Jewelry
Tiffany & Company (Probable maker)
Atlantic Telegraph Company (Maker)
United States, North America
1858-1860
Gold; Copper wire; Gutta percha; Iron wire
1959.0565
Object Number1959.0565 |
Watch fob (Charm)
Jewelry
Bequest of Henry Francis du Pont
Tiffany & Company (Probable maker)
1837-Present
Tiffany & Co. was founded by Charles Lewis Tiffany and John B. Young as Tiffany & Young in New York City in 1837. It became known as Tiffany & Co. in 1853. The manufacturer was John Moore, who started the manufacture of silverware in 1827. The relationship between Moore and Tiffany & Co. continued even when Tiffany was incorporated in 1868. (Darling, New York State Silversmiths, p. 176; Turner, American Silver Flatware, p. 22)
Atlantic Telegraph Company (Maker)
1856
United States, North America
1858-1860
Industry; Nautical
Gold; Copper wire; Gutta percha; Iron wire
0.2 (H) , 1.1 (L) , 0.7 (Diam)
0.6 (H) , 2.8 (L) , 1.7 (Diam)
Diameter is of the drum.
This small charm is a souvenir made to commemorate the first trans-Atlantic telegraph cable, laid in 1858. During the autumn of that year, New York and London merchants and jewelers took advantage of public fascination with the cable. They created and sold objects such as charms, candlesticks, cane handles and paperweights incorporating sections of the surplus British-made cable. Unmarked by its manufacturer or retailer, this charm is constructed with a gold case surrounding a cross-section slice of the florette-shape center made by seven copper wires of the cable housed within its natural insulator of gutta-purcha all bound within seven-ply twists of iron wire. A trophy ornament composed of a fouled anchor with two heraldic shields and cannons decorates the top of the charm beneath the suspension loop. Engraved with the stars and stripes of the United States and the Union Jack of Great Britain, these shields symbolize the new communication connection between the two countries. Such souvenir "charms" were advertised by New York jewelry and silver merchant Tiffany & Company for American patrons.