Alvin Mfg Co (Alvin Silver Co), a silversmith, was founded in 1886 in Irvington, New Jersey. The company’s main specialization was the production of silverware. Alvin-Beiderhase Co (as the company was called during this period) became the official supplier of souvenir spoons for the Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893-1894. The fashion for souvenir spoons arose in Europe, where tourists had a custom of buying spoons of various designs and engraving the name of the city on them to make them memorable souvenirs.
Steuben red glass perfume bottle in silver frame, height 10 cm, Alvin Mfg Co, circa 1893.
Casting, chasing and engraving were traditionally used in the production of silverware. A separate category of goods manufactured by the company is especially interesting. These are glass products in a thin silver frame, which became possible to produce at the end of the 19th century with the advent of such technology as electrodeposition of metals using industrial electrolysis.
Perfume bottle made of clear glass in a silver frame, height 10 cm, Alvin Mfg Co, circa 1893.
In 1886, Alvin Mfg Co patented a process for applying pure silver to metal and non-metal surfaces. Silver was applied to a glass surface according to a desired design, and then the details were finely engraved.
Perfume bottle made of clear glass in a silver frame, height 10.5 cm, Alvin Mfg Co, circa 1900.
Glass vases, decanters and jugs for such products were mainly purchased from local suppliers, but more expensive glass from Europe was also used from English and Bohemian manufacturers. Products made of iridescent glass from the Czech company Loetz looked especially good in such a frame.
Red glass vase in silver frame, height 20 cm, Alvin Mfg Co, circa 1900.
Alvin Mfg Co. continued as a separate entity until 1928, when its assets, dies, and patterns were purchased by the Gorham Corporation of Providence, and became a separate division of Gorham called Alvin Corporation.
Green glass vase in silver frame, height 21 cm, Alvin Mfg Co, early 20th century.Green glass vase in silver frame, height 35.5 cm, Alvin Mfg Co, early 20th century.Red glass vase in silver frame, height 20.5 cm, Alvin Mfg Co.Green glass bulbous vase in silver mount, height 32 cm, Alvin Mfg Co, circa 1900.Green glass vase in silver frame, height 26.5 cm, Alvin Mfg Co, circa 1900.Red glass pitcher in silver mount, height 24 cm, 1900.Glass flask in silver frame with monogram and date 1912, height 16 cm.Steuben Emerald Glass Vase in Silver Mount, H 51.5 cm, 1900.Clear glass pitcher in silver mount, height 22.5 cm, 1905.Pair of clear glass decanters in silver mounts, height 28 cm, 1910.Red glass perfume bottle in silver frame, height 11.5 cm, 1900-1916, from the collection of the Corning Museum of Glass.Red glass pitcher in silver mount, height 24 cm, 1900-1916, from the collection of the Corning Museum of Glass.Green glass vase in silver mount, 14.5 in (35.4 cm), 1890-1905, from the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.Silver mounted Iris vase, 18 cm high, 1888.Loetz green glass vase with Titania design in silver mount, 18 cm high, 1900.Loetz vase in silver frame, height 17 cm, 1900.Silver plated with electroplated engraving on clear glass.Steuben red glass perfume bottle in silver frame, height 10 cm, 1893.
