Silversmiths Directory & Sterling Marks

Alphabetical by Name

King to Kursch

King & Eisele

Buffalo, NY 1870-1931
Founded by William King and Edward J. Eisele. Ring and medal manufacturers.

J.W. King

Utica, NY  c. 1830-1840

Julius King (1835-1925)

Warren, OH  1856-1870
Silversmith and jeweler. Was in the partnership of King & Bro. 1856-1864.  Would later go on and become a well known optician, founding the Julius King Optical Co. in New York, NY.

George W. King (1817-1881)

New York, NY 1834-1844 and Hartford, CT c. 1844-1875
Silversmith and manufacturing jeweler.

Walter King (b. 1792 d. 1855)

Warren, OH c. 1817-1855
In the firm of King & Son with son Ashbel King c. 1850-1855. Silversmith and watchmaker.

H. Kingsbury

Halifax, VT  c. 1840-1850

Thomas Kinne, Sr. (b. 1780 d. 1857)

Norwich, CT c. 1805

Thomas Kinne, Jr. (b. 1808 d. 1860)

Cortland, NY c. 1836, Norwich, CT before 1848; and
Joliet, IL 1848-1860

D. Kinsey & Co.

Cincinnati, OH  1875-1878
In the partnership between Louis A. Kinsey (David Kinsey’s son) and John B. Callahan.

David Kinsey (1818-1874)

Cincinnati, OH  1840-1874
In the partnership of E. & D. Kinsey with his brother Edward Kinsey 1844-1861.

E. & D. Kinsey

Cincinnati, OH 1844-1861
A partnership between brothers Edward and David Kinsey.

Edward Kinsey (1810-1865)

Newport, KY 1834 and Cincinnati, OH 1834-1861
In the partnerships of Scovil & Kinsey with Pulaski Scovil in Cincinnati c. 1834-1836 and later E. & D. Kinsey in Cincinnati
1844-1861.

William Kip (1803-1879)

Kinderhook, NY  c. 1825-1871

George Kippen (1790-1845)

Bridgeport, CT c. 1815-1825 and Albany, NY c. 1830
Was in numerous partnerships:
With Barzillai Benjamin c. 1815.
Kippen & Wordin with William Wordin 1821-1824.
Kippen & Camp with Elias Camp in 1825.
Hoyt & Kippen with George A. Hoyt c. 1830.

John B. Kirby (1813-1888)

New Haven, CT  1834-1880
Was in the partnership of Brown & Kirby with George B. Brown
1834-1857 and later Kirby & Son with son Samuel H. Kirby 1873-1880.

Kirk & Smith

Baltimore, MD 1815-1820
Samuel L. Kirk and John Smith.

Kirk-Stieff Co.

Baltimore, MD 1979-Present
The oldest silversmith company in continuous existence in the U.S. The present company became Kirk-Stieff Co. when the Stieff Co. purchased S. Kirk & Son Co. in 1979.  Lenox, Inc. purchased Kirk-Stieff in 1991 and closed the Baltimore factory in 1999.  Today, production of items under the Kirk-Stieff name is outsourced to other companies.
See flatware patterns.

S. Kirk & Son / S. Kirk & Son Co.

Baltimore, MD 1846-1979
Founded by Samuel L. Kirk when his son Henry Child Kirk became a partner of his business in 1846. Two more sons, Charles D. Kirk and Clarence E. Kirk joined the firm in 1861 and left in 1868; the name of the firm was changed to S. Kirk & Sons during that time, reverting to S. Kirk & Son in 1868.  Acquired by The Stieff Co. in 1979 to become the Kirk-Stieff Co.  Makers of a full line of sterling goods, well known for their Baltimore style repoussé work.

S. Kirk & Sons

Baltimore, MD 1861-1868
See S. Kirk & Son.

Samuel Kirk (1793-1872)

Baltimore, MD  1815-1872
Started in partnership of Kirk & Smith with John Smith 1815-1820; Samuel L. Kirk branched out on his own in 1821.  Founded Samuel Kirk & Son which went on to become the Kirk-Stieff Co.

William Kirkham, Jr. (1831-1871)

Springfield, MA 1855-1865, Burlington, VT 1865; and Springfield, MA 1866-1871
Was in the partnerships of J. & W. Kirkham 1856-1868 and later E.B. Floyd & Co. with Eugene B. Floyd in 1865.

Peter Kirkwood (Kerkwood)

Chestertown, MD 1790-c. 1795 and Annapolis, MD 1799-1801

Kitts & Stoy

Louisville, KY  1849-1851
John Kitts and David C. Stoy.

Kitts & Werne

Louisville, KY  1860-1878
Founded by John Kitts and Joseph Werne.

John Kitts (d. 1863)

Louisville, KY  1836-1863
Was involved in a number of partnerships:
Scott & Kitts with William D. Scott in 1843.
Smith & Kitts with Richard Ewing Smith 1844-1845.
Kitts & Stoy 1849-1851.
John Kitts & Co. with Joseph Werne, Jr. 1856-1860.
Kitts & Werne 1860-1863.

