Stories in Sterling is the first comprehensive survey of the New York Historical Society's superb collection of early American silver, one of the finest in the United States. It features the full range of silver works, from masterpieces like the 1772 salver by New York City silversmith Lewis Fueter, to the simpler, but no less significant, teapot made for the Schuyler family by the Albany silversmith Kiliaen Van Rensselaer in 1695 - one of the earliest teapots made in New York. Seven chapters consider silver from a range of perspectives: its reflection of the multiethnic character of colonial New York; the impact of industrialisation on its manufacture and consumption; its role in honouring public achievement or marking rites of passage; and, finally, its ability to express its owners' social standing. With a wealth of related objects and original documents, Stories in Sterling is a vital reference tool for scholars, collectors and enthusiasts of American silver and culture. Published to accompany an exhibition at the New York Historical Society from May 4 to September 2, 2012. ?Scholars and enthusiasts of silver, material culture, and New York history alike will welcome the fresh information, lively interpretation, and superb illustrations in this enlightening survey of the N-YHS collection.? Louise Mirrer, Foreword AUTHORS: Margaret K. Hofer is curator of Decorative Arts at the New- York Historical Society, where she has organized numerous exhibitions, including A New Light on Tiffany (2007) which she co-authored. Debra Schmidt Bach is associate curator of Decorative Arts at the New-York Historical Society and the former Tiffany Co. Foundation Research Fellow in American Silver. Kenneth L. Ames is professor of American Decorative Arts and Material Culture of the 18th and 19th Centuries at the Bard Graduate Center, New York. His publications include Decorative Arts and Household Furnishings in America, 1650?1920: A Bibliography (1989). David L. Barquist is The H. Richard Dietrich, Jr., Curator of American Decorative Arts at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. A scholar on colonial New York silver, he is the author of Myer Myers: Jewish Silversmith in Colonial New York (2001).
