- The first book to be dedicated to the British branch of Fabergé,
covering its fascinating history from its opening in 1903, to its
closure in 1917Royalty, Aristocrats, American heiresses, exiled Russian
Grand Dukes, Randlords, Maharajas, Socialites and Financiers with newly
made fortunes flocked to Fabergé in London to buy gifts for each other.
The Imperial Russian Goldsmith's London branch was the only one outside
of Russia and its jeweled and enameled contents were as popular there as
they were in St. Petersburg or Moscow.Using previously unreferenced
sources and a newly discovered archive of papers relating to Fabergé in
London, Kieran McCarthy studies the branch's structure, customers and
exclusive stock. The book will be of interest to enthusiasts of the
decorative arts, the social history of the Edwardian Golden Age and
especially of European Royalty. Fabergé's works were and continue to be
intimately associated with the British Royal Family. For Violet
Trefusis, daughter of King Edward VII's mistress Mrs. Keppel and lover
of Vita Sackville-West, a Fabergé cigarette case was the emblem of
Royalty, as symbolical as the 'bookies' cigar', or the 'ostler's straw'.