Books & Periodicals
The Library contains over 8,000 books relating to gold and silversmithing, jewellery, assaying and hallmarking, precious metals, and the City of London and its guilds. As well as publications looking at the history of jewellery and silver, the collection includes books on contemporary work and technical guides. The Goldsmiths’ Company’s own publications are available to buy from the Library.
Book of the month
Each month we feature a key book available in the Library. This month we're recommending Form Emphasis for Metalsmiths by the highly regarded craftsman Heikki Seppä (Kent, Ohio, Kent State University Press, 1978). This book explores creative approaches to the form of functional objects, and gives advice on techniques, tools, templates and other practical subjects to help metalsmiths create innovative forms. A wealth of diagrams and illustrations helps readers to put the book's ideas into practice.
Periodicals
The Library holds runs of over 40 titles, many starting in the late 1940s. These include craft magazines, British and European trade magazines and auction house sales catalogues. Other general titles on art and antiques are also received.
How do I search these?
All books acquired after 1995 have been entered onto the Library’s catalogue, which also contains details of relevant journal articles. Books and articles are catalogued in detail, including keywords and abstracts, making themes or special subjects easy to find. Older publications are recorded by card index and there is a continuing project to add them to the catalogue.
The catalogue is not available online, so to find a particular book or research a specific subject, please contact the Library and we will search on your behalf. If you are looking for journal titles, our holdings are listed here.