Customer Reviews

MEXICAN SILVER: 20th Century Handwrought Jewelry & Metalwork

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

ABSOLUTELY A MUST FOR THE MEXICAN SILVER COLLECTOR WITH AMPLE PICTURES TO GO WITH THE TEXT. THE BOOK IS WELL WRITTEN WITH PASSAGES ABOUT THE TRUE MASTERS OF THE TAXCO AREA ALONG WITH THEIR COHORTS. IT SHOWS THE HALLMARKS OR TOUCH MARKS ON THE WORK OF THE MASTERS,THIS PROVES TO BE A GODSEND IN IDENTIFING AND UNDERSTANDING THE VALUES OF THIS VERY COLLECTABLE SILVER.IN ALL MY YEARS OF COLLECTIONG MEXICAN SILVER I HAD SUSPECTED THAT SOME DAY, SOMEONE WOULD PUT OUT A KNOWLEDGABLE HANDBOOK FOR THE TRADE AND SPOTLIGHT THE SPRATLINGS, DAVIS AND OTHER ARTISTS. A BIG THANKS GOES TO PENNY MORRILL, AND HERE STAFF.i.e CAROL BERK

The is virtually pure eye candy for any one who appreciates this type of fine craftmanship. I like the over 400 color photographs. This is the best way for someone to get the true feeling of this type of art. I missed some kind of explanation of rarity for some of these creations. This was one of the main reasons I was looking for this kind of reference. Nonetheless this is an exquisite reference book with 272pp and a feast for the eyes. It's worth the price.

I was disapointed in the book personally.. It's just a great big heavy picture book. (eye candy)
I believe a collector would appreciate a non vague value guides as well which this book does not have. The value guides are exp: Margot necklaces - 600.00-2500.00+ huh? What is my blue enamel circle necklace worth?? 600.00 or 2500.00?!
This is a book about a select few mexican silver makers and their life stories. (few pages on unknowns)
Perhaps a good book to have on a coffee table but that is not what I needed.
I had hoped this book would help to identify mexican marks I have that can't be found on the internet, all of the silversmiths listed in the book can be and are well documented online. There are personal accounts as well but for the most part this is a coffee table book.
It is very expensive so I hope I can help anyone looking for exact value guides from buying the wrong book.
If you like to collect Mexican jewelry you probably should eventually get this book, but as far as a good value guide line for Mexican non-well known Jewelry go else where.

An antique dealer turned me on to this book and I finally bought it this past summer at an antique expo here in Portland, Oregon. The price tag is a bit spendy, but the information within, along with the masterful photogrpahy, makes this book well worth the money. Any serious collector of Mexican silver needs to have this book in their library. The authors give readers an inside look at the artists that have made mid-century to contemporary silversmithing in Taxco what it is today.

For some reason, I thought I was going to get more examples of the work of the major artisans in Mexico Silver but it basically is book of "Hallmarks" which can prove helpful but I really needed more since I just purchased exceptional Mexico jewelry bracelets that date from the 1920s to 1940s. The Hallmarks date from the none eagle period to the eagle period and what they use today.

High expectations when I purchased this book for the cost of it. Having owned more than 100 pieces of old taxco several silver books on silver values it took less tahn 10 minutes to see all the pictures in this book with myself having none of the items shown in the book. they took the designers best 1 or 2 items each for this book. This is a detailed book on the history of the makers and history of the origin of it all but there is nothing you are going to see at a local auction,flea market or yard sale. This is strictly eye candy and a glamour coffee table book. They need to format a price guide just with prices and photes of taxco jewelry.

Mexican Silver by Penny Morrill and Carole Berk is the definitive reference for anyone interested in 20th Century Mexican silver jewelry. Not only is it brimming with information on the jewelry, the background biographies of the working life of Spratling, Davis, Aguilar, Margot and many other giants of this industry are well written and a darn good read. After spending several hours reading the book I the expertise that I would have gained had I taken a 3 credit college course. There is a general price guide in the back of the book which, from my experience, accurate and reasonable. The only observation I might make is that there is not as much information on silver hollow ware and decorative pieces. For myself, my main interest is in the jewelry so I was not disappointed.

The Amazon price can't be beat. Before I bought the book through Amazon I had not seen it for less than $60, its list price. I paid less than $40 on Amazon!

I don't know anything about the subject but I bought this book as a gift for my wife who does. She says it is one of the best references she has.

I recommend this book to anyone interested in Mexican Silver jewelry of the 1930's - 50's. It gives a wonderful overview of the history of this unique craft. It also provides knowledgeable information about which pieces and designers are most collectible, with high-quality photos of many of the best pieces. I started collecting Mexican Silver jewelry 10 years ago out of sentiment, because my mother and grandmother used to wear it. Learning the history of this type of jewelry has made me even more fond of the genre, and has given me the knowledge to collect more valuable pieces.

You have to admire the research that went into this sumptuous volume, also the photos. As a (very) amateur collector, this work, I'm sorry to say, doesn't pertain much to me. Still, I'm happy to have it on my shelf.