The 8600 block of Sunset Blvd. circa 1948, Porter Blanchard had a shop here until 1950.
“Sunshine and flowers surround our shop; scented breezes, tempered by the Pacific, blow through it. It has expanded wonderfully under this influence.”
Porter Blanchard was born in Massachusetts on February 28, 1886. His silversmith father, George Porter Blanchard, taught him the trade and by 1923 the junior Blanchard established a studio in Burbank, California. Beginning in the early 1930s, Blanchard had a shop at 8626 Sunset Blvd. in West Hollywood that he operated until 1950 when he moved his shop to his Pacoima home. Throughout his career he was known for his Arts & Crafts aesthetic, creating pieces perfect for the more laid-back California lifestyle. Porter Blanchard passed away in 1973 after which his son-in-law Lewis Wise bought the company. In an interview with The Valley Times, Blanchard elaborated on his family’s history with silver.
"One of the world's foremost silversmith lives and works in the Valley. His name is Porter George Blanchard. His father's name was George Porter Blanchard. His grandfather's name was Porter George Blanchard. And it keeps going that way on back to 1788, when a George Porter Blanchard - or it may have been a Porter George Blanchard - lived in Millford, N. H., and was known as one of the finest mechanics of his time... This smattering of history is intended solely as background material to clinch the statement that the present-day Porter George Blanchard is a leading craftsman who is absolutely sure of what he's doing when he starts to work on a piece of metal... Like his father, Blanchard became a member of the Society of Arts and Crafts in Boston. He was elected to the council upon which he served for several years, progressing from a Craftsman to a Master and a Medalist. Everything about Blanchard and his studio at 7427 Varna Ave., North Hollywood, Is steeped in the tradition that an object turned out by hand with careful attention to every detail, is superior to machine-made articles... Blanchard first came to the Valley in 1923, settling in Burbank. Later he moved to his present home at 13080 Montague St., Pacoima, and carried on his work in a barn back of the house. But the barn became too small. Several months ago he shifted to his new studio on Varna Ave. where he enjoys a staff of about four highly-skilled assistants... There is a sad note to all this, however. Blanchard has no sons. There probably will not be a George Porter Blanchard to follow him. But the sadness is tempered to a certain extent. Blanchard has two daughters, and one of his sons-in-law is Lewis A. Wise. Wise, working in an adjoining studio, is rapidly gaining a wide reputation as a leading producer of hand-made flatware, knives, forks and spoons."
His daughter Alice married Lewis Wise who operated Porter Blanchard Silversmiths in Calabasas where all Porter Blanchard flatware was made after 1955. His other daughter, Rebecca, married silversmith Allan Adler who was known for his interpretation of the Arts & Crafts and Modernist styles in his own work. The attention to detail and unparalleled craftsmanship is what sets this family of silversmiths apart. As Blanchard’s great-granddaughter wrote in a 2020 Silver Magazine article: “To give a comprehensive picture of our design heritage, the collective history of the family is as crucial as the singular story of each. The excellence did not come from the isolated experience of one, but the shared information and experience of all—skill, art form, and craft. Craftsmanship passing through generations is as essential as the role my grandma Becca and Auntie Alice (Porter’s two daughters) played in introducing silversmithing to their husbands.”
Allan Adler was born on May 8, 1916 in New York. In 1938 he apprenticed with his future father-in-law, Porter Blanchard, and by the 1940s he was taking on important commissions of his own including miniature Oscars for Academy Award recipients, silver bowls, crowns presented to Miss Universe as well as Miss USA, among other commissions for celebrity clients. According to his granddaughter, “While loving learning the craft, Allan often saw a way he thought would make it better and would want to try something different. He always had his own ideas, wanted to do his own thing, to modernize, still making them by hand while improving the technique… Allan did see eye to eye with Porter on the fineness of line, wanting to simplify, with no embellishment. He found joy in simple, classical lines. He loved Paul Revere, as did Porter, and admired his pioneering style to simplify the lines in silversmithing design.” He branched out on his own and opened a shop on Sunset Blvd. in Hollywood and later Corona del Mar, La Jolla, and San Francisco. Allan Adler passed away in 2002.
Lewis Wise was born in 1917 and married Alice Blanchard. He took over Porter Blanchard Silversmiths and worked out of Calabasas where all Porter Blanchard flatware was made after 1955. Working under the banner Lewis A. Wise Silversmiths, makers of Porter Blanchard Silverware, Wise carried on the tradition of silversmithing all while living with rheumatoid arthritis. A talented silversmith, Wise was active until the mid-1970s. He passed away in 1989.
Have something by one of these great men you’d like to have appraised? Contact Gates Art Co. here.
