Pearls: A Natural History |  | Authors: Neil H. Landman, Paula Mikkelsen
Publisher: Harry N. Abrams
Category: Book
List Price: $55.00
Buy Used: $8.39
as of 7/29/2010 04:06 CDT details
You Save: $46.61 (85%)
New (6) Used (20) from $8.39
Seller: owlsbooks
Rating:  5 reviews
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1
Pages: 232
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 3.2
Dimensions (in): 11.3 x 9.3 x 1
ISBN: 0810944952
Dewey Decimal Number: 639.412
EAN: 9780810944954
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com Review
From Leonardo da Vinci's recipe for imitation pearls to the derring-do of deep-sea pearl divers, Pearls: A Natural History delves into virtually every aspect of the gemstones that have been prized since ancient times for their luster and purity. The fascination of this book--which accompanies an exhibition at the American Museum of Natural History in New York through April 14, 2002--is the way it effortlessly combines scientific, historical, cultural, and practical information. Key topics include different species of marine and freshwater mollusks, the history of perliculture and ecological issues affecting pearl production. The more than 200 photographs include reproductions of spectacular objects ranging from a 16th-century Russian icon of the Madonna and child encrusted in freshwater pearls to an early-20th-century brooch in which lozenge-shaped Mississippi River pearls create the opulent blossoms of a diamond-stemmed flower. Solid information, intriguing trivia, and inviting design give this book a broad appeal. --Cathy Curtis
Product Description
A book with the luster and allure of its subject, Pearls is the most spectacular volume ever produced on this prized gem. Blending history, science, and the jeweler's art to celebrate these natural treasures-as in Abrams' hugely successful Amber-this lavishly illustrated volume, shimmering with new color photography and archival images, traces the natural and cultural history of pearls around the world. Published to accompany an exhibition organized by the American Museum of Natural History in New York and the Field Museum in Chicago, Pearls begins with the earliest pearl artifacts found in Mesopotamia and discusses how pearls are formed, in nature and by humans, the ways different cultures have used pearls in literature, paintings, religious objects, and sculptures, and, of course, pearls as personal adornment.
225 illustrations, 150 in full color, 232 pages, 9 x 11"
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| Customer Reviews:
 Pearls before swine... February 8, 2002
sue pitkin (Chicago, IL)
19 out of 19 found this review helpful
This truly is a history book, written in a very accessable style with lots of great photos and illustrations. If there's anything else to know about pearls then I suspect it might just about fill up the back of a postage stamp with room to spare. A great resource for amateurs and professionals alike; I thoroughly enjoyed it and it's well worth the money.
contains everything you could want to know March 22, 2002
Victoria Welch (Oxford University, England)
15 out of 15 found this review helpful
This is an excellent, well illustrated book with everything you could want to know about pearls - how they occur naturally, the biology of this, how they are induced artificially ( cultured pearls), how they are faked, the optics of their appearance and how they have shaped history and , of course, pearl jewellery.The hard bits are explained without jargon, in intelligeable words but without losing detail.
Most thorough history of pearls book written in a century June 4, 2009
Elizabeth Norris (Roswell, GA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This well written book explores society's interest in pearls, from their prehistoric use to the recent environmental impact on pearl producing invertebrates. Six of the eight chapters of the book are devoted to a thorough survey of how pearls are utilized by humans throughout history. The authors provide both primary and tertiary sources, including discussion of pearls documented by contemporary observers as far back as Cleopatra's time. Later chapters devoted to the science of pearl growth are written in a style accessible to the layman enthusiast. This is a book that can be mined for its scholarly information, but its popular interest to those who enjoy pearls for their decorative use should not be ignored. Illustrations include extant artifacts, artwork from throughout history, maps describing pearl growth and trade locations, and comparisons of the different pearl producing species. Taken as a whole, Pearls: A Natural History gives us the first definitive book on the history and science of pearls since The Book of the Pearl, by George Frederick Kunz, published in 1906.
Pearls: A Natural History July 19, 2006
Gloria Scherer
A beautiful book with great information and many gorgeous pictures. The history and pearl formation information was very helpful.
 Most excellent information, but... May 26, 2003
Carolle (Los Angeles, California)
8 out of 12 found this review helpful
This book is quite thorough, as mentioned in the other reviews. The "but" is major, though.... The type font is VERY DIFFICULT on the eyes. I absolutely love pearls, drool over them, even. I gobble up any information on them. If the GIA offers a specialization in them, I will get it. But the lines in this font are so thin, and the size is so tight and small, I haven't been able to finish a fourth of the book, and I've had it over a year!Every time I try to read it, I have to put it down after only a few pages. By the way, my vision is great, corrected to better than 20/20. Perhaps my copy (bought at the Metropolitan Museum of Art store) was printed when the ink source was running low...
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