destroyed). Introduction Carpenter indicates that although it was introduced at New York's Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in 1897, Gorham waited to officially announce the introduction of this new line at the Exposition Universelle (1900) in Paris, attended by 50,000,000 people. In fact, several hundred pieces were sold before the Paris exhibition, but Paris was the first major showing of Martelé to an international audience. The Martelé line was enthusiastically received by both critics and an enamored public at this world exposition. Gorham’s chief executive officer, Edward Holbrook, was made a Chevalier of the Légion d’Honneur (the highest civilian honor given by the French government), and the chief designer for the Martelé line, William Christmas Codman, was awarded a gold medal. Gorham went on to win five gold medals for its silver at the Exposition Universelle. Gorham continued to display Martelé during the next expositions (Buffalo, St. Louis, Pan-Pacific, etc.) and continued to be awarded numerous prizes. Essentially, during the first 15 years of the 20th century, Martelé was judged to be some of the best silver in the world. Design Martelé items include tea and coffee services, vases, candelabra, tankards, platters, and love cups. They are often made in Art Nouveau style, with classic and fantastic figures of female figures, floral and leaf decorations. Each piece is different in that they were individually designed, and then hand made and chased which by nature produces uniqueness, where no two pieces can be the same Martelé pieces were marked with the word "Martelé", over an eagle that topped the usual Gorham Hallmark at the time (a lion, anchor, and initial G). Underneath it was marked 950-1000 FINE. In order to keep track of each piece, all of the items were uniquely identified by a numerical or letter code, with the code indicating whether the particular item was a sample or a special order. Price From the beginning, the Martelé line was expensive and exclusive, and received many awards. Prices remain high for collectors today; current prices range from $6,500 to $180,000 for individual pieces to as much as $1 million or more for elaborate designs, including museum-quality pieces like the ewer made for the 1900 Paris Exposition. Reed & Barton Reed & Barton's answer to Gorham's famous Martelé silver line was to produce objects of a similar style and quality. They also used a higher silver standard similar to Martelé, 950/1000 silver. In comparison