John Kitts & Co.

Louisville, KY  1856-1860
John Kitts and Joseph Werne, Jr.  Renamed Kitts & Werne in 1860.

Klank & Brother

Baltimore, MD 1872-1892
Conrad, Frederick W., and George H. Klank. See C. Klank & Sons Co.

C. Klank & Sons

Baltimore, MD 1892-1911
Went by the name of the C. Klank & Sons Mfg. Co. 1893-1894.  Makers of a variety of sterling and silverplated items.

Anthony Kline (1777-1859)

Middletown, VA 1797-1833 and Stephens City, VA 1833-1859

John J. Klink (1816-1864)

Louisville, KY  1855-1863
Was in the partnership of Vogt & Klink with William Vogt
1855-1862.  Prior to this partnership, beginning in 1841, Klink worked Henry Fletcher and then the firm Fletcher & Bennett.

Knapp & Leslie

Mobile, AL 1848-1852
Alanson Knapp, Franklin A. Leslie, and Albert J. Leslie.

Alanson Knapp (1799-1875)

Mobile, AL  1826-1873
Was in the partnerships of Dunning and Knapp with Edward Dunning 1826-1837 and later Knapp & Leslie with Franklin Leslie 1848-1852.

Jesse Knapp (1795-1863)

Waldobor, ME c. 1821 and Boston, MA 1825-1859
Silversmith, jeweler, and watchmaker.

John Knepfly (1810-1882)

New Albany, IN 1845-1876 and Dallas, TX 1876-c. 1880
Was in the partnership of J. Knepfly & Son with Lawrence M. Knepfly 1876-c. 1880.  Knepfly retired c. 1880 and J. Knepfly & Son continued until 1897 when it was incorporated as the Knepfly Jewelry Co., which closed in 1900.

Mary Catherine Knight (1875-1956)

Boston, MA  Early 1900s
Maker of handwrought sterling Arts & Crafts holloware.  Member of the Boston Society of Arts & Crafts.

Knowles & Ladd

Providence, RI 1864-1875
Partnership of Joseph B. Knowles and Samuel J. Ladd.  Successor to Webster, Knowles & Ladd.  The Knowles & Ladd partnership ended with Ladd’s retirement in 1875.
See flatware patterns.

J.B. & S.M. Knowles

Providence, RI 1875-1905
Joseph B. and Stephen M. Knowles.  Successors to Knowles & Ladd. Purchased by Mauser Mfg. Co.  Makers of quality sterling flatware, holloware and novelties.
See flatware patterns.

David T. Knox (1793-1872)

Huntsville, AL  1825-1870
Silversmith and watchmaker.

Koehler & Ritter

San Francisco, CA 1867-1884
Founded by Gotthard Koehler and Charles A. Ritter, former employees of F.R. Reichel.  Makers of sterling flatware and holloware.
See flatware patterns.

Gustaf F. Kolb

New York, NY  c. 1917-1921

Sam Kramer (1913-1964)

New York, NY  1930s-1964
Modernist studio jeweler.

(John) Samuel Krause (1782-1815)

Bethlehem, PA c. 1796-1802; Lancaster, PA 1803; and
Bethlehem, PA 1805-1815

Krementz & Co.

Newark, NJ 1869-Present
Founded by George Krementz and his cousin Julius Lebkuecher.
Primarily jewelry manufacturers.

Frank Krementz Co.

Newark, NJ 1910-1950
Manufacturers of eyeglasses, lorgnettes, pocket knives, and jewelry.

Krider & Biddle

Philadelphia, PA 1858-c. 1870
Peter L. Krider and John W. Biddle.

Peter L. Krider / Peter L. Krider Co.

Philadelphia, PA 1850-1910
Was in the partnership of Krider & Biddle 1858-c. 1870.  Krider sold his business to August Weber in 1888, forming the Peter L. Krider Co. at that time. The firm remained in business until 1910.

Jacob Kucher (b.c. 1773)

Philadelphia, PA  1802-1833

Küchler & Himmel

New Orleans, LA 1852-1853
Christopf Christian Küchler and Adolphe Himmel.

Christopf Christian Küchler

New Orleans, LA 1852-c. 1871
Involved with several partnerships:
Küchler & Himmel with Adolphe Himmel 1852-1853.
Terfloth & Küchler wtih Bernard Terflorth 1858-1866.
C. Küchler & Co. with Augustus W. Jansen in 1870.
Küchler & Jansen with Augustus W. Jansen c. 1871.

Adolph Kunkler (b.c. 1868)

Boston, MA  c. 1900-1920
Worked at the Handicraft Shop; member of the Boston Society of Arts & Crafts.  Maker of sterling flatware and holloware.

The Frank Kursch & Son Co.

Newark, NJ 1904-1913
Mark identical to that of Shoemaker, Pickering & Co.