Antique Miniature Silver Toys Europe U.S. Russia England + Marks / Scarce Book

Description

MINIATURE SILVER TOYS
by Victor Houart, Alpine Fine Arts Collection, Ltd., NY, 1981 First Edition.
The field of miniature silver toys is an unexplored area, where many discoveries have yet to be made.”  This oversize book contains 285 black-and-white photographs and contains more than 550 hallmarks of antique silver toy makers.
Lavishly illustrated, this scarce book pictures and describes in-depth “silver toys which were the products of silversmiths of the 17th and 18th centuries, who reproduced original objects in miniature – often at the cost of enormous technical difficulties – with a zeal for exactitude that is extraordinary.  The author opens the doors on an enchanted world of miniature: these silver toys furnished the doll’s houses of past generations and are faithful reflections of the customs and furnishings of our ancestors.”
Victor Houart also introduces his readers to the rules and regulations governing hallmarks the silversmiths had to use in the various cities that were major centers of production for the toys: Amsterdam, Utrecht, London, Birmingham and others, and provides information on hitherto unidentified hallmarks.  The book covers by chapter: Silver Nef Figurines; The Silver Toys of the Princes of France; Miniature Silverware in France, Germany, Russia, the United States and Elsewhere; The Low Countries (Amsterdam, The Frisian Towns, Groningen, Rotterdam, The Hague, Hoorn, Schoonhoven, Other Dutch Towns); Great Britain (includes Sheffield); Bibliography; Hallmark’s Credits; Photo Credits; and Index.  This book is an invaluable reference for the connoisseur of silver objects of art, or the serious collector, dealer, or historian of silver toys.
Oversize 10” x 11.25” hardback with dust cover in very good condition.  237 pages.
FREE shipping and handling for deliveries within the 50 United States.  Rates vary for international mailings.