History, Collecting and manufacture of Beads - Bead Jewellery and Beadwork

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  History, Collecting and Manufacture of Beads - Bead Jewellery and Beadwork

PHOENIX RISING Narratives in Nyonya Beadwork from the Straits Settlements

Hwei-Fe'n Cheah

(pb) 384 pages, colour (2010) £47.50 + £6.95 p&p Discount p&p offer! - click here (Code no sp5329)

This is a wonderfully colourful book, packed with photographs of old and collectable beadwork for collectors and scholars alike. It is an exciting and original contribution to the diversity of SE Asian art, whose decorative textiles are one of its greatest assets, but relatively little has been published on the brilliant beadwork of the Peranakan Chinese communities of Singapore and Malaysia. This is a fascinating book based on recent research, and Hwei-Fe'n brings to life the beadwork designs, materials and textile forms and the Nyonya women of the Straits Settlements. A visual feast, this book is very richly illustrated with superb and rare examples from great international and local public and private collections.

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  History, Collecting and Manufacture of Beads - Bead Jewellery and Beadwork

ZULU INSPIRED BEADWORK

By Diane Fitzgerald

(paperback) 128 pages, colour (2007) £17.95 + £ £2.50 p&p Discount p&p offer! - click here (Code no sp3901)

Following on from Diane’s very popular self-published booklets Zulu Beaded Chain Techniques and More Zulu Beadwork, this is a major book devoted to the techniques of weaving and stringing used by Zulu women.
In the last decade, there has been a growing worldwide interest in South African beadwork. In Zulu Inspired Beadwork bead master Diane Fitzgerald shares her expertise on Zulu beadwork with 25 stunning projects, celebrating the culture of this indigenous population.
It begins with an introduction to Zulus and their beadwork, an inside look at the importance of beads in this South African culture, and the many beading techniques – some of which have never been published until now – used by Zulu women to create adornment. The author shares several dozen unique beading techniques garnered from years of visiting South Africa and countless hours spent examining and dissecting Zulu beadwork.
Next move into projects inspired by the author’s visits to Africa, including netted diamond earrings, a netted triangle and swag bracelet, zigzag chain, and a Zulu wedding necklace. Techniques include netting, wrapping, fringing, braiding, and weaving. Projects are illustrated with easy-to-follow diagrams and supplemented with helpful hints. Readers will find gorgeous photographs of original Zulu beadwork juxtaposed with the author’s interpretation of the design and techniques. Part how-to, part history, part travelogue, Zulu Inspired Beadwork is a beading journey in a book.

  Beadwork - Bead Crochet (MORE in this category)
  History, Collecting and Manufacture of Beads - Bead Jewellery and Beadwork

BEAD CROCHET SNAKES. History & Technique

By Adele Recklies

(paperback) 112 pages, colour (2005) £16.95 + £ 2.00 p&p Discount p&p offer! - click here (Code no sp3803)

This long-awaited book is a goldmine of information for beadworkers, scholars and antique collectors alike! It is the only book in print to offer an illustrated history of bead crochet snakes and the rich tradition of bead crochet as practised in Turkey and other parts of the Ottoman Empire, explaining how they were made and the fascinating story of snakes made by Turkish prisoners of war during WWI, and how to tell these from others made later. There is an extensive gallery of old, collectable items and also five new patterns for beadworkers who want to make their own bead crocheted snakes. Patterns include two necklaces and three bracelets. The projects also teach an alternative stringing method, bead single crochet stitch, increasing and decreasing beads, crocheting on two sides of a foundation chain and two methods of fastening on new thread. .

 Beads and Jewellery - Bead Jewellery (MORE in this category)
 History, Collecting and Manufacture of Beads - Bead Jewellery and Beadwork

The BEAD SELECTORS BIBLE

By Elise Mann

(hardback) 254 pages, colour (2005) £15.99 + £3.95 p&p Discount p&p offer! - click here (Code no sp3618)

The complete guide to choosing and using more than 600 beautiful types of beads from cut glass teardrops to wooden spheres and ceramic cubes! This book is intended to help you choose beads that are easily available in shops and by mail order, and gives you lots of information about them, and ideas what to use them for and what to use with them. A few designer handmade beads are also included - these are usually found at specialist suppliers' fairs or can be bought directly from the beadmaking artist. The beads are arranged into chapters by material and within the chapters by shape, Materials include glass, crystal, semi-precious stones, precious metals, base metals, clay, plastic, wood, other natural materials, other materials and findings. An extremely useful feature is a fold-out flap at the back of the book which has a key to the symbols used throughout the book so can be seen in conjunction with all the pages as they are consulted.

 History, Collecting and Manufacture of Beads - Bead Jewellery and Beadwork

NEEDLEWORK AND EMBROIDERY TOOLS

By Eleanor Johnson

(paperback) 40 pages, colour (2004) £4.50 + £1.25 p&p Discount p&p offer! - click here (Code no sp3633)

An informative and colourful book about all kinds of antique needlework and embroidery tools for the researcher and collector. Many of the tools are decorated with beads, including pincushions, pinwheels and emery cushions, needlecases, needlebooks, containers for beadworking, egg-shaped thimble holders etc, and examples are included in the text and photos.

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 History, Collecting and Manufacture of Beads - Bead Jewellery and Beadwork

THE ART OF BEADWORK

by Valerie Hector

(paperback) 160 pages, colour photos and b/w diags. (2005) £19.95 + £4.25 p&p Discount p&p offer! - click here (Code no sp3401)

A long-awaited and well-researched book, this is a must for all beadworkers to have on their shelves as a guide, a reference and an inspiration.
The Art of Beadwork brings together the past and the present of this ancient, fascinating medium, showing dozens of images of historical masterpieces from Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Americas.  In addition, the book also shows how contemporary American and European beadwork artists such as JoAnn Baumann, Flora Book, David Chatt, Valerie Hector, Mary Kanda, Jaqueline Lillie, NanC Meinhardt, Karen Paust, Don Pierce, Madelyn Ricks, Laura Shea, Joyce Scott, and others have responded to these pieces in their own work. Diagrams of the favourite techniques of these artists are included, as are instructions for reproducing some of
their innovative designs. 175 Diagrams and 160 sumptuous colour photographs

Excerpt from Lois Sherr Dubin'S foreword to the book:
"Valerie Hector is a gifted scholar and immensely talented artisan whose work I have long admired and always worn with pride.  Her respect for the