Paulding Farnham

George Paulding Farnham (1859–1927) was an American jewelry designer, sculptor and metallurgist who worked for Tiffany & Co. in the late 19th and early 20th century. Farnham married American sculptor Sally James Farnham in 1896. After leaving Tiffany & Co. in 1908, Farnham focused his interests on developing mining properties in British Columbia. Family and early life George Paulding Farnham was born on November 6, 1859, in New York City to George and Julia (née Paulding) Farnham. The family lived at 171 Sullivan Street (now 24 Charlton Street) in Hudson Square until they moved to Elizabeth, New Jersey, in 1866. The Farnhams had a long history in the United States with George Farnham's ancestors emigrating in 1644 from Kenilworth, England. His mother Julia (1838–1897) was a descendant of John Paulding, a Revolutionary War militiaman that had a role in the capture of the British spy Major John André and her father was a close friend of Washington Irving. She was also a sister-in-law of Senator Chauncey Depew. George Farnham's occupation at the time of the 1880 US Census was listed as "broker." Farnham's aunt, Eleanor M. Paulding, married Charles Thomas Cook, vice president and eventual president of Tiffany & Co. Aware of his nephew's artistic abilities, Cook used his influence at Tiffany & Co. to secure a position for young Farnham. Called Paul or Paulding during his lifetime, Farnham began an apprenticeship around 1879 at chief Tiffany & Co. designer Edward C. Moore's studio. His first recorded work was a life-size gold and yellow diamond brooch sculpted in the shape of a Japanese chrysanthemum. The apprenticeship officially ended on November 1, 1885, and Farnham was offered a $55 per week position as general assistant to Moore.