The Samuel M. Felton 'Medallion' Silver Presentation Service, George Sharp for Bailey & Co. and Gorham, c. 1865

"Resolved, That in commemoration of these eminent public services and virtues, a Committee of gentlemen be appointed, including the officers of this meeting, to prepare and present to Mr. Felton a suitable service of silver plate as a testimonial of our admiration and regard."
     -  From a resolution honoring Felton, April 17, 1865.

Samuel M. Felton was a national hero when he retired as president of the Philadelphia, Wilmington, and Baltimore Railroad.  He had successfully run the strategically important railroad - the only railroad link between the northern Union states and the nation's capital - during the Civil War withstanding Confederate attacks.  Felton helped thwart a possible assassination attempt on Abraham Lincoln as he rode on a PWBRR train to his inauguration in 1861.  

Passed in his honor on April 17, 1865, the above resolution was signed by 26 prominent Philadelphians including: John Welsh, Thomas Kimber, Jr., Charles I Dupont, Morton McMichael, William D. Lewis, J. Edgar Thomson, etc. - a group which included many important individuals from the world of railroad executives and engineers, merchants, financiers, politicians and officers of the armed forces.  See the entire resolution here.

On June 9, 1865  in a page one article, the North American and United States Gazette of Philadelphia reported that, '... a number of our citizens have procured a service of solid silver plate, valued at six thousand dollars.  It will be presented to Mr. Felton to-day at his residence below Chester.'  Six thousand dollars was a huge sum for a presentation in 1865, being equivalent to $150,000.00 - $200,000.00 today.

In a thank you note of the same date, Felton notes these objects are "...more precious than wealth, as they are spontaneous tokens of regard...by his (my) fellow Citizens and Contemporaries - men whose high position make such tokens an honor and an invaluable legacy to (my children)."

This important partial service includes a sterling silver centerpiece compote, swing-handled cake basket, covered entree server and covered butter dish all by George Sharp for Bailey & Company.  It also includes a coin silver water pitcher and goblet by Gorham also sold by Bailey & Co. Please see the individual pages for larger photos and full descriptions.

It is unusual for large services to remain this intact.  (In fact, this has descended in different branches of the family and we have reunited these pieces.)  This is the largest and most thorough collection of 'Medallion' holloware we have ever seen and it represents the height of fashion in 1865.  Individually, they are some of the finest pieces of 'Medallion' silver we have ever had the privilege to sell; together they are extraordinary.

The Felton presentation was clearly an important order for Bailey & Co., one of the most distinguished jewelers in Philadelphia.  Relying mostly on excellent products from the shop of George Sharp, they supplemented these with Gorham's outstanding work. The Sharp pieces are the only ones we have seen in this precise 'Medallion' pattern and we believe they may represent a custom design.

George Sharp had been Bailey & Co.'s silver shop foreman until he started his own business in 1861, when Bailey discontinued the in-house manufacture of silver. Bailey continued to order silver from Sharp and the Felton pieces bear Bailey & Co.'s sterling silver marks, indicating that Sharp continued to use the Bailey marks on Bailey retailed silver even after starting his own shop. (Many thanks to D. Albert Soeffing for his help, see his  article in Silver Magazine March/April, 2004 which greatly improves our knowledge of George Sharp.)

Samuel Morse Felton (1809-1889), a civil engineer, left his post as Superintendent and Engineer of the Fitchburg  Railroad to become President of the Philadelphia, Wilmington, and Baltimore Railroad in 1851.  Under his leadership, the technologically innovative PWBRR became the largest passenger railroad in the country, playing a highly important role in the Civil War by transporting Union troops and supplies.  

In 1865, Felton retired from the railroad due to ill health. After recovering, he became President of the Pennsylvania Steel Company, a leader in developing the 'Bessemer' process of production and the first US company to make steel rails commercially.  The steel company was located in Harrisburg, PA, requiring Felton to leave Philadelphia.

Felton continued an active interest in both the business of railroads and the civic life of the country. Serving as a director of many railroads, he was appointed by President Grant as a Commissioner to inspect the new Pacific Railroads in 1869. In 1876, he was a director of the Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia. Two generations of Felton family papers are kept at the Smithsonian Institution Museum of American History's archives  (where much of this information comes from).

Provenance: Mostly by descent in the family.

Condition: Excellent/very good, see individual descriptions.

See these individual pages for complete descriptions and detailed photographs:
George Sharp Centerpiece Compote
George Sharp Swing-handled Cake Basket
George Sharp Covered Entree Server
George Sharp Covered Butter Dish
Gorham Figural Water Pitcher
Gorham Goblet

Our Price:  $48,000.00

Item Number:  K329