Kovels' American Silver Marks;

What the Kovels don't know about antiques," says House Beautiful, "isn't worth knowing." American silver -- from Grandma's coin silver spoon to Art Deco tea sets -- is becoming increasingly popular, and the Kovels have stepped in with a guide to identifying American silver marks. Before collecting another piece of silver, collect Kovels' American Silver Marks.

Almost everyone owns an old piece of silver. Few know the complete history of the piece. Kovels' American Silver Marks is a simple-to-use guide to identifying marks and monograms that appear on silver. Collectors and dealers can quickly determine the maker of a piece of silver. The listings include working dates, location, mark (if known), and bibliographic references to more than 160 books and articles. Makers working from 1650 to the present are included. More than 10,000 silversmiths are listed in alphabetical order, with a cross-indexing system for monograms and pictorial marks, Kovels' American Silver Marks, like Kovels' New Dictionary of Marks -- Pottery & Porcelain, an equally scholarly and useful book, will become a standard in libraries and museums.