posted 12-22-2004 08:24 PM            

Tardy is certainly the first thing to get when delving into Continental silver, but it is really of very little use in identifying modern European flatware makers and patterns. And, unfortunately, the only other good references are in a foreign language.

There is an excellent book on German Art Nouveau (and slightly later) flatware called "Bestecke des Jugendstils" by Barbara Grotkamp-Schepers, which has the added advantage of an index of 60 or so marks of the most prominent late 19th-early 20th century German flatware makers. It does, however, focus on "designer" pieces (for lack of a better term) and not so much on your run-of-the-mill patterns, and the text is all in German. Still, if you're really interested in German silver flatware, it's the book I'd recommend.

Beyond that, there are one or two quite helpful German websites I use to identify the more popular and/or common 20th century patterns. These, however, are commercial "pattern matching" services, and I don't want to post them without permission from the moderator, as posting such sites here is not allowed. You might try an internet search of the term "besteck" (plural-"bestecke"), which is German for "flatware service" and see what you find.