Georg Jensen: A Tradition of Splendid Silver [Hardcover]

Janet Drucker (Author)

Book Description

Series: Schiffer Book for Collectors | Publication Date: July 2001

A sterling new study of the exquisite designs of Danish silversmith Georg Jensen (1866-1935) and company. Nearly one thousand photographs illustrate much of the stunning jewelry, hollowware, and flatware designed and produced from 1904 to the present. One of the most talented, original, and influential silversmiths of the twentieth century, Jensen's life and the company he founded are thoroughly researched. This book explores his place within the late nineteenth century arts scene, his training as a sculptor and silversmith, the establishment of his own workshop, and its expansion into an international company. The contributions of many gifted designers who worked for the company are discussed in detail. Interpretation of the marks used on Jensen silver is provided. This is a major revision of a very important book, with over 200 new photos and new information. It is an invaluable reference work for owners of Jensen silver, artists, silversmiths, designers, curators, and art dealers.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Janet Drucker is an internationally respected expert on Jensen silver and a dealer in twentieth century jewelry and accessories in New York City.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 312 pages
• Publisher: Schiffer Publishing; 2 Rev Exp edition (July 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764310895
• ISBN-13: 978-0764310898
• Product Dimensions: 12.3 x 9.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #867,579 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #73 in Books > Crafts, Hobbies & Home > Antiques & Collectibles > Precious Metals

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

41 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Book review from Silver Magazineby Will Chandler, December 11, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Georg Jensen: A Tradition of Splendid Silver (Hardcover)

The first edition of Janet Drucker's Georg Jensen: A Tradition of Splendid Silver was published just four years ago, in 1997. Now, just a few breaths later, a revised and expanded second edition with an updated price guide is out. Given the impressive richness of the first edition, one might say,"So soon?" The first edition had gone out of print, but it would have been more usual at this remove to reprint it without revisions. The reasons are not especially apparent at first glance; the jacket design(and the jacket advertising copy) has barely changed, the general organization and graphic design of the first edition have been retained in the second, and the number of pages is about the same. When one sits down with both editions and begins to compare them page by page, the differences quickly become apparent. A very large amount of new material has been added into the new book, including 250 new images and expanded archival information on production and designers. Since the publication of the first edition, so much previously unavailable material came to light that its inclusion seemed paramount.
No matter how long and fully one has worked on a research project in the arts, as soon as one publishes, more material, often keenly interesting material, appears in response to the publication. A study of the second edition's acknowledgements suggests that the beauty and inclusiveness of the first edition brought the suthor new contacts with other dealers, collectors, museum curators, auctioneers, and other specialists, each of whom had something wonderful to add to the story.
In the case of the new photographs in the second edition, many previously unlocated Jensen pieces turned up. Some pieces illustrated in the first edition only in rather murky old catalogue or magazine photos became available for new color photography. Additional historical photos surfaced as well. The net gain of images in the new book is(by my count) just over two hundred color and black-and-white images overall. That the new addition is physically about the same size as the old one owes to a meticulous reworking of the layout on perhaps half the pages in the book. There was enough "air" (unused white space) in the basic design of the text pages for the first edition to accommodate many more photos in the second edition without choking the graceful layout of the book.
One of the most important innovations of the second edition is also easily overlooked in a casual inspection, and it will prove very useful to collectors and dealers in understanding Jensen product. The photo captions now include all Jensen design numbers that were stamped on their items of jewelry and hollowware, along with the trademarks and other marks on the back and bottoms of the pieces(only some of these were available to the author for the first edition) All Jensen jewelry and hollowware items were so marked, except for special-order pieces, and much of the earliest flatware was also marked in this way. As in the first edition, there is a full explanation of the marking system near the end of the book. Other important additions to the book are more readily apparent. These include complete reprints of the Jensen illustrated flatware catalogues for the Cactus(flatware pattern 30) and Acorn (flatware pattern 62) patterns, and for the so-called"Unique Serving Pieces". These include seventy-two ornamental serving utensils in a variety of numbered patterns not matching the full-line flatware patterns. The new edition also includes both chronological and production data for all of the sterling silver designs of Henning Koppel that were produced for the Jensen company. The Value Reference Guide has also been updated. This guide is not based on opinion but consists of actual auction records from sales in the major American and British houses over the past decade.
Given that the first edition had been sold out before public demand for the book had subsided, a reprinting would have been welcome enough. Both the author and the publisher are to be congratulated for instead producing this most significant and valuable revised and expanded second edition. I am glad to recommend it to owners of the first edition along with the ever-expanding group of collectors of Jensen"estate" silver who were not able to obtain the orginal book.

33 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Reveiw by Sandra Todaro, Vintage Costume Jewelry Society, December 2, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Georg Jensen: A Tradition of Splendid Silver (Schiffer Book for Collectors) (Hardcover)

Collectors of jewelry of any type now have another acquisition for which to long. It's a signature piece, finely detailed, a valued addition to any serious collection. It is a jewel indeed, but you may not find it at the jewelers. It's a creation of Janet Drucker and it should stand the test of time, for Drucker has crafted Georg Jensen A Tradition of Splendid Silver into a splendid guidebook.

Not a dry tome, crackling with boredom, this book offers an at once scholarly treatise on Jensen amd a readable reference as well. Drucker sets up the volume by putting Jensen's ascendency into prospective. She grounds him in his time period and explains the forces which created his work and appeal. Not settling for another long line of picture strewn collection catalogs, she introduces the reader to Jensen's life story in a well written and very readable text. Next the collector's delight: the litany of his accomplishment.

Chapters are devoted to his jewelry, his holloware and his flatware. Then Drucker offers the benediction with a look at Jensen's worldwide legacy. But don't stop there, because the appendix offers the musuem collections of the master and a listing of the artists whose work built the Jensen line.

Now, lest you think this book is a must for scholars only, rest assured the exquisite photography and the easy to read captioning will make this gem a perfect adornment for your home library. If you know Jensen or not, Georg Jensen A Tradition of Splendid Silver will be splendid for you.