Customer Reviews

Silverplated Flatware

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I PURCHASED MY FIRST COPY OF THIS BOOK TEN YEARS AGO. IT HAD POOR DRAWINGS, MANY POOR PHOTO COPIES OF MANUFACTURERS LITERATURE, I WROTE TO THE PUBLISHER LISTING MANY ERRORS, AND SUBMITED MY FINDINGS HOPING TO BE HELPFUL TO THE AUTHOR AND PUBLISHER. I PURCHASED WHAT YOU ARE SELLING NOW AS AN UPDATE TO MY ORIGINAL BOOK. TO MY SUPRISE THE SAME ERRORS AND POOR DRAWINGS WERE JUST BEING REPRINTED. THERE WAS NO REAL UPDATE TO THE IDENTIFICATION OF PATTERNS. I EVEN SUBMITTED 132 PHOTOGRAPHS AND DRAWINGS OF PATTERNS NOT LISTED IN THIER BOOK. ONE OF THE PIECES LISTED AS UNKNOWN HAS A PATENT DATE ON IT. IT ONLY TOOK ME 15 MIN AT THE PATENT OFFICE TO FIND THE ORIGINAL PATENT SUBMISSION PAPERS, DRAWING AND NAME, AND AT THE TIME I WAS JUST A NOVICE STARTING TO LEARN, SINCE THEN I HAVE ADDED OVER 10,000 PIECES TO MY COLLECTION. MY INTENTION WAS TO ASSURE AN ACCURATE REFERANCE BOOK FOR PEOPLE TO USE. THIS IS NOT IT.

I collect silverplate - mostly flatware, and have been studying it for several years. I'm not the authority - that's why I want to learn more!

First of all, this book needs to be updated. I think that there are many more collectors today with the advent of Ebay. My favorite pattern, Rogers Exquisite 1940 is listed as "S" or seldom collected but let me tell you, it is a hot commodity on Ebay. Conversely, my aunt's pattern, Rogers Ambassador 1919, is listed as "C" or collectible but the items do not bring as high a price as my Exquisite pieces do.

The index needs to be better cross-referenced, as others have noted. Photographs instead of line drawings of the patterns would be nice. Also, a bit more on the history of silverplate and the reasons for its peaks and dips in popularity would be nice.

I use my silverplate for everyday use and put it in the diswasher every day. It still looks great. I am not looking to preserve it but to use it to make my life more beautiful and gracious. Others would be more willing to buy it and use it if they knew the truth about this marvelously inexpensive collectible. It's so easy to quickly polish it up for a special occasion (and if you use it, it never tarnishes!) and - well, I almost feel like I should write a book myself!

This is a wonderful find...it picks up where the old Walter Drake catalog leaves off. Whether you are a serious antique hunter, have inherited Grandma's old silver plate flatware or (like me) need to compile a valuables inventory for household insurance, this book saves lots of time and frustration. One of the good things about this book is that it has virtually every flatware maker/pattern listed from the mid to late 1800's to the early 1970's. It is well organized, with large, easy to read samples of silverplate patterns. The only draw back is that the illustrations are drawings...not photos. This is a must have for anyone who is interested in American silverplate flatware! Happy hunting!

Great for the layman and the pro, simple to understand, easy to recognize patterns from detailed drawings! Excellent hobby aid and fun to discover your sought patterns on the pages. There was only one that I could not find out of many, probably because it is pre 1800's! Very inclusive book for post circa 1800 thru 20th century. $$$ well spent for this addition to your research library!

This book is everything it's cracked up to be. The patterns are easy to find and easy to recognize. I was able to identify everything I had inherited from my mother-in-law. This book is a reference I'll keep for years.

The best book on silverplated flatware I have found to date. Well organized, with clear crossreferences and detailed drawings. I particularly like the detailed illustrations which make it easy to identify patterns, specially in the case of similar ones. I highly recommend it.

it seems like there were a few errors. Some just typos and a few I'm not sure they are even errors. For example: A patent date of 1907 on the backstamp of one piece was listed in the book as a pattern issued in 1910. (Martha Washington EHH Smith, with the older <S> backstamp).

Also, I wish Hagan would have put all the patterns listed for a manufacturer in just one seperate place in the book. If you look up a manufacturer, often times you will have to flip back and forth many, many times. She should have at least put an asterick by the page number where all the patterns of a manufacturer are. You'll eventually find your pattern, but you might be dizzy afterwards.

This is my only flatware book, so I have nothing to compare it by. Other books may be worse as far as the little irritants I mentioned above.

There is an alphabetical index that implies that it lists all pages where patterns with a particular manufacturer's trademark are located. Unfortunately, this index is not very complete, so it is frequently necessary to look through MANY pages with related brands in order to identify a particular pattern. This is the biggest shortfall of this reference book. Also, some patterns appear more than once, under multiple manufacturers (due to the consolidation of the silverware industry), but other patterns that were made by multiple manufactuers do not appear under each manufacturer. These incomplete multiple listings aren't necessary, but if they remain the pages should be cross-referenced to each.

I found many of the patterns I collect covered in Hagan's book. The drawings are large and easy to use to identify your pieces. I also bought Hagan's Sterling Flatware which is set up in a similar manner. You can also use both books to note which patterns you want to search for. The dates given in the books allowed me to note which patterns were contemporary with the china I collect.
I've looked at other silver identification books and I liked these best.

Please see my review of "Sterling Flatware Identification & Value Guide". This is a good companion guide, but for silverplated flatware. It's just a little more complicated to navigate, as there are so many silverplated patterns, and so many manufacturers. However, once you become familiar with the way it is set up, and with a lot of patience, you can ID silverplated flatware very nicely. I keep both right at hand..can't do without them.