Book Description

Little appreciated by the average diner, over the past 125 years almost everything connected with flatware/table cutlery has changed: who designs it, how it is designed, who makes it, where it is made, how it is made, what is it made of, how it looks, and in some cases even how it functions. This book traces this evolution in terms of: I - Decorative Style: from art nouveau to pluralism; II - Basic Sizes and Shapes: from large size and more or less standard forms to variable size and non-standard forms; III - Functional Types: from many to few, but some radically new; IV - Designers and Producers: from in-house design and manufacture to consultant designers and outsourced makers; and V - Materials and Methods: from nearly 100% silver or silver-plate to 90% stainless steel with a variety of finishes, and from low-tech to high-tech methodology. These changes are illustrated in over 900 color photographs of 820 flatware patterns/entities of worldwide origin from both private and public collections. This work is the first dealing with a selection of modern flatware of this scope and depth. The main text contains approximately 60,000 words and is extensively referenced. In user-friendly eBook format; Kindle edition with free apps for other devices. The book will appeal to modernist consumers, collectors, scholars, dealers, and museum and design professionals.