While in partnership with others in The Baltimore Sterling Silver Company, Charles C. Stieff also had another business. The “Charles C. Stieff & Co.” sold “Cutlery and Plated Ware” from the 17 N. Liberty Street location, same as the BSSCo.
Below is a receipt from April 28, 1897 with prices for the long forgotten Victoria Pattern
(Courtesy of Charles C. Stieff III)
February 29th 1912 Stieff Advertisement
This is during the years that Liberty Street was called McLane Place
The factory is still at Cider Avenue.
(Courtesy of Charles C. Stieff III)
In 1912 the McLane Place name was still in use. This would change back to Liberty the next year.
Note: 17 N. Liberty Street had once been owned by John L. Stieff.
He left the property to his son Charles when he died June 29, 1901.
1922
The factory had moved from Cider Ave. to 311 North Redwood Street years earlier.
Plans are being made to build a new factory , however the move the factory to 800 Wyman Park
Driveway is still several years away.
Below is a half page ad in the October 1922 Good Housekeeping magazine.
(From my personal collection)
1922 is the year many point to when referencing the PURITAN pattern. Note that there is no comment on the newest pattern. That is because the pattern had production problems and would not be available until possibly 1924. Also note that the bottom right under the cake knife it says the blade is plated steel, so at this point stainless is not yet in use on Cake Knives. Two ads down, Also, October 1922....Stainless IS featured on Medium KNIVES.
This is the full page DECEMBER 1922 Good Housekeeping Ad
(From my personal collection)
In this ad #12 Peppers were being sold by the pair. The weight of the items are given which
is helpful to us today. Of note, this is the year that Charles C. Stieff II was born. He still has the #250 Porridge Bowl and Plate given to him by employees of The Stieff Company in 1922.
Using a magnifying glass, I see the “Z” shaped knife has blades from the ULSTER Knife Co.
Howard Lotti, an Alabama dealer in silver and silver literature sent me this piece.
It is a double sided insert into an October 1922 Stieff price list that he recently purchased. One side is the same ad as above, but the reverse is promoting not Maryland Rose or ROSE.. but STIEFF ROSE
Also of interest here is the promotion of “this new steel” STAINLESS STEEL
Here is the reverse side of the Oct. 1922 mailing. Again, it is identical to the Good Housekeeping ad from the same period.
Both piece show the fold marks from being inserted into the small price list envelope.
The bottom of the ad says to writer for the Large Illustrated Catalogue. The large illustrated catalog one would receive at this time would be the 1920 version.
Another 1922 ad, The Baltimore Sun
That $460 tea set cost more than a new 1922 Ford at only $350. Of course most people buying
fine Stieff Silver would be of the Packard, Cadillac, Marmon or Buick set and not an
entry level Model T. In 1914 Henry Ford had started paying employees the unheard of
amount of 5 dollars a day. For most, even 8 years later...silver would still be out of range for
the average persons pocket.
50th Anniversary and the War years
50 years in business. During World War II, The Stieff Company made fine surgical
instruments for the Military, Radar and other components.
Silver production was greatly slowed during the war and silver would run out in 1943.
Note that STATIONERS has been added to the list of products.
Post war 1950’s
Brides Magazine 1955. Rose is the price leader... a 3 pc. starter set of Spoon, Fork and Knife for only 14.25 (luxury tax incl.) Notice the NEW Rose Motif pattern, added the year before for more casual dining. Stieff had been the official maker of Silver and Pewter for the Williamsburg Restoration since 1939. The average yearly income for a family in 1955 was $4418., or a bit less than 85 dollars a week. $14.25 was a lot of money in 1955!
Below: 1953 Advertisement for selected patterns
This 1955 ad slick promoted ROSE MOTIF along with other favorites.
Note the free gift if you bought and registered your silver.
(Courtesy of James Stieff)
This undated ad slick from the 1950’s again promotes the new pattern Rose Motif.
(Courtesy of James Stieff)
I use the term ad slick as these pieces are not from magazines. They are not printed on the reverse. These would be placed on the counters in shops that carried the silver for women to pick up and read and hopefully sway their purchasing.
