compiled by Christel Ludewig McCanless

christel@hiwaay.net

 

Peter Carl Faberge (1846-1920), Russian court jeweler to Tsar Alexander III and his consort, Marie Fedorovna, and to Tsar Nicholas II and Alexandra Fedorovna, created Imperial Easter eggs and objets d’art from 1885-1918. The publications enumerated below are in chronological sequence to highlight the historical development of the art from the House of Faberge for collectors and Faberge enthusiasts. The tragic story of the last of the Romanovs is in Massie, Nicholas and Alexandra, 1967.

Additional published sources about Faberge eggs are in Lowes and McCanless. Faberge Eggs: A Retrospective Encyclopedia, 2001. http://www.scarecrowpress.com/

Journal citations, not included in this selected bibliography, are in Faberge and His
Works: An Annotated Bibliography of the First Century of His Art by Christel L. McCanless, 1994. http://www.scarecrowpress.com/

Two recommended web sites to determine availability of these publications are: http://www.amazon.com/ and http://www.abebooks.com/ (consortium of out-of- print book dealers).

Peter Carl Faberge and His Story

1930-1950

Hammer, Armand. Quest of the Romanoff Treasure, 1932.
Author describes his travels in the Soviet Union in the early 1920s and the subsequent export of the Romanoff treasures. Faberge objects acquired during this time were for sale and exhibited in the late 1930s at the Hammer Galleries in New York City, and in department stores in various cities in the United States.

Bainbridge, Henry Charles. Twice Seven, 1933.
Author, as the manager of the London Faberge shop, provides first hand knowledge in a few chapters about Peter Carl Faberge, jeweler to the Russian Imperial Tsars: Alexander III (1845-1894) and his wife, Marie Fedorovna, and Nicholas II (1868-1918) and his wife, Alexandra Fedorovna.

Exhibition of Russian Art at 1 Belgrave Square, London, 1935.
First exhibition of at least eight Faberge eggs and other objects in the house of Madame Koch de Gooreynd in London to aid the Imperial Russian Red Cross.

Bainbridge, Henry Charles. Peter Carl Faberge: Goldsmith and Jeweller to the Russian Imperial Court and the Principal Crowned Heads of Europe, 1949.
First monograph with black/white and color illustrations, which brought the art of Faberge to the attention of the western world.

Wartski, London. Faberge: A Loan Exhibition of the Works of Carl Faberge, Jeweller and Goldsmith to the Imperial Court of Russia (1846-1920), and

A La Vieille Russie, New York. An Exhibition of His Works: Peter Carl Faberge, Goldsmith and Jeweller to the Russian Imperial Court and to the Principal Crowned Heads of Europe, 1949.
Exhibitions held in London and New York City consecutively to coincide with the publication of Mr. Bainbridge's 1949 monograph.


1951-1960

Ross, Marvin C. Faberge: Illustrated with Objects from the Walters Art Gallery, 1952.
Booklet illustrating the Faberge collection acquired by art collector Henry Walters in the Faberge shop in St. Petersburg in 1900, and later willed to the Walters Art Gallery in Baltimore (MD).

Snowman, A. Kenneth. The Art of Carl Faberge, 1953.
Author, chairman of the British jewelry dealer Wartski, arranged the first Faberge loan exhibition in 1949, and in this book details the history of the firm and provides technical descriptions of the objets de vertu. Later revised editions were published in 1962 and in 1964 with new information.

Wartski, London. Special Coronation Exhibition of the Work of Carl Faberge, Including Selected Items from the Royal Collection at Sandringham, 1953.

Catalog for the first exhibition of 365 Faberge objects from the collection of Queen Elizabeth II as well as Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother and other sources, planned to coincide with the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in June 1953.

