Late-Breaking News (1996)

 

December 3, 1996: New Benefit for Supporting Members!
Receive a 20% discount on all production flatware and holloware pictured in Robyn's catalog. Robyn is internationally recognized for her unique floral-style creations. Her work has been featured in numerous national publications and can be found in the permanent collections of the Cooper-Hewitt Museum and the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art and Design. A glossy, handbound catalog is available for $15.00 (deducted from first order) from: Robyn Nichols, Personal Works of Art, Inc., 2000 Grand Ave., 3rd Floor, Kansas City, MO 64108, 816/474-1731.

November 13, 1996: New Silver Care Guide Produced
As a silversmith specializing in restoration and conservation for the last 13 years, I have gained a wealth of knowledge studying surface finishes on antique silver. My new guide will instruct you how to Clean Silver, the unwise use of Chemical Dips and Electrochemical (Galvanic) Reduction, Silver Storage & Display, the problems when combining Silver & Dishwashers, and removing Salt Shaker Corrosion. Plus, you'll find resources for buying the products listed. For only $5, you will be up-to-date on the latest technology for caring for silver. Please make check payable to: Jeffrey Herman, PO Box 3599, Cranston, RI 02910 USA, Tel: 401/461-3156, Fax: 401/461-3196.

September 16, 1996: New Benefits for all SAS Members!
Our former steel stamp supplier (Oneida Steel Stamp) has gone out of business due to health problems of the owner. Our new supplier is MRB Jewelry Supply Corp., 2404 Fifth St., Fort Lee, NJ 07024, 201/461-6472, Fax: 201/461-2942. Examples: STERLING straight stamp, 1/24" = $15.20 for SAS members (normally $17.90); 14K straight stamp, 1/24" = $8.40 for SAS members (normally $9.90). Call for a complete price list.

Joslin Hall Rare Books has just joined our ever expanding list of discounters. They are offering SAS members a 10% discount on rare and out of print books, and 20% off titles they publish including the widely acclaimed book: Antique Silver Servers by Professor B. Seymour Rabinovtich. A catalog specifically devoted to silver has been compiled. Contact them at: Joslin Hall Rare Books, PO Box 516, Concord, MA 01742, 508/371-3101, Fax: 508/371-6445,

August 29, 1996: New Benefit for all SAS Members!
New Book Poised to Improve American Sterling Pattern Identification. SM Publications (SMP) announced the publication of The Book of Silver, Flatware Silver Marks, and Patterns, an updatable reference book that may set a new standard in the identification, research, and cataloging system for American sterling flatware. Digital photography and a unique approach to lighting combine to give both the obverse and reverse pattern images, quality and detail never seen before in pattern reference materials.

The Book of Silver, Flatware Silver Marks, and Patterns assigns each pattern a Standard Identification Number which helps identify patterns that may have been originally introduced by a manufacturer under one name and then re-introduced years later under another. The Pattern Name Index with Cross References is an alphabetical listing of all American sterling flatware patterns previously documented in the major silver references. It includes pattern name, the manufacturer's name, date of pattern introduced, and active/inactive status, as well as the page number of the original reference. The Maker's Marks and Retailer's Marks sections provide paths to identification when the pattern name is unknown. The Pattern Image Quick Reference Section shows nine images per page allowing readers to quickly identify a pattern about which nothing else is known.

SMP has also released The Guide to Evaluating Gold & Silver Objects. This informative reference compliments The Book of Silver and provides information not found in other references such as holloware and flatware silver plating standards and terms, and extensive testing procedures for precious metals.

The Book of Silver, Flatware Silver Marks, and Patterns introductory price of $100 (reg. $150) has been extended for SAS members through November 1, 1996. After November 1, 1996, SAS members may order the book for $125 (reg. $150). Beginning immediately, The Guide to Evaluating Gold & Silver Objects may be ordered by SAS members for $22.95 (reg. $24.95). For more information, please contact SMP at 353 West 56th St., Suite 7A, New York, NY 10019, Tel: 212/246-5060, Fax: 212/246-5216,

July 13, 1996: William Frederick Completes Giant Fish Platter
Artisan member Bill Frederick recently designed and created by a MONSTER fish platter for one of his favorite collectors. Finished just last week, it measures 28" long x 14" wide with a weight of 262.5 troy ounces! The handle is 8" long and is solid sterling, sitting atop the collector's monogram. It took approximately 1,000 hours to raise and fabricate the piece.

April 24, 1996: Solve Hallqvist Dies
SAS Artisan Solve Hallqvist of Cleveland, Ohio, died at the age of 77 on April 21, 1996, from a brief illness. Solve, an Artisan member of SAS, was well known in the Cleveland area and taught silversmithing for 16 years at the Cleveland Institute of Art. Born April 4, 1919, in Sweden, he apprenticed in 1942 with C.F. Carlman, Stockholm's Court Jeweler, and furthered his education from 1943-1950 with for Baron Eric Von Flemming, Stockholm's Court Silversmith.

His professional activities until his death were: 1948, silversmith for Bone Bakker & Zoon, Amsterdam, Holland, and Jan & Leo Brom's Edelsmitse, Utrecht, Holland; 1951, Experimental Silverwork for Steuben Crystal, New York, NY; 1952, silversmith for Henry Hopkins, Baltimore, MD; 1952-1984, silversmith for Potter & Mellon, Inc. Cleveland, OH; 1960-1961, Partner & silversmith with Stacey-Hallqvist, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; and from 1984 up to his death, maintained a home studio in Cleveland, Ohio, specializing in sterling holloware, flatware, and jewelry. He also participated in numerous exhibitions since 1957.

Solve was a very unassuming, gracious, and soft spoken person. He was truly a gifted silversmith, preferring to hand carve blocks of sterling instead of casting, and hand raising in place of spinning. His work was so highly regarded that he continued to produce pieces for loyal patrons in Sweden. Though he rarely promoted himself and never participated in the craft circuit, he should be remembered as an American treasure.

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