American Silver Booklets

I am converting my self-published books about American silverplate to digital form and making them available here. This information is free. Click on the booklet name to open a pdf file. You can read it on the screen or print it out. You can also save it to your own computer and share it with others. Always credit the source. Do not use it for commercial purposes.

#1 History of Oneida Community and Its Silver

The story of the Oneida utopian community of Perfectionists and their leader John Humphrey Noyes. How they got into the silver business. Why Pierrepont Noyes created the Community line of flatware and what he did to ensure that it succeeded and endured.

Illustrated, 10 pages.

#2 Marketing Oneida Silver

Learn how Oneida promoted its Community line of silverplate. Their marketing techniques included pattern design by artists, extensive advertising with exceptional graphic artists like Coles Philips and Jon Whitcomb, celebrity endorsements, accessory items, and more.

Illustrated, 10 pages.

#3 Identifying Flatware Pieces

Silver manufacturers offered a multiplicity of pieces for the well-set table. This booklet describes the pieces in use between 1890 and 1940, with illustrations drawn from manufacturers’ catalogs, as well as a listing of alternate names and measurements.

Illustrated, 33 pages.

 

#4 Setting the Community Table

Yes, that’s me and this is a brief (and illustrated) account of how I came to collect all the source documents and stuff I used to prepare the American Silver Booklets I now offer free on the Internet. Mostly this not about me, but about Oneida Community.

Illustrated 9 pages.

#5 Adam 1917

Complete documentation of Oneida Community’s 1917 Adam flatware pattern with a listing of all the flatware pieces available in that pattern. The booklet includes design elements, a description of hollowware and china made to go with the flatware, advertising and catalog pages.

Illustrated, 12 pages.

#6 Grosvenor 1921

Complete documentation of Oneida Community’s 1921 Grosvenor pattern, with a comprehensive list all flatware and hollowware pieces offered in the pattern. Includes china and crystal made to match the pattern, as well as advertising and catalog pages.

Illustrated, 18 pages.

#7 Bird of Paradise 1923

Complete documentation of the 1923 Bird of Paradise pattern, in which Oneida Community offered a full range of flatware and hollowware pieces. Booklet includes comprehensive lists of pieces offered in the pattern, as well as advertising and catalog pages.

Illustrated, 14 pages.

#8 Deauville 1929

One of the few art deco patterns offered during this period, in Deauville it was possible to set a complete table using flatware, hollowware, china and crystal all in this pattern. Booklet includes comprehensive lists of pieces offered, as well as pictures and examples from catalog pages and advertising.

Illustrated, 15 pages

#9 Noblesse 1930

Communitys’ other art deco pattern in which Oneida offered flatware and hollowware, as well as two styles of china and crystal, to set a complete art deco table. Booklet includes comprehensive lists of pieces offered, as well as pictures and examples from contemporary advertising materials.

Illustrated, 14 pages

#10 Lady Hamilton 1932

This quiet modernist design had a long run of production, from 1932 to 1956. Oneida offered two different china designs as well as a crystal design in the pattern. Booklets includes colorful advertising from the period as well as lists of pieces offered in the flatware, china and crystal.

Illustrated, 17 pages

#11 Coronation 1936

A popular pattern available in silverplate, stainless steel, hollowware and china, its pierced design was inspired by the carvings of Grinling Gibbons at Hampton Court, the name under which it was sold in the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth nations. Booklet includes listings of new and old production, catalog pages and advertising.

Illustrated, 19 pages

#12 More for the Table

The patterns included are Patrician 1914, Paul Revere 1927, King Cedric 1933, Berkeley Square 1935, as well as additional china patterns. This booklet provides information about accessories offered by Oneida for the patterns listed.

Illustrated, 12 pages.