Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #518924 in Books
• Published on: 2007-01-25
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 172 pages

Customer Reviews

Take it antiquing with you!
This is a great little book to take antiquing with you if you collect English silver. Although not exactly pocket size it can still fit in your bag or you can hold on to it without it getting cumbersome. Unlike many of the other silver ID books the hallmarks shown in this book are large and clear enough that you don't need your glasses to decipher them. A nice plus is that it reviews selected makers of Georgian through 20th Century silver and offers a little comment on their work.

Definately NOT for the Beginner
Unless you are extremely experienced with Silver and Gold items and what / where their origin may be, this book is probably not for you. The chances of being able to find what you are looking for reminds me of looking for a needle in a haystack. The marks are illustrated in VERY SMALL 1/4" black and white diagrams, column after column, put in tables with time period or comment in print that is even smaller than the diagram. Several (bordering on too many) of the marks look very much the same and after looking at 170 pgs of extremely small and not necessarily clear diagrams and images, I feel I should of spent my money elsewhere for info on silver ID.

The other reference guide to hallmarks
There are two books on English silver hallmarks available on Amazon, the other being English Silver Hallmarks, and although both are excellent books, in my opinion, this is the lesser of the two. Both books are almost identical in content: both provide illustrations of English, Irish and Scottish silver, gold and platinum hallmarks, and illustrations of the more important makers marks, which allow for the dating of silver, gold and platinum items. However, this book omits Sheffield plate marks, which are included in "English Silver Hallmarks", and it is harder to find what you are looking for in this book.

The periods of time covered by these two books are slightly different. This book gives hallmarks for the period from 1300 to 1991, whereas "English Silver Hallmarks" covers the period from 1554 to 2004. If you are wishing to date very early pieces of silver, then, clearly, this is the book to buy. However, as I have never had any need to date items made prior to 1554, and most of the items that I have dated have been more recent items, I find the period of time covered by "English Silver Hallmarks" to be the most appropriate for my needs.

Although both books are very useful and both are likely to satisfy the requirements of the average silver collector, if you are only going to buy one of these books, then "English Silver Hallmarks" is probably the book to buy.