Hi-Ho, Silver.

The Renwick Museum has an exhibit (originally put together in Dallas) of twentieth century silver (largely sterling silver) in American design. There must be 100 or so items on display, perhaps more. The four or five rooms (all on the first floor of the museum) are very well lighted and laid out, and provide a nice contrast to the outside hustle and bustle of 17th and Pennsylvania.

I went to the museum about a week ago at about 1 p.m. There were only five or six others looking at the exhibit, which is too bad, because it shows some very attractive pieces.

I did not take notes, and I know nothing about the topic, so my remarks are necessarily limited. The objects on display, by and large, have to do with food: tableware, tea and coffee sets, trays, and so forth, along with dressing table sets, ash trays, and a few display pieces. The designs change over time, but the hallmark seems to be simplicity (with a bit of art deco thrown in), as opposed to the ornate nature of earlier silver design.

I liked the coffee and tea sets the best, because they are able to create a pattern and concept, and mold their several pieces around it.

I believe that the manufacturers (most with familiar names) are all American, but a large number of the designers are not. They seem to be largely from Scandinavia or Germanic countries; not English.

There is a full-book catalog (I think hard cover only) that I am sure is worth every penny of its expensive price, because it does go through the entire history of twentieth century American silver design in significant detail. The industry today hardly exists, or at least it exists only as an art form industry, or a specialized manufacturing industry, not at all along the lines that existed prior to World War II.

One genre appeared to be absent from the scene. I assume that there has been a fair amount of silver Judaica manufactured in this country during the twentieth century - menorahs, kiddish cups, and so forth. It would have been interesting to see how these items mirrored, or contrasted with, the silver pieces being created for other purposes.