1 May 2021

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Dear New York Silver Society, Inc. contributor:

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When I was growing up, every year on my birthday my godfather gave me a silver spoon.  Like most children I may have preferred a toy, but I understood these gifts were special because my parents would store them away so I'd have a full set of spoons "when I grew up."  I came across the spoons a few years ago and looked at them with new eyes.  My role as a curator at the Yale University Art Gallery gave me the skills to identify the maker and pattern, but my training aside, I recalled the emotions and family networks embodied in these pieces of flatware.  Silver has a way of creating connections, be they between industry and art, between politics and beauty, or simply between people.

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Together, I hope the members of the New York Silver Society can continue to explore these connections, and forge new ones.  I look forward to sharing knowledge and comradery.  I look forward to our expanding this community and welcoming a variety of viewpoints.  I look forward to our engaging with scholars, makers, dealers, collectors, and anyone beguiled by this material.  I look forward to our coming together however we can, connected by our shared interests.

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I am honored to serve as the new president of the New York Silver Society, and an indebted to the work of my predecessors D. Albert Soeffing and Deborah Dependahl Waters.  Until we can once again meet in person, be on the lookout for our newsletter, visit our website www.newyorksilversociety.org (made possible with the assistance of a generous grant from member Margot Grant Walsh, guidance from member Debra Schmidt Bach, and our wix.com webmaster Jonathan Bach), or follow us on Instagram @NYSilverSociety.

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Sincerely,

John Stuart Gordon

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