Stephen Guernsey Cook Ensko (1896-1969)

Stephen Guernsey Cook Ensko (May 9, 1896 – December 18, 1969) also known as Stephen G.C. Ensko, was an expert on American antique silver. His book is the standard reference work for antique silver.

Birth and siblings
Stephen was born in 1896 in New York City to Robert Ensko (1855-1934) and Mary Elizabeth Blakeley (1857-?). His siblings include: Robert Ensko II (1880-1971) who worked as a lace dealer; Charlotte Ensko (1882-?); Lamont N. Ensko (1890-1987) who worked in the family silver business; Elathene Ensko (1898-1981) who married George Christie; Lottie Ensko; and William E. Ensko (c1900-1918) who was a sergeant in the US Army who was killed in action in World War I.

Marriage and children
Stephen married Dorothea (1892-1977) on June 4, 1918 in Manhattan and they had three children: Dorothea Charlotte Ensko (1920- ) who married Vernon Charles Wyle (1913-1986); Stephen W. Ensko (1922-c1945) who was a 2nd Lieutenant in the US Army who was killed in action in World War II; and Alice Elizabeth Ensko (1924-1999) who married George M. Kellar II on December 24, 1944, and later married Alfred E. Woodward (1913- ), the Illinois judge.

Early career
Stephen registered for the draft on June 5, 1918 but he did not serve. At the time he was working as an antique dealer at 598 Madison Avenue, and he was living in Freeport, New York on Long Island. In 1930 Stephen was living at 40-20 205th Street, Bayside, in Queens, and had a servant living in the household. Robert Ensko, Inc. silver was being advertised in The Antiquarian Magazine in March and April of 1930.

Robert Ensko, Inc. Silver
At the death of his father in 1934, Stephen took over Robert Ensko, Inc. which had its showroom at 682 Lexington Avenue in Manhattan. He continued to commission the creation of reproductions of antique silver, to be sold under the Ensko name.

American Silversmiths and Their Marks
He reissued and updated his father's book Makers of Early American Silver and published it as American Silversmiths and their Marks. The first edition was limited to 310 copies, and as told in Robert Alan Green's book on American Silversmith's marks, many of the first edition copies were destroyed in an accident. The 1992 edition had the following introduction: In the world of American silver, one book has remained the indispensable reference guide, the quintessential vade mecum for any serious collector. This is Ensko’s American Silversmiths and Their Marks, first compiled in 1915 by Robert Ensko, revised and enlarged by his son Stephen in 1927, again reissued with corrections and additional names and marks as Ensko III in 1948, and now available in this elegantly printed and up-to-date fourth edition. Ensko IV completes the exacting task of collecting and editing all the material that has come to light since Ensko III. But like all great reference works, it is far more than a mere series of names, marks, and dates. Here, written between the lines, are the family histories and life records of silversmiths who practiced from American colonial times through 1850. Here are their marks, their pedigrees and biographical information, as well as illustrations, maps, and facsimile pages from the earlier Ensko books. This reset and redesigned edition, a labor of love begun by Stephen Guernsey Cook Ensko and completed by his daughter Dorothea Ensko Wyle, is as definitive and comprehensive a reference book on the subject as is likely to appear. It is also a testimonial to the scholarship and devotion of the Ensko family. Their New York firm, founded in 1878 and finally dissolved in 1970, was central to the study and appreciation of fine American silver, and, in the world of collectors, the Ensko name was synonymous with high quality and taste. The Ensko family history is nearly as lengthy and interesting as the histories of the silversmiths they have so carefully documented. Starting with Robert Ensko (1852-1934), who first began compiling the information, this book has been passed on from father to son to daughter, and has gone through four separate editions, each revised by a member of the Ensko family. This latest compilation was prepared by Dorothea Ensko and her late husband Charles Wyle. It incorporates the research and notes compiled by her father, and is a tribute to the integrity and ceaseless efforts of four generations of a remarkable family.

Eloise Ensko (1925-1993) on Ensko Silver
Charles Edward Ensko I was my father and the father of Charles Edward Ensko II. Charles was the manager of a firm in Budapest, [that did business] here in New York City. Later on he went into the publishing business and then uncle Robert, of Robert Ensko, Inc. Silversmiths, took daddy into the business with him. Daddy remained there until he retired, selling his stock to Stephen Ensko, [the] son of Robert. Daddy also collaborated on books with Stephen written about old silver. They worked hard learning the business from bottom to top. The books have become rare now. However due to Stephen, your University now has a course in Antique and Early American Silver. They often call in Stephen to give lectures. The University has a complete set of these books. I have a complete set also. The Phi Delta Theta Fraternity at Lafayette College has a set too. This was donated by my father and brother as Charles attended and was graduated from Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania."

Death
Stephen died in 1969 in New York City and his obituary appeared in the New York Times on December 19, 1969. His widow, Dorothea, died in 1977 in Wheaton, Illinois.

Timeline

 * 1896 Birth of Stephen Ensko
 * 1918 Marriage to Dorothea on June 4 in Manhattan
 * 1918 Death of William Ensko, his brother, in WWI
 * 1920 Birth of Dorothea Charlotte Ensko, his daughter
 * 1922 Birth of Stephen W. Ensko, his son
 * 1924 Birth of Alice Elizabeth Ensko, his daughter
 * 1927 First edition of American Silversmiths and Their Marks
 * 1934 Death of Robert Ensko, his father
 * 1934 Stephen becomes head of Robert Ensko, Inc.
 * 1937 Second edition of American Silversmiths and Their Marks
 * 1937 English Silver 1675-1825 in 8 volumes
 * 1945 Death of Stephen W. Ensko, his son, in WWII
 * 1948 Third edition of American Silversmiths and Their Marks

The Ensko books

 * 1915 Makers of Early American Silver; Robert Ensko (1852-1934)
 * 1927 American Silversmiths and Their Marks Stephen Guernsey Cook Ensko (1896-1969)
 * 1937 American Silversmiths and Their Marks Stephen Guernsey Cook Ensko (1896-1969)
 * 1937 English Silver 1675-1825 in 8 volumes; Stephen Guernsey Cook Ensko and Edward Wenham
 * 1948 American Silversmiths and Their Marks(1896-1969)
 * 1983 American Silversmiths and Their Marks softcover version of 1948; Stephen Guernsey Cook Ensko (1896-1969) ISBN 0486244288
 * 1990 American Silversmiths and Their Marks; Dorothea Charlotte Ensko (1920- ) and Vernon Charles Wyle (1912-1986) ISBN 0879237783