Started in 1872, Dominick & Haff (Henry Blanchard Dominick and Leroy B. Haff), was originally aligned with the firm of William Gale & Son. The popularity of silver coincided with great forward strides in manufacture. After the Tariff of 1842 drove foreign silver from the marketplace, American makers like Tiffany, Gorham, and Dominick & Haff adopted machine technology, specialized their labor force to increase production, and brought master craftsmen from Europe to train apprentices. Young men would start at age 14. They spent their first year stoking fires, observing masters, perhaps trying their hand at shaping a spoon. Seven years later they would emerge from the system, skilled craftsmen ready to ply their trade. By the 1870s, this production and training process had made American silverwork the most technically superior and innovative in the world. Such streamlined production also led to astounding prolificacy; over 600 flatware patterns were available in the American marketplace between 1840 and 1875.

This square-shaped Japanese-style water pitcher has been decorated with dragonflies, sprigs of grass, and flowers.