Marcus & Co.
Marcus & Co. Art Nouveau Opal and Enamel Pendant Necklace.
In 1900, the firm exhibited beautiful orchid motif brooches, featuring plique-à-jour enameling, at Paris’s Exposition Universelle.2 The firm’s designs were of high quality, and are still among the best examples of American Art Nouveau and Arts and Crafts jewelry.3
One of the few to work in a Art Nouveau style, Marcus designed ornaments that were notable for their strong color notes in gemstones and enamels an the use of vaguely exotic motifs.4
Marcus & Co. continued to attract a high profile clientele throughout the twentieth century which included John D. Rockefeller. The firm closed for a brief time during World War II and in 1962, it merged with Black, Starr, and Frost.
Maker’s Marks and Timeline:
Marcus and Co.
Country | |
---|---|
City | London, Palm Beach, Paris, Yew York |
Era | e.1892 |
Description
Specialties
- Herman Marcus departed Germany for New York c. 1850s.
Worked for
- Tiffany & Co.
- Ball, Black and Company.
Parthered with
- Theodore B. Starr – Starr and Marcus.
1884
- Partnered with his son William.
1892
- Marcus & Company.
1920s-30s
1962
- Merged with Black, Starr & Frost.
Sources
- Becker, Vivienne. Art Nouveau Jewelry. New York: E.P. Dutton, 1985.
- Falino, Jeannine. American Art Jewelry: Louis Comfort TIffany. Maker & Muse: Women and Early Twentieth Century Art Jewelry. U.S.: The Monacelli Press, © 2015, The Richard H. Dreihause Museum.
- Proddow, Penny & Debra Healy. American Jewelry: Glamour & Tradition. New York: Rizzoli, 1987.
- Sataloff, Joseph. Art Nouveau Jewelry: A Practical Guide to Its History and Beauty with Pictures of Over 150 Pieces of Jewelry and a Compendium of International Jeweler’s Marks. Bryn Mawr, PA: Dorrance and Co. Inc., 1984.