 USD
Lot Details
Description
FREDERICA VANDERBILT WEBB: AN EXTENSIVE AMERICAN SILVER OLYMPIAN PATTERN FLATWARE SERVICE, TIFFANY & CO., NEW YORK, CIRCA 1905
monogrammed F.V.W., some pieces gilt (g) or parcel-gilt (pg), comprising:
12 dinner knives
12 dinner forks
24 lunch knives
24 lunch forks
12 fish knives
12 fish forks
12 game knives
12 game forks
11 dessert forks
12 fruit knives (g)
12 fruit forks (g)
12 butter spreaders
12 oyster forks (pg)
12 teaspoons
12 dessert spoons
12 tablespoons
11 bouillon spoons
12 demitasse spoons (pg)
12 iced tea spoons
12 ice cream spoons (pg)
12 ice cream forks (pg)
12 nut picks (g)
5-piece carving set
2 salad servers (pg)
4 serving spoons
1 punch ladle
1 gravy ladle
1 sauce ladle
1 mustard ladle (pg)
1 basting spoon
1 cheese scoop (g)
1 ice cream slice (g)
1 pastry server (g)
1 sugar tongs
1 ice tongs
307 pieces
367 oz 10 dwt weighable
11432 g
Two dynasties were united on October 14, 1905, when Frederica Vanderbilt Webb, daughter of Dr. W. Seward Webb and Lila Vanderbilt and great-granddaughter of Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt, married Ralph Pulitzer, son of newspaper magnate Joseph Pulitzer and future editor of the New York World. The wedding was held at Shelburne Farms, the Webb family’s country estate and model farm in Vermont, on the banks of Lake Champlain. The event was a great gathering of the Vanderbilt clan, including Mrs. Cornelius (of the Breakers), the Frederick W.’s (of Hyde Park), the Georges (of Biltmore), and various Twombly, Sloane, and Webb relations.
The gifts to the young couple, many of them in gold and silver, came to $750,000 – about $20 million in 2020 dollars - including the townhouse bestowed upon them by Joseph Pulitzer, at 17 E. 73rd St in New York, adjacent to his own Stanford White-designed mansion. After the festivities the newlyweds took Dr. Webb’s yacht, the Elfrida, to Burlington and a special train to Canada for the honeymoon.