Description
Letts, London, Published date: 1974. Hardcover, cloth; 79 pp; 24 cm. First edition. Illustrated throughout with mostly full-color photographic illustrations. Part of the Letts all-colour collectors guides series.
Rare, out-of-print & unusual books · Since 1997
120
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Catalog notes
Condition & notes
In very good condition, with very good dust jacket. Rust cloth boards with gilt lettering to spine; light shelf wear and mild edge wear; binding sound. Interior pages have mild toning but are otherwise unmarked. Dust jacket has light bumping and creasing to edges, and mild edge wear and rubbing; light surface soiling and toning; small nicks at extremities; price clipped; now in an archival quality (removable) Brodart cover. [from front jacket flap] Of the silverware produced during the period covered by this book (c. 1450-1900) the vast majority of pieces surviving today are spoons, which makes the spoon a particularly rewarding item for the modest collector. The attraction of silver spoons does not lie only in their availability and relative cheapness, however, for, apart from often being objects of great beauty, they also reflect much technical and social history. This history is traced by Michael Snodin in his Introduction; the development of hallmarking - spoons are an important source in the study of provincial silver and hallmarks - being of particular interest to the silver historian. As in all popular collectors fields fakes are a constant hazard. A specific section has, therefore, been given over, in the Introduction, to the detection of fakes and restorations, and this, combined with the detailed description of the development of spoon types and the wide selection of spoons illustrated, should give both the beginner and the advanced collector a broad view of antique spoons available today.