An early 1920’s ad was a booklet on
which promoted Sterling Silver for boys
Click above to see the booklet
Click here for a
with comparison
Later 1920’s
Wyman Park Driveway is listed as the Factory
Stieff now has a Showroom in Virginia’s “Holy City”, Richmond, across the street from
“Virginia’s Finest Department Store”... Miller & Rhodes. A very fashionable address for the day. (The ad does not say this, I just know that location from being a native Virginian)
Charles C. Stieff II tells me that he remembers going to the Richmond store with his father as a teenager. It was closed in the mid 1930’s when the Thalhimer Brother’ Dept. Store started selling Stieff Silver, just a block away. (Miller & Rhoads was not a Stieff dealer, They sold Kirk silver)
Three Thalhimer ads are shown farther below.
Stieff had a huge full page ad in the Balt. Sun on
Dec. 8, 1929. To see this ad, click on the photo below.
1929... Expansion at the factory
From a 1930 Baltimore Business Directory. Prosperity abounds at Stieff. In 1929 Stieff had finished expanding the building to 35,000 square feet by adding a second floor to the factory which had been completed in 1924. Notice that the salesroom is still located in downtown Baltimore at 17 N. Liberty Street. That stayed open until 1952. While not mentioned here, the factory showroom opened on Nov. 4, 1929 just after the crash of the stock market.
I find it odd that there are several typo’s in this piece. In the second line the name is shown as StiefF. In the address an i us used at the 1 in 17 North Liberty Street. I am not sure what \A-K. Gold is supposed to be (18K perhaps). Several more typo’s are there if you look for them.
Goldsmiths is now listed as a product line. Stieff later had Retail stores in the Baltimore area that were eventually sold to D.P. Paul Jewelers. The stores carried Stieff Silver, Jewelry, Fine China and Crystal as well as other finer decretive arts. Stieff created various gold items were produced... including a 18K Gold Tea Service that was once on display in the Factory.
The stores would eventually become the responsibility of Gideon N. Stieff Jr.
In 1938 Stieff had these three ads places in
“The Brides Magazine”
The ads are “co-op” style as they also show the name of Richmond Va. Stieff dealer, Thalhimers
In other areas, another leading dealer’s name would be printed on the card.
Size is 6.25 by 6.5 inches on semi gloss magazine stock, one sided and were slipped in between the pages of the magazine. A practice still seen today with ads and enticements to subscribe to the magazine
Stieff closed it’s Richmond Va store by 1936 when Thalhimer’s became a Stieff Dealer
The Richmond Stieff retail store had faced Miller & Rhoads Dept. store on 6th Street.
Holiday Shoppers Thalhimer’s Dept. Store 1936 Richmond Virginia
Stieff ran newspaper ads in the Baltimore Sun every Sunday.
Here is a collection of Mid 1960’s ads for the Stieff Baltimore area retail stores
Click on the ad above to see the collection
Click on the photo below to see ads of the
1970’s and Beyond
Modern Bride
Summer, 1956
Silver Surf was introduced in 1956
Silver Surf would be retired in 1979. A new pattern...
Dancing Surf would be added to the line in 1986.
1923
Undated, but the year is known to us
This Bon Bon dish is offered for the princely sum of 24 dollars.
A lemon fork was 25 cent cheaper than the year before and slightly heavier.
An Olive spoon at $1.50 remained the same.
In the ad below, prices are down from the year earlier. Medium forks are now 13.00 for a half dozen compared to 15.00 in 1922. Original ad from Stieff family
The ads below offers Medium knives with “stainless steel” mirror finish blades... Only available in the US at Stieff.
Some prices in the above ad are slightly higher than those listed on the ads below.
Ad on LEFT is from the Stieff family. Ad on RIGHT is from later 1924 after the factory moved.
Note that prices are the same.. but the weights of the silver have gone up on forks, but down slightly on Medium knives. Teaspoons have remained the same.
1956 Dancing Surf ad with Dorothy McGuire