Lesley, Parker. Handbook of the Lillian Thomas Pratt Collection: Russian Imperial Jewels, 1960. Catalog raisonnй of the Faberge collection acquired between 1933-1946 by Mrs. Pratt, wife of a General Motors executive of Fredericksburg (VA). It was willed to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond in 1947 and opened to the public in 1954. Contains black and white illustrations.

1961-1980

A La Vieille Russie, New York. The Art of Peter Carl Faberge: A Loan Exhibition for the Benefit of the Scholarship Fund of the Manhattan School of Music, 1961.
Second major American exhibition held on the premises of long-time Faberge dealer, A La Vieille Russie, in New York City.

Ross, Marvin C. Art of Karl Faberge and His Contemporaries, 1965.
Monograph with an introduction by Marjorie Merriweather Post, heiress to the Post cereal fortune, describes Mrs. Post's Russian decorative arts collection including Faberge. In 1977 this collection became part of Hillwood Museum, her former residence, in Washington (DC). Mrs. Post acquired her first Faberge object in 1927 and more objects were added in the 1930s.

 Hawley, Henry. Faberge and His Contemporaries: The India Early Minshall Collection of The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1967.

Catalog raisonnй for a Faberge collection acquired by one of the four women collectors in the United States in the 1930-40s and later willed to museums. The other collections are in New Orleans (LA), Richmond (VA), and Washington (DC).

Snowman, A. Kenneth. Carl Faberge, Goldsmith to the Imperial Court of Russia, 1979.
Based on information found in two earlier books (Bainbridge, 1949, and Snowman, 1953) the author was able to add to this text color photographs of the Royal Collections of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, and other member of the British Royal family. New color illustrations of the Moscow Kremlin Faberge collection are also included.

von Habsburg, Gйza, and Alexander von Solodkoff. Faberge, Court Jeweler to the Tsars, 1979.
The authors affiliated with Christie's, a leading auction house dealing in Faberge, detail the styles and techniques used by Faberge, his rivals, and imitators. Included are a list of 40 work masters and their marks, a photographic catalog of the Easter eggs, rare sketches from the Faberge archives, and pages from the newly discovered sales ledgers from the London Faberge branch.

Forbes, Christopher, and Armand Hammer. Faberge Eggs: Imperial Russian Fantasies, 1980. Poster-size book illustrating miniature as well as full-size Faberge eggs in The Forbes Magazine Collection in New York City.

Tillander-Godenhielm, Ulla, et al. Carl Faberge and His Contemporaries, 1980.
Catalog for an exhibition held at The Museum of Applied Arts, Helsinki, Finland. Text includes personal and historical notes on Faberge's Finnish work masters and designers, a history of the firm of Tillander and other Finnish goldsmiths in St. Petersburg during two centuries. Text is in English, Finnish and Swedish.

1981-1990

A. Kenneth Snowman. Faberge: Jeweler to Royalty, 1983.

Over two hundred pieces of Faberge from the Collection of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and other British Lenders was shown at the Cooper-Hewitt Museum in New York City. The companion exhibition at the A La Viellie Russie of over 560 pieces was extended for a month. The catalog for it is Faberge, A Loan Exhibition for the Benefit of the Copper-Hewitt Museum, 1983.

von Solodkoff, Alexander, et al. Masterpieces from the House of Faberge, 1984.
Edited by Christopher Forbes, this catalog raisonnй of The Forbes Magazine Collection in New York City contains essays describing new discoveries by several Faberge scholars and is published to coincide with the opening of the permanent installation of the largest Faberge collection in the United States.

von Habsburg, Gйza, et al. Faberge, Hofjuwelier der Zaren (English title: Faberge), 1986.
Monograph for 664 objects in the 1986-87 Kunsthalle der Hypo-Kulturstiftung exhibition in Munich, Germany. Contributed essays, extensive color illustrations and chapters on work masters, marks, competitors and faux-Faberge. Text is in German; an English edition was published in 1987.

