The World Of Classic 1847 Rogers Bros Silver Notes

The World Of Classic 1847 Rogers Bros Silver Notes

William Rogers was the eldest of the Rodgers brothers. Around 1820 he left his parents farm, headed to Hartford Connecticut and became an apprentice of Joseph Church, a skilled jeweler and silversmith. Williams showed so much promise that Joseph Church soon made him a partner. Together they made silver spoons and coins. You can identify these items by their marking, 'Church & Rogers'. It took five years of apprenticeship for William Hazen Rogers to become a master silversmith. It is shortly after the time of partnership that we began to see the famous and familiar hallmark, "WM Rogers" on silverware he crafted. However, because his name was rather common several other manufacturers also use this trademark. William distinguished himself from these other manufacturers by using a star or perhaps even an Eagle as distinguishing decorative features of his trademark.

At some point in time between 1825 and 1835, Simeon Rogers and Asa Rogers Jr. had an association with the church in Rogers partnership. At this point it was quite plain to see that silver was a strong part of the Rogers family culture and being a master silversmith was somewhat of a family tradition.

The story is a little confusing from here on out, from what we understand, after Asa Jr. formed another partnership with John Cole to manufacture silver coins and silver flatware. When Cole retired later around 1832, William Rogers joined his younger brother and name of the resulting firm was changed to Asa Rogers Jr. and company. After a few more moves with loose associations kept intact (it seems that the Rodgers brothers wisely did not burn any bridges), Williams finally moved and created his own shop under his own name, William Rogers. This new American company would go on to pioneer and innovate many things related to silver in the relatively new United States. One of the first innovations was the use of sterling silver flatware instead of the coin silver which was typically used at the time.

With growing successes William was able to buy his younger brothers spoon manufacturing interest and consolidated into their new partnership. Around this time Simeon Williams was learning the trade and soon became a partner. Simultaneously, Asa Jr. experimented with some other silver makers in the creation of silverplated flatware. Perhaps these experiments played a role in the innovations that Asa and his brother William would make him yet another partnership out of Hartford called 'Rogers & Mead'. In 1845 this partnership used the innovative technique of electroplating to manufacture electroplated silverware. By 1847 the brothers really began to work in earnest together producing silverplated spoons with the Rogers Bros trademark. WM Rogers silverplate innovation caused quite a stir and the brothers were unable to keep up with the increased demand. To better meet the needs of the growing market the Rodgers brothers formed a new company, Rogers Bros MFG Co. in partnership with George W Smith.

There would be much more company shuffling and new partnerships; it kind of boggles the mind, yet their most successful line, the 1847 Rogers Bros silver would continue to be a mainstay in any of the future iterations of their various companies. To this day many of the fine 1847 Rogers Bros silverware patterns graced many a mantelpiece and display cabinet in homes and apartments around the world. Silverplated flatware is seeing somewhat of a renaissance and while not as expensive as solid sterling silver, it is still very much in demand by collectors and remains enjoyable to collect.

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