Customer Reviews

Silverware of the 20th Century: The Top 250 Patterns

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

 

 

I have read several books pertaining to flatware, and many of them have a few strengths, and more weaknesses. This book does not break that trend.

The best feature in this book is that the measurements of many flatware pieces are listed. The introductory section is also informative for those not familiar with flatware. Histories of today's manufacturers are also comprehensive.

However, the book is so poorly organized that it makes for a difficult read, and very difficult to use as a reference book.

Also, the photographs are so small, you will need a magnifying glass to distinguish between even barely similar patterns. There are much better books on silverware available.

While it might not be the most complete reference on silverware, it does serve a purpose - and is economically priced. It lists the most popular patterns, and their most popular pieces. Measurements are given, and are very helpful. I have several silverware reference books, and use this one for quick look-ups, other reference books for more detail.

The old saying "you get what you pay for" definitely describes this book...Although very reasonably priced - there is little or no information in it as far as identification...It does however, give 250 patterns and breakdowns of pieces and prices that are now 8 years old - so not very accurate...If you're looking for strictly identification, this isn't the book for you...It barely scratches the surface, and you find yourself spending alot of time trying to find the pattern - only to find out its not in here....

Credentials: I consider myself to be at the top of a very short list of fine kitchen utensil authorities.

I purchased this book as another reference in my rather extensive personal library of kitchen silverware literature. Although I do not regret my investment, I do have a few qualms regarding the product for which this review is intended. I will now cut to the chase (pun not intended):

Although silverware usage and collecting are quite commonplace in today's modern society, there is surprisingly very little literature regarding its photography and cataloging. My colossal bitterness regarding this great injustice and deplorable disregard of cutlery, however, is not the subject of this review and so I will continue. It is quite difficult to find a book that catalogs silverware to the great precision that "Silverware of the 20th Century" does. Most books on the subject simply offer an unsorted list of silverware with the occasional tasteless photograph of an underwhelming butter knife or soup spoon. "Silverware of the 20th Century" avoids these common mistakes by taking a systematic approach to its cataloging. The first novel approach to win my accolades was the listing of the silverware in alphabetical order by name, an elegant concept only rivaled by its amazing simplicity. If that was not enough, the brilliant author Rinker somehow managed to list the silverware in alphabetical order by pattern as well. At first this may not seem like such a feat, but think of it this way: There are 250 different sets of silverware in the book. It likely took a (conservative) 3 hours per set to give a name of the pattern and then to alphabetize the name. 250 sets x 3 hours per set = 750 man hours of alphabetizing. That's close to ten and a half days of brute research and rote computer spreadsheet work. All for a task that would likely go unnoticed by the neophyte silverware enthusiast. It is attention to detail like this that will garner the book a spot on the New York Times Bestseller List and in the hearts of people everywhere.

My main concern with this book and the reason why I did not give it 5 stars is its failure to catalog a comprehensive list of silverware. 250 different patterns may seem overwhelming, but this pales in comparison to the delightful page-turner, "Silverplated flatware" by Tere Hagan. Hagan manages to list over 1,600 different patterns and does so in a sparse 376 pages. It is a book of that caliber that transcends the "bestseller list" and explodes into the mind of the reader like a supernova of dinnerware awesomeness.

This book is written by someone who must be a shill for Replacements, Inc. since they are numerously listed as "the" place to get pieces. Other services are not listed by name. Before purchasing, I read the 'glowing' 4 star Amazon reviews and now I conclude they must have been written by personal friends or employees of replacements. The crowing compliments about completeness are a joke. He doesn't even list Watson Sliver - a major company that continued producing until 1954 when they were bought by WALLACE (who continued making my pattern until 1996.)

It just a rehash of the 20 most popular patterns, which any other book may include. I wish I could return it, but I bought it from a dealer not amazon.