Historic 1940s Fred Harvey Era Sterling Silver Hand stamped Dome Pin/Brooch

  

A classic Fred Harvey era Navajo sterling silver pin, with a large dome in the center and two pairs of embossed button elements on either side, the body of the pin having a scalloped edge and finished with crescent stamps. Measurements: 2-1/8th inches long by 3/4th of an inch wide. In the early 1900's, the Southwest, and Santa Fe specifically, became a booming tourist destination.

Over time, artisans and traders who ran trading posts learned that tourists' taste often differed from that of the Native artisans. Tourists preferred jewelry that was lighter and had smaller embellishments and stonework, while many Native jewelry artists preferred larger stones and heavier silver styles. To make the jewelry more attractive to tourists, artisans began designing pieces that catered to their tastes: lighter pieces with recurring design elements and symbols such as thunderbirds, crossed arrows, arrowheads, dogs, and zig zag snakes. He began his historic endeavors by first opening Harvey House restaurants, then he developed a catering business in the Santa Fe Railway cars, followed by building Fred Harvey Hotels along the rail route. It was in these hotels and eating houses that Fred Harvey decided to develop and sell a line of lightweight, lower-cost iconic jewelry that we now know as Fred Harvey Jewelry.

Surprising to many, the Fred Harvey Company's jewelry was often not "Indian handmade, " but produced at scale by machines and designed with iconography that was attractive to tourists. While the Fred Harvey Corporation dictated the symbols to use in their line, these trends, in turn, influenced Native American artisans to produce their own handmade jewelry using those simple, repetitive motifs.

Today, jewelry referred to as Fred Harvey era jewelry or railroad jewelry includes both pieces made by hand by Native artisans and machine-made jewelry. Whichever you prefer, each design represents a true piece of history of the American Southwest.

Peyote Bird Designs is pleased to share our private collection of Fred Harvey style jewelry with you. We hope you cherish these pieces, just as thousands of Americans have for the past century.