what is the age of this silver decanter?

I bought this from an auction , its a Gorham sterling overlay decanter with the hallmarks as shown in picture.
can someone tell me the age and rough value of this item?

thanks

 

Could be the D is for 1871

I would think about $300-500 would be good

If selling on feebay this month it would be about ten cents a gram

http://www.ebay.com/itm/GORHAM-STER...648944?hash=item43f6fdfb70:g:hO4AAOSw8w1X~Ekp

 

Nice ewer - the 'D' prefix was used on Gorham glassware production codes from 1898 to around 1907, the 'A over U E' indicates the piece was a sample or special order. Silver overlay, more correctly called 'silver deposit', wouldn't have been produced in 1871, the process wasn't invented until the 1880s...

~Cheryl

 

Appears to be the same item as in the link posted, same pitted spot above the anchor, same scratched letters between the trademark and production code...

~Cheryl

 

Silver overlay and silver deposit are two different types of processes.

This decanter is an example of silver overlay. It is a thin sheet of silver that has been applied over the glass. In this case the silver has also been chased or engraved. That is what Gorham did.

Silver deposit is a process of electroplating applied to the glass. It is thin and can eventually be polished off the glass.

 

While 'silver overlay' has come to be the accepted term for these pieces, this is not a thin sheet of silver applied to glass, it is 'silver deposit', a layer of silver applied to a glass, ceramic, or other non-conductive object by electro-deposition (how would sheet silver have been 'applied' to the handle, lip, etc.?) Earlier pieces were more heavily plated, enough to be engraved, and the silver was cut away to form the design, but it was essentially the same process used on later, less substantial silver deposit items. Can't recall ever seeing the term 'silver overlay' used referring to this technique in period advertising, catalogs, or technical journals, but it's common usage now, though some prefer applying it only to pieces having worked silver fitted onto an object of another material, and then there are the silver-mounted pieces...

~Cheryl

1902 ad for Alvin Deposit Ware:

 

In that case the rough value would now be $800 us plus juice......at least it would for the OP. !

 

thank you all for the information . I paid the correct price then for this decanter and glad to know its true antique.

 

hi Cherl
but that link is the same item. . I bought it .
so would that change the value of this item considering I don't see any online and considering this was a special order item ?

 

Customization usually increases the cost to the purchaser while simultaneously devaluing the item to others.

If you could attribute the order to President McKinley you might have increased interest.

 

It's a stunning piece.

 

Do not buy this type stuff


This is 45 minutes progress

 

Terry, if you do that stuff with a Sunshine cloth it takes five minutes to get it looking decent. Yours is Venetian, but you probably know that.