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"The New Jewelry Art" -- In 1911, Good Housekeeping magazine ran an article by Carol Colbourne on the "new" handwrought jewelry movement, when some regarded such objects (which they referred to as "peasant jewelry") "as a laborious creation of an earlier age, before man had conquered steam and electricity" made only in "…out-of-the-way spots, where progress had not penetrated..."
In the article, Colbourne lauded the precision handwrought revivalist craftsmanship, praised the new popularity of semiprecious stones, and lambasted Art Nouveau makers who "sacrificed practicality to beauty" and "in endeavoring to create something individual and original, have only succeeded in producing the grotesque." She contrasted this with the Arts & Crafts tenet that pieces should be useful as well as beautiful.
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"Artistic designs distinguish pendants and buckle by Mrs. Josephine Hartwell Shaw, of the Boston Arts and Crafts Society."
Colbourne claimed that makers used silver to save money "in case of failure" rather than for its many qualities, but reported accurately on the growing appreciation for hand-made items over those fabricated by machine:
"Originally these hand craftsmen worked largely in silver, as an easier and less expensive medium, in case of failure. Today, the most notable work is being done in gold by workers who have become so efficient that they are fashioning jewelry that is technically as good as can be done, having the additional charm of good design and real artistic feeling. This individual charm and character, which makes the arts and crafts jewelry so appealing, is necessarily lacking in articles turned out in large quantities in factories by people working almost entirely on piece work and doing only a small fraction of the whole article. The lack of this great essential is the primary difference between the handicraft jewelry and that made by machinery."
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"There is an appealing simplicity of design in the pendant and chain executed by the pupils of
Theodore Hanford Pond, a member of the Handicraft Club of Baltimore."
Interestingly, while writing about proper jewelry selection, she notes that "[t]he carefully gowned woman … never makes a caricature of herself with her jewels. She does not think it is necessary to deck herself out like the show case in a jeweler's shop to prove that she possesses a large number of handsome gems." But several of the photos that accompany the article do show a few splashy, almost garish pieces worn by the upper-crust models.
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"…a sea-weed motif necklace by Miss Margaret Rogers, of the Boston Arts and Crafts Society"
The article presented several trends that now appear terribly dated, and contains the quaint passage:
"Those who follow the rules strictly wear only the little finger rings before the noon hour, the simplest form of earrings, and, if a pendant is desired, a small, dainty creation or the, watch hanging from a plain, fine gold or platinum chain. When bracelets are demanded, those simply hammered from gold, or set with semi-precious stones, are permissible."
Still, it is noteworthy for showing the work of such Arts & Crafts master jewelers as Margaret Rogers, Josephine Hartwell Shaw, and [the pupils of] Theodore Hanford Pond.
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