Although over 3,000 books on Carl Fabergé

and his work have been published, most

authors have been content to repeat the

same things systematically and to give credit

to legends and gross errors. Most of

these books are based on information provided

by Eugène Carlovich Fabergé in the

1930s and its interpretation by H.C.

Bainbridge, the first biographer of Carl

Fabergé, in 1949.

Lack of access to essential archival material

meant that Fabergé scholars were previously

unable to authenticate his work.

Fabergé invoices annotated by the Tsars,

Cabinet documents and Bolshevik inventories

had all been hidden away in Russia

since the Revolution.

Furthermore, another important, valuable

source of information had never been

exploited by any Fabergé specialist:

namely, the Fabergé family papers, which

comprise documents handed down over

four generations. They include rare books,

the ledgers of the London shop, lists of

goods confiscated during the Soviet period

in Saint Petersburg and Moscow and an

interesting photographic collection, such

as images of the amazing silver table service

made by Fabergé Moscow for the gold

magnate, Alexander Kelkh.

For over 10 years, the authors have researched

the previously forbidden Russian

archives and studied additional unpublished

material to put together this remarkable

book, supported by a wealth of

documentary evidence, much of which has

never been published. This is the first complete,

definitive compilation of the fascinating

history of the House of Fabergé.