The History of Beads: From 30,000 B.C. to the Present

by Lois Sherr Dubin

Book Overview

Looks at a variety of beads produced around the world, discusses their religious and social aspects, and describes beaded clothing in primitive societies. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0810926172
• ISBN13: 9780810926172
• Release Date: September 1995
• Publisher: Harry N. Abrams
• Length: 136 Pages
• Weight: 1.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 9.0" x 11.8"

Customer Reviews

Incredible Book and a labor of love

This book comes in two versions: a concise version and a huge hardcover version. I own both, but find the unabridged version to be head and shoulders above the paperback "bead history lite" one. This huge tome is a labor of love, and is one of the best books available to learn why every culture devised by man has valued these little objects with holes in them. There are plenty of photos, and the book follows the parallel paths of humans and beads throughout history. It can be startling and amusing to discover that what we consider to be new and exciting has been done many times in the past by people in cultures everywhere. I personally found it facinating to discover that one of the first things that humans do when we discover a new material is to punch a hole in it and wear it as a bead.Intrinsically, beads are mostly worthless, but this book shows how they bind us all together and add to our knowledge of the people share our planet, both now and in the past. A must read for the serious bead artist.

This is a correction of an erroneous review--

I hope this edit supercedes my previous review as the author was correct and I feel like an idiot for not doing my own research correctly and voicing criticism very inappropriately. The book is, as described by previous reviewers, quite gorgeous, and, along with Robert Liu's book, one of the few available serious efforts at a comprehensive history.

A Feast for Eye and Mind

Lois Sherr Dubin's 32,000 year history of beads book appeals to both lay person and scholar. Gorgeous color photos and striking black and white photos enhance the reader's imaging delight. The author's all-encompassing focus on the multi-faceted technological achievements of the human imagination in creating beads throughout the millennia is both astounding and inspiring. In addition, the comprehensive time line, table, notes, bibliography, and index make this an invaluable research tool as well as an illuminating work of art. I cannot recommend this book more highly

Visually edible. . . really!

I had often borrowed the hardcover edition of this book through inter-library loans, so I was thrilled to see it available in soft cover. It covers the broad scope of world history from the perspective of beads--from materials and processes used, through their purposes and uses. A valuable addition to any collection.

A "must" for serious bead people

This book carefully traces the travels and roles of beads throughout human history. It is organized mainly by geography, but it also has chapters on special bead types (amber, pearls, eye beads and prayer beads). The photos of historic beads and jewelry are worth the price of admission all by themselves, and can be very inspiring for creative folks. It is also an eye-opening history: I was a history major in college, and I learned A LOT from this book. If you create with beads, Dubin's book will show you what the human race has done before you. If you collect beads, you will learn much about the people and places your prizes may have passed through on the way to your hands.