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| Masterpieces of French Jewelry | 
 enlarge | Author: Judith Price
Publisher: Running Press
Category: Book
List Price: $29.95
Buy New: $18.29
You Save: $11.66 (39%)
New (16) Used (10) Collectible (1) from $15.96
Avg. Customer Rating:  5 reviews
Sales Rank: 206060
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 128
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.7
Dimensions (in): 11 x 10.9 x 0.9
ISBN: 0762426721
Dewey Decimal Number: 739.270944
EAN: 9780762426720
ASIN: 0762426721
Publication Date: October 2, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Masterpieces of French Jewelry is a delightful testament to the power of jewelry-like all true art-to mirror changes in America’s evolving social milieu. It offers an enchanting lens through which to view America’s rise from frontier nation to an industrial superpower, with a new moneyed class hungry for recognition and status. French jewelry provided that and more. This sumptuously-designed full color book-the first and only one on this subject-features over 80 photographs of the most remarkable pieces that found their way into prominent American collections. It also showcases a brilliant array of styles. There are chapters devoted to jewelry characteristic of the Art Nouveau period, along with Art Deco, the Victorian Era, 1940s retro, and the 1960s through more contemporary styles. An added bonus: one-of-a-kind jewelry creations from notable artists such as Man Ray, Pablo Picasso, Matta, and Arman. The publication of Masterpieces of French Jewelry coincides with the National Jewelry Institute’s exhibition, "Masterpieces of French Jewelry from Twentieth-Century American Collections," which will begin at The Forbes Galleries in New York in September 2006.
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| Customer Reviews:
 The publisher should be embarassed! June 12, 2007
7 out of 8 found this review helpful
As a previous reviewer stated, I also saw the "Masterpieces" exhibit at the Palace of the Legion of Honor in San Francisco last month, and it was one of the most beautiful shows I've seen at any museum in some time. As with numerous other exhibits I've had the good fortune to see over the years, I expected a good-quality book or catalogue for purchase. Was I in for a surprise with this book! It is JUST AWFUL!
The book gets it's one-star rating because the text is interesting enough, and the typeface is legible. But why does someone buy a book on jewelry in the first place? For the pictures of course, and the pictures in this book are amateurish (the most polite word I could come up with). Most of the photographs appear to have been shot straight on with a flash, no side or backlighting. The jewelry looks flat, one-dimensional, and washed out. Basically, it all looks like cheap costume jewelry. Many photos are printed against a bright, white background. They look like they were cut and pasted in low-grade photo editing software. But worst of all are the numerous shots that are out of focus. There's no excuse for this.
It's disappointing to go to such a nice exhibit and have nothing to remember it by. It amazes me that the National Jewelry Institute approved this publication. The Institute and Running Press really blew this one.
 Excellent Souvenir April 2, 2007
4 out of 6 found this review helpful
This book documents the astounding pieces contained in the Masterpieces of French Jewelry Exhibit at San Francisco's Palace of the Legion of Honor thru June 10, 2007.
This exhibition honors the breathtaking inspiration, unsurpassed craftmanship and variety of French jewelry from the Art Nouveau period at the beginning of the 20th century to contemporary pieces. All the jewels in the exhibition are illustrated in this inspirational book, in full color and exaggerated detail.
The exhibition begins with several lavish Art Nouveau creations by Rene Lalique and Georges Fouquet, moving into the Belle Epoch, Deco and Retro styles. The book and exhibit also feature original contemporary examples by Joseph Arthur Rosenthal (JAR).
Fabulous addition to a jewelry lover's library.
A welcome, popular reference. February 8, 2007
0 out of 6 found this review helpful
Author Judith Price is President of the National Jewelry Institute: her background has long been in French art and jewelry, so she's the perfect choice to write an authoritative review and history in MASTERPIECES OF FRENCH JEWELRY. Over a hundred photos of pieces owned by Americans - most never seen by the public before - accompany historical background which covers jewelry from the late 1800s to modern times. There's a thoughtful attention to the layout on each page that juxtaposes large-size photos of pieces with good-sized, clear text descriptions and commentary. Both specialty art and jewelry libraries and more general-interest holdings will find in MASTERPIECES OF FRENCH JEWELRY a welcome, popular reference.
Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch
A vanity press production- January 8, 2007
9 out of 13 found this review helpful
Not much jewelry and the gold Sterle' evening bag (the same one which our company owned and recently sold) is photographed upside down! I gave this book as a gift after one quick flip through. Should cost $5.00 (incl shipping)
Reads like a (super-swanky) in-flight magazine article December 20, 2006
23 out of 25 found this review helpful
You might purchase this book for the tolerably decent photos of French jewelry, but don't expect a scholarly, in-depth discussion of the subject. Price's writing is almost laughably bad, consisting as it does of pointless, unhelpful captions ("The engraved goldwork on the front of the owl signals its use as an accessory of a refined lady.") and smarmy, gushing intros for a bunch of B- and C-list socialite collectors, including such luminaries as Actress, Producer, and One of America's Leading Motion Picture Executives Dina Merrill Hartley (daughter of Marjorie Merriweather Post--"one of the richest women in the world," we're told) and "the First Lady of Fiction" ...Barbara Taylor Bradford. When Price gets around to discussing French jewelry, the result is much like a high school report cobbled together from material cribbed from an encyclopedia entry--an effect weirdly reinforced by the publisher's decision to print the text in double-spaced format. Her observations are trite, obvious or altogether incorrect (and sometimes all three). Apparently, Price's presidency of the National Jewelry Institute (founded...oh, about last week) is qualification enough to write on the subject. Or maybe it's the fact (see dustjacket flap) that she lives in New York and "Paris, France."
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