Synopsis:
Testing articles made of precious metals and stamping them with hallmarks to indicate they are of a minimum standard of purity has been carried out by the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths for seven centuries. The minute books of the Company, the core of the present study, provide an almost unbroken record since the 1330s, and names prominent in the Company's affairs include Isaac Newton, Charles II, Paul de Lamerie, the Vyners and the Garrards.
From Library Journal:
Forbes, who served as head of the London Assay Office for 30 years, focuses on the London office but in the process provides a full history of English hallmarking, i.e., the assaying of silver articles and their stamping/marking by the Goldsmith's Company at its hall. The result is a history of the enforcement of a standard for silver--one of the oldest continuous forms of consumer protection. The date year, symbolized by a letter of the alphabet within a shield, each changing regularly, now provides the collector with the exact date of manufacture. Yet it was originally adopted to identify the year of manufacture so that, should a substandard article be uncovered, the officials who presided over the assay could be held responsible. Carefully researched and clearly written, this book is filled with fascinating stories of people and events, of corruption and cunning. Undoubtedly, it will remain the standard on the subject for decades to come and should be included in public as well as academic libraries.
-Martin Chasin, Adult Inst., Bridgeport, CT
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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