posted 06-07-2005 04:25 PM            

• Solodkoff, Alexander Russian Gold and Silver Work
  
• Kovarskaia et al Russian Silver of the 14th to early 20th Centuries from the Moscow Kremlin Reserves
  
• Paulson, Paul L Guide to Russian Silver Hallmarks
  
• any of a number of books by Andrei Gilodo

Also, I recall distinctly that I was browsing around the web looking at Russian silver, and I came across a website that advertised a 2 volume reference with CD-ROM material, about Russian silver and its marks. It was $500, or something like that, so I passed over it at first. I did not think to write down the title and author. A later search turned up nothing. Did I only dream it?

posted 06-07-2005 11:55 PM            

The Solidikov and Kovarskaia are both good overviews of Russian silver, but as with most books about silver, they tend to focus more on "museum" quality pieces and not so much on what your average collector might find. (That's not to knock them, they're both very good books.) Gilodo's works I'd put at the bottom of the list; they're nice enough, but don't really have much information better covered in the other books.

As for the two volume set you mention, no, you're not dreaming: it is listed here. As you can see, it's $980 for both volumes, one on assay office marks and one on silversmiths' marks. Given the price tag and recent date, I would assume it is meant to be the "standard work". But it's way, way out of my budget; I'll have to wait until it's acquired by some big library and just go visit it - still cheaper than buying a copy, even if it means a trip to NYC or somewhere.

Sazikov? Do you know anything about this set?