Brezzo, Steven L., et al. Faberge: The Imperial Eggs, 1989.
Catalog for the San Diego (CA) exhibition of 27 Faberge Easter eggs - the largest reunion of eggs since the confiscation of the Imperial family's property in 1917. Included are comments on the eggs on loan from the Moscow Kremlin, The Forbes Magazine Collection and other museum and private collections, an illustrated catalog of all known eggs, and a chronology of the House of Faberge. Russian language text (Faberge Easter Eggs: Souvenirs Made for the Russian Imperial Family) was published when most of the exhibition was shown in the Moscow Kremlin in early 1990.

Hill, Gerard, et al. Faberge and the Russian Master Goldsmiths, 1989.
Poster-size color illustrations of nearly 300 objects including Faberge, a collaborative effort between curators in the Soviet Union and the United States.

 The Great Faberge: The Art of the Jewellers of the Court Firm, 1990.

Catalog of the first ever Faberge exhibition held in the Soviet Union and co-organized by A. Tillander, whose firm was a contemporary of Faberge. Ten Russian museums from Moscow and Leningrad, A La Viellie Russie of New York City, and a number of private collectors in Finland were invited to exhibit at the Elagin Palace in Leningrad in 1989. This catalog in Russian and English inspired by the exhibition was published the following year.
 
1991-1995

Keefe, John Webster. Masterpieces of Faberge: The Matilda Geddings Gray Foundation Collection, 1993.

Revised edition of the 1972 catalog raisonnй by Fagaly and Grady with color illustrations of the Faberge collection on permanent loan to the New Orleans (LA) Museum of Art.

von Habsburg, Gйza, and Marina Lopato. Faberge: Imperial Jeweler, 1993.

Monograph to accompany exhibition sponsored by the Faberge Arts Foundation, Washington (DC), and the State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia. The exhibition of 369 objects, photographs, and drawings traveled during 1993-94 from the State Hermitage Museum to the Musйe des Arts Dйcoratifs, Paris, and then to the Victoria & Albert Museum, London. Separate Russian, French, and English editions of the catalog were published.

McCanless, Christel Ludewig. Faberge and His Works: An Annotated Bibliography of the First Century of His Art, 1994.
Art history reference book of 1772 comprehensive journal citations arranged chronologically with annotations in English. Foreign language titles are translated.

von Habsburg, Gйza. Carl Faberge, 1994.
Biography of Faberge for ages seven and up, which is a part of the First Impressions: Introductions to Art series.

Curry, David Park. Faberge: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 1995.
Catalog raisonnй for the Pratt Collection in Richmond (VA). It also served as the exhibition catalog for the Pratt Collection, which traveled as part of 1996 Faberge in America venue beginning at the Metropolitan Museum in New York City and touring four other cities in the United States.

von Habsburg, Gйza. Faberge: Fantasies & Treasures, 1995.
Introduction to the House of Faberge and its production, illustrated with selected works from the 1996 Faberge in America exhibition organized by the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. This exhibition toured five major American cities in 1996-97.

1996-2000

Odom, Anne. Faberge at Hillwood, 1996.
First publication in the Hillwood Collection Series featuring the extensive Russian and French decorative art collections of the late Marjorie Merriweather Post at Hillwood Museum, her former residence in Washington (DC).

von Habsburg, Gйza, et al. Faberge in America, 1996.
Monograph to accompany a traveling exhibition (New York City, San Francisco, Richmond, VA, New Orleans, LA, and Cleveland, OH) in 1996-97. The exhibition and the catalog begin with the history of the House of Faberge in Russia and the legacy of the Tsars, is followed by the histories of five major American collectors: Matilda Geddings Gray, India Early Minshall, Lillian Thomas Pratt, Marjorie Merriweather Post, and Malcolm S. Forbes. Contains extensive appendices.

