English Silver Before the Civil War

English Silver Before the Civil War is Timothy Schroder's account of English domestic and church silver from a little before the Tudor age (1485–1603) to the threshold of the Civil War (1642–51).

Focusing on a private collection formed over the last thirty years, the book also "provides a general introduction to the silver trade and to dining customs of the period."

Author
Timothy Schroder is an English art historian, born in 1953. After graduating from Christ Church, Oxford and a year at the Victoria and Albert Museum, he joined Christie's as a silver specialist. In 1985 he became Curator of Decorative Arts at LACMA. After returning to London, he was Curator of the Gilbert Collection at Somerset House, Prime Warden of the Goldsmith's Company, and a dealer and consultant. His other books include A Marvel to Behold: Gold and Silver at the Court of Henry VIII (Woodbridge: Boydell, 2020), The National Trust Book of English Domestic Silver, 1500-1900 (Penguin/Viking, 1988), and catalogues of silver collections including that of the Ashmolean Museum.

Critical reception
Writing in The Art Newspaper, Tessa Murdoch praised the book's "accessible text, exemplary silver photography, elegant design and careful editing". Her remarks were reinforced by Kirstin Kennedy in her review in The Burlington Magazine: "Schroder’s clear, thoughtful account . . . marries object-based evidence with visual and documentary sources . . . The arguments of the text are supported by superb photographs . . . a clear layout and a detailed index." In Silver Magazine, Dorothea Burstyn commented favourably on the book's production: "As with all books published by John Adamson, this volume has a very pleasing and elegant layout with gorgeous photography." Philippa Glanville captured the book's quintessence when she wrote in Silver Studies: "From the first glance, the book is a celebration of the period, as well as of specific objects, and this shines through in every aspect."