Niederkorn Silver Recognizes Women’s History Month With A Tribute to Women In Silver:

      Twelve years after the end of the American Revolutionary War a silversmith named George Walker established a trade in Philadelphia, Pa., at 19 North Third Street.  George operated his smithy there until 1814.  At some point during the years 1795 and 1814, George’s sister, Hannah Walker began to work with him.  In itself, it was not family working for family or a woman being a silversmith that makes the few threads of fact known about Hannah Walker unusual; but, instead, in conclusion what it represents.

      The quality of the Walkers’ work was generally light weight and of average construction; but one must keep in mind, that Philadelphia had the most silversmiths in the United States at that time.  All of them were vying for clients in the luxury silver market. The wealthiest clients would most likely have bought foreign silverwares from Great Britain or France to establish their elite social status; or they would have purchased from only the best silver houses in Philadelphia ― those that made the heaviest gage silver products, with perfect proportions, and decoration that was the equivalent of the aristocrats’ silver in Europe.  Middle class clients would have purchased silver that was of good quality, less decorated, and lighter in weight.  The lower middle class clients would have patronized silversmiths that produced “affordable” silver that was characterized by very thin gaged metal and irregular craftsmanship.  But, those silversmiths that aimed their product at the lower class would have had a broader client base.  A client base that was less discriminating and willing to pay what they could afford to emulate the classes above them. In a time when most people in the world ate with their hands, shells, wooden or ceramic spoons, utensils made of some kind of metal, like tin and pewter, set you apart.   However, to have the status of a silver spoon with which to eat would have been the difference between saying you owns an IPhone or a crank-up magneto wall phone.

      All of the silverwares that George and Hannah produce together are stamped with George Walker’s “GW” mark in a rectangular reserve.  Then for some undocumented reason, in 1816 Hannah Walker stamped her output with her own marks, “H.Walker” in an oblong reserve and sometimes a serrated reserve.  From the information that exists, these marks were used for only one year.  Considering that a proficient silversmith could hand make about five fine, but plain, spoons in a day, Hannah Walker ― if she had no assistance ―  could have only made about 1825 spoons in that year – assuming  that  she made nothing but spoons for 365 days.  But, that is unlikely, so her spoon output would probably have been much lower.  She probably would have been more at the whim of her clientele who would have wanted more customized versions of the designs she produced (such as shorter hands, smaller bowls, thinner silver, etc.) and those variables would likewise figure into Hannah’s production rate.  Over the years, since Hannah worked, the United States evolved:  The population became more prosperous, styles changed, and the economy surged and declined with the events that drove it.  Whatever Hannah Walker produced would have been vulnerable to these changes.  Some of her silver would have been lost; some melted and remade into the latest trend of the time; some would have been sold to a scrapper for its silver value.  Today, only a few examples of “Hannah Walker “marked silver survives.  

      We don’t know why Hannah Walker only worked under her own mark for a year. Perhaps she had the desire to establish herself independent of her brother, in a time when most women remained in the shadow of men and true independent success did not happen for her; or, as the late Kay O. Freeman stated in her uncorroborated research:  Hanna Walker, who was born in 1767, passed way September 17, 1817 of tuberculosis and was buried at St. Paul’s Church.  What is amazing, though, is that over two hundred years later, Hannah Walker has not been obscured in history.  Like a needle in a haystack, her mark is remembered, while so many other silversmiths’ marks have lost their attribution.   Hannah Walkers work is displayed by museums, neither because she was innovative nor because she produced works of unparalleled quality.  It is because as woman in a man’s world Hannah Walker dared to strike her own mark on her wares ― and this simple act combined with the efforts of many other women in history contributed to changing the tide of subjugated womankind.