Information Regarding George C. Gebelein

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George C. Gebelein - Boston, Mass. - 1930

'BASKET OF FLOWERS' - 'SHEAF OF WHEAT' - 'PAUL REVERE' - 'TERCENTENARY'

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George C. Gebelein - Boston, Mass. - 1930

'TERCENTENARY'

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JEWELRY AND SILVER

At the Little Gallery are some well designed and well executed pieces of silverware by George C. Gebeleln and Arthur J. Stone. Baby sets of knife, fork, and spoon of dwarfed size but sturdy proportions have been created by the latter to meet the wholly modern need of providing utensils of all kinds in scale with the weight and Inches of a baby. The handles of the more elaborate patterns are pierced with elephant; hound, and rabbit designs, but there is nothing trivial about the effect. The surface of Mr. Stone's silver is perhaps too nearly impeccable. One loses the charm of delicate reflections which, of course, is the only reason to desire tool marks. It is supposed by many who follow the craftsman ideal from afar that he leaves his work unfinished in order to assure his public that It is " hand-made," the most contemptible excuse that could be invented for him. As a matter of fact, the variety of surface gained by intelligent manipulation of the 'tool Is one of the most valuable qualities the metal worker can command. He is practically doing; what the sculptors of Florence did. in their bas-reliefs, letting light and shadow play caressingly over their material and win the observer by its beauty.

Mr. Gebelein is perhaps less certain in his control of his design than Mr. Stone, but his craftsmanship has just this aesthetic merit. He has not descended to display his tool marks for their own sake, but his surfaces are full of delicate variety and expressiveness.

In the same gallery Miss Margaret Rogers is showing her jewelry, and certain pieces are exquisite. A necklace of moonstones In a gold setting with an accent of black enamel is a fine example of the judicious use of black with evanescent color. With gold alone the moonstones would almost inevitably look somewhat thin and watery, but against this sober note of black the refinement of their floating pallid blues is felt at Its full value.

Source: The New York Times - 26th April 1914

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Gebelein - Boston, Mass. - 1944

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Gebelein - Boston, Mass. - 1956

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A renaissance is taking place in the craft of silversmithing in the United States, an event not limited geographically nor by any one uniform approach to design. The work of the professional silver craftsmen exhibited at America House during the month of January shows the influence of greatly divergent attitudes toward design. The personalities of the silversmiths as revealed in their work are shown to be as different as their heterogeneous backgrounds, All show a blending of past tradition, early American or European, with the modern attitude. However. some of the silversmiths lean heavily upon the familiar forms, while others are reaching outward and creating startling and dramatic forms which have not been seen before in silver. It is interesting to note that the former tend to be from the well-known silver centers in the Eastern States, while the others are in most cases inhabitants of the West, or those who have been strongly exposed to the Scandinavian genius in this field.

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The Gebelein silver too is a modern recreation of the best in the early American tradition. The influence of George C. Gebelein who started his apprenticeship in silversmithing in 1893, and trained with George F. Hamilton of Goodnow & Jenks, Boston, is strongly felt. Through him, and through those he trained, there is a link with the most notable tradition of the early shops of the Eighteenth Century—with Paul Revere, Hull & Sanderson, Coney. Dummer, and Winslow. Mr. Gebelein gained much from the late Nineteenth Century newcomers to this country, who came from: countries abroad where there prevailed the primitive hand technique which is the essence of silversmithing as a vehicle of individual artistic expression. He carried on the practice of training students, and today three of those working in the shop received instruction at the bench from the senior Gebelein. At present Mrs. G. C. Gebelein, and her son, J. Herbert Gebelein, are the proprietors of the establishment. One of the most beautiful of all the objects shown in the exhibit is their plain, tall melon-shaped coffee pot, hand-raised, with no seam, with a “blind hinge” and ebony handle. This is an adaptation of the squat bulbous early Georgian teapot design to the taller, more graceful shape. Shown with this was a child’s cup which is an adaptation of an old Celtic design in form and detail. Also shown was a handsome and stately after dinner coffee service, entirely wrought and engraved by hand, in a fluted oval, classic columnar design. This heightened form was a favorite in a lowered version with Paul Revere of Boston, as well as with Hester Bateman of London, in the last quarter of the Eighteenth Century.

Source: Craft Horizons Spring 1949

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George C. Gebelein - Boston, Mass. - 1923

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Gebelein - Boston, Mass. - 1937

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George C. Gebelein - Boston, Mass. - 1930

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Gebelein - Boston, Mass. - 1928

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OBITUARIES

JOHN H. GEBELEIN 79

Pres. of Gebelein Silversmiths, Inc.

NEWTON HIGHLANDS — A memorial service was held March 21 in the J. S. Waterman and Sons Funeral Home, Wellesley, for John H. Gebelein, 79, of Newton Highlands, former president of Gebelein Silversmiths, Inc., Boston.

Born in Wellesley Hills, he was a graduate of Wellesley High School and of Harvard. During World War II, Mr. Gebelein served as a sergeant with the 26th Yankee Division in northern France, the Rhineland and Ardennes campaigns.

After graduating from Harvard in 1926, Mr. Gebelein entered the family business, which had been located on Chestnut Street at the foot of Beacon Hill in Boston for 60 years until the building where it was located was sold in 1968. The firm then moved to its present location on Newbury Street in Boston’s Back Bay.

After World War II and the death of his father, Mr. Gebelein became president and treasurer of the firm.

An authority on antique silver, Mr. Gebelein played an important role in the latter-day “discovery” and documentation of the late 18th and 19th-century Chinese export silver, now highly prized by collectors and was considered a pioneer researcher in the field. His name often appeared in various authoritative books on old silver as having contributed information or checked the text.

Known as Herbie to relatives and friends, he had been a 50-year member of the Wellesley Country Club and a member of the Harvard Club of Boston, the Maugus Club, the New England Genealogical Society, the Harvard Varsity Club, the Wellesley Historical Society, the Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels, the Republican Club of Massachusetts, the Yankee Division Veterans Association and the YD Memorial Club of Boston.

He leaves his sisters, Margaretha Leighton of Concord, N. H., Eleanor Greene of Laconia, N. H.; his brothers, Ernest G. of Taunton and Arthur D. of Raynham and nieces, nephews and cousins.

Source: The Newton Graphic - 2nd April 1986

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Gebelein - Boston, Mass. - 1930

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