For more than 25 years Carl Faberge and his firm served as jeweler and goldsmith to the tsars of Russia and other influential people. Here, straight from the St. Petersburg archives, jewelry expert Snowman reproduces hundreds of drawings and photographs (most in full color) from two newly discovered Faberge design books.

The chronological arrangement of 1,772 comprehensive citations are translated and annotated in English. Exhibition and auction dates, as well as auction prices are included. ...a work of scholarly significance...comprehensive, not to say exhaustive, and is well presented and easy to use... a most valuable tool.--REFERENCE REVIEWS ...One is filled with awe at the dedication that must have been needed to compile this work. --GEM AND JEWELRY NEWS

Fifth Avenue in New York houses many treats, but one of its more sumptuous offerings is a gem of a museum -- the Forbes Faberge collection. Containing more than 400 objets d'art, this tiny museum is a treasure trove of artistic and historical masterpieces.One hundred and twenty pieces from the Forbes Faberge collection are pictured here, each accompanied by a detailed essay on its significance and history and the artisans who created it. Printed on elegant paper and accompanied by 26 tip-ins, this volume also features genealogies of the European royal families who commissioned most of these pieces.