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CANADIAN HERITAGE SILVER

Name: CANADIAN HERITAGE SILVER
Author: Marie A. Refaussé
ISBN: 978-0981334608

by Marie A. Refaussé ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 27, 2009

An impressive and enjoyable collection.

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The first full-color photographic encyclopedia of heritage silver spoons spanning the breadth of Canada.

The seed for this book was planted in 1967 when Refaussé purchased a few silver spoons in Calgary on her way to attend Expo 67 in Montreal. Over the next 30-plus years, she and her husband amassed a collection of spoons from all across their vast country. Organized geographically, the book opens with spoons of the Maritime Provinces of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island on the country’s eastern coast and then gradually moves west, ending in British Columbia on Canada’s Pacific shore. The provinces and territories are all represented by sections, as is the Calgary-Edmonton Corridor, an urbanized region in the province of Alberta. The photographs clearly display the intricate detailing of the spoons’ handles, as well as engraved names and scenes in the spoons’ bowls. (The author provides small, offset photos in cases where this detailing is overshadowed or unclear in the primary picture.) Rounding out the collection is a page dedicated to provincial and Canadian crests, along with a photo of the Sister City Trophy (a work of silver and carved wood commissioned by the city of Burnaby, British Columbia, in honor of its sister city of Kushiro, Japan). The trophy seems a little out of place given the rest of the book’s undeterred focus on spoons, but a note on the back cover flap explaining that Refaussé designed the trophy explains its inclusion as a sort of culmination of a life spent in silver. Finally, the book presents a list of silver manufacturers and companies, including company symbols, locations and dates of operation. Even those not predisposed to souvenir collecting (though the spoons are now available for sale—inquiries can be made by fax to 604-597-1881) will be astonished by some of the spoons Refaussé has accumulated, particularly the beautifully rendered pick-and-shovel spoons representative of the Yukon. In her foreword, the author alludes to the rich Canadian history encapsulated in these silver treasures, and while the history lesson would have benefited from additional text to provide some context for the images, the craftsmanship of the spoons is a reward unto itself.

An impressive and enjoyable collection.

Pub Date: Nov. 27, 2009

ISBN: 978-0981334608

Page Count: 102

Publisher: N/A

Review Posted Online: Nov. 11, 2010

Review Program: Kirkus Indie

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

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NUTCRACKER

by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996

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This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)

Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996

ISBN: 0-15-100227-4

Page Count: 136

Publisher: Harcourt

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996

Categories:

GENERAL NONFICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER AND THE MOUSE KING
by E.T.A. Hoffmann ; adapted by Natalie Andrewson ; illustrated by Natalie Andrewson

- BOOK REVIEW
THE NUTCRACKER
by E.T.A. Hoffmann & illustrated by Julie Paschkis

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TO THE ONE I LOVE THE BEST

EPISODES FROM THE LIFE OF LADY MENDL (ELSIE DE WOLFE)

by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955

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An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.