Historic Silver Of The Colonies And Its Makers

Historic Silver of the Colonies and its Makers draws the eye to the quietly powerful craft of American colonial silver, revealing how household silver shaped identity, ritual and taste across 18th century America. Fine silver tells remarkable stories. Francis Hill Bigelow pairs meticulous research with lively, humane prose to create a historical silverware guide that balances maker histories, marks and provenance with clear context about trade, patronage and design. It reads as both a collectors reference book and a practical aid for curators, dealers and anyone building an antique silver collection, helping to translate an object's form into social meaning. Readers interested in colonial decorative arts will find its attention to workshops and regional styles especially useful; for those drawn to famous names, the narrative situates provincial makers alongside celebrated hands such as paul revere silversmith, making connections between local practice and national trends in early american craftsmanship. Avoiding academic fog, Bigelow writes with quiet authority and exactitude, and his treatment of provenance and maker attribution remains a useful companion to museum research. Whether a casual reader is captivated by material culture or a specialist is consulting a silversmith history book, the tone balances narrative and reference.

Historically significant and frequently cited in studies of the period, Bigelow's work sits at the intersection of scholarship and connoisseurship. As a decorative arts reference it clarifies the evolution of form and function across colonial era antiques and remains useful when assessing museum quality silver. Out of print for decades and now republished by Alpha Editions. Restored for today's and future generations. More than a reprint - a collector's item and a cultural treasure. Accessible to casual readers and rich enough for classic-literature collectors, this edition equally satisfies the practical needs of museums, dealers and those cataloguing provenance or researching mark attributions in silversmith history book studies. In short, it is a heritage title that opens a window on 18th century America and gives any antique silver collection a richer, more informed life.