Fred Harvey era silver jewelry has a charm of its own

Posted by jfab67 on February 3rd, 2016

A lot of mystery still surrounds Native American way of life. The ways of life including art, culture, artifacts made during those days and much more has been showcased in the Fred Harvey era. It would be very wrong to limit the phrase only to Native American jewelry. It is broadly used to describe Native American style jewelry, tourist jewelry or rail road jewelry. Fred Harvey was closely associated with opening up of American rail road lines and for making them more hospitable to people. The authenticity of jewelry from those early days can be established by Native American artists signatures found on each individual piece.

The association of Fred Harvey with American jewelry originates from the fact that trade in native jewelry and artifact was mainly centered on his business establishments. The term Fred Harvey era describes the typical Native American silver jewelry. The early tourists were the main target customers for these sterling silver jewelry handcrafted by the Native Americans. Fred Harvey set up restaurants to promote tourism in the American West. Customers visiting the restaurants were urged to buy the typical silver jewelry with bright turquoise inlay work or studded. Collectors of these pieces know that the Native American artists signatures were often created by the Natives just as painters sign their creation.

You will find exhaustive lists of Native American artists signatures in the Internet as a guide. It is a directory of Native American signatures or hallmarks. The tradition of using letters of the alphabet started when these jewelry pieces became widely available and popular as well. The craftsmen mostly used the initials of their names to stamp each piece of jewelry created by them. Fred Harvey era jewelry was made more popular by the efforts of a man called Herman Schweizer, whose foresight allowed the trade to flourish. He toured the dwellings of American tribes to collect beautiful examples of handcrafted silver jewelry.

Each and every sample carried Native American artists signatures as a stamp of authenticity or hallmark. Each tribe often used a special symbol to mark the jewelry created by them as alphabets soon became confusing. Those from the Hopi tribe used a unique symbol, while Zuni tribe used a mark with soldering pen. Typical Navajo marks are also used as hallmarks on Native American jewelry. Herman Schweizer operated one Harvey House or restaurant and the success of associating and selling Native American jewelry from the same premises led to the establishment of Fred Harvey era jewelry.

Typical Native American jewelry is marked by traditional designs with elaborate use of gemstones. They were also marked by their heavyweight and bulky look. But as preference for simpler jewelry evolved, lightweight Fred Harvey era jewelry was fashioned from commercial grade silver. This was the most obvious choice which helped in production of jewelry and artifacts ideal for tourists who often look for mementos. The advent of using Native American artists signatures as hallmark on jewelry began when buyers took interest to know the tribe as well as the craftsman’s name. If interested in antique jewelry, Native American trinkets would surely find their way into your treasure trove.

It will be judicious on your part to check the Native American artists signatures directory for reference when you buy tribal jewelry. You can buy beautiful Fred Harvey era silver jewelry online.