Dear Patricia, my family had a long and fascinating friendship with
Oscar. He is a legend in the Indian jewelry trade. I met him several
times, I still discover interesting things about Oscar, like the
tools he sold , the mosaics he made in the Santa Domingo style, his
influence on Native American crafts. Oscar was an interesting author
too. I grew up reading and refering to his books. I understood the
simple and elegant silversmithing techniques I was using every day
because of his books and until I started college I didn’t appreciate
them. My families work was used by Oscar as examples in each of his
books as well as picturing the work of the fantastic craftsmen
Daniel Enos and Jimmy Herald who both learned and worked for my
grandfather for most of their careers. Oscar’s books are an
invaluable resource for anyone wanting to learn basic
silversmithing, a real must have for a metalsmith’s library. Thanks
for referencing these books, I was so happy to see Oscar Branson in
the titles of my Orchid mail.
Sam Patania, Tucson
www.patanias.com