Faberge, Tatiana, et al. The Faberge Imperial Easter Eggs, 1997.
Letters written by Tsars Alexander III and Nicholas II, Faberge invoices, cabinet documents and Bolshevik inventories are the basis for new research by Valentin V. Skurlov of St. Petersburg. This information sheds new light on the history of the Faberge eggs.

 Welander—Berggren, Elsebeth, et al. Carl Faberge, Goldsmith to the Tsar, 1997.

Exhibition catalog to accompany a venue at the Nationalmuseum in Stockholm, Sweden, to explore the close relationship between Russia and the Scandinavian countries as it relates to Faberge.

Traina, John, et al. The Faberge Case: From the Private Collection of John Traina, 1998.

Catalog raisonnй with color illustrations and extensive commentaries for the collection of cigarette cases and related accessories of John Traina from California.

Forbes, Christopher, and Robyn Tromeur-Brenner. Faberge: The Forbes Collection, 1999. Catalog raisonnй of the extensive collection begun by Malcolm S. Forbes in 1960. One hundred and twenty pieces are accompanied by detailed essays on their significance, history, and the artisans who created them. Objects are illustrated in color and 26 of them are tip-ins in this poster-size book printed on elegant paper.

Tillander-Godenhielm, Ulla, et al. Golden Years of Faberge: Drawings and Objects from the Wigstrцm Workshop, 2000.
Documentation of Faberge techniques was scarce until the recent discovery of an album with more than 1,000 drawings from the workshop of Henrik Wigstrцm, Faberge's chief work master from 1903-1917. Objects, which have been identified, are reproduced next to the original drawings. Monograph published in a slipcase accompanied an exhibition at A La Vieille Russie in New York City of over 100 finished objects including loans from the Royal Collection of Thailand.

von Habsburg, Gйza, et al. Faberge: Imperial Craftsman and His World, 2000.
Monograph published to accompany an exhibition in Wilmington (DE) of over 1,000 treasures of Faberge and his work masters, Faberge's Russian competitors (Bolin and Tillander), and foreign contemporaries (Tiffany, Cartier, Boucheron and Lalique). Nine major Faberge work masters and their work are featured. Faberge: Imperial Craftsman and His World: Exhibition Album by Robert Steven Bianchi was also published.

2001-present

Lowes, Will, and Christel Ludewig McCanless. Faberge Eggs: A Retrospective Encyclopedia, 2001.

Monograph gives comprehensive information about 66 Faberge eggs divided into four categories - Tsar Imperial, Imperial, Kelch and Other. Technical descriptions, all known public exhibitions and auctions through 1997, and reference citations (books, journals, newspapers, and miscellaneous sources) covering the literature of nine countries are given for each egg. Who's Who in the House of Faberge profiles 500 artisans and companies who worked for or with Faberge.

 Munn, Geoffrey C. Tiaras: A History of Splendour, 2001.

Scholarly text with 400 illustrations includes chapters on tiaras as crown jewels, Russian style tiaras, and tiaras as works of art. The relationship between the tiara and the costume ball is explored and Faberge tiaras are discussed. The monograph accompanied an exhibition at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London.

 Krog, Ole Villumsen, et al.  Treasures of Russia – Imperial Gifts, 2002.

Catalog in Danish, English, and Russian to accompany an exhibition by the same name in which the connection between the Danish Royal Family and the Russian Imperial family as well as the House of Romanov and the House of Faberge are explored in depth.

 Johnston, William R, et al. The Faberge Menagerie, 2003.

Catalog for an exhibition organized by the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore (MD) in cooperation with the Faberge Arts Foundation, Washington (DC). Faberge animals are studied in detail.

 de Guitaut, Caroline. Faberge in the Royal Collection, 2003.

Catalog raisonnй of the British Royal Collection of Faberge, which is one of the largest and most varied collections in existence, and is shown in Edinburgh, Scotland and London during 2003-2004. The British, Danish, and Russian royal families had close personal ties and often exchanged Faberge gifts before the Russian Revolution in 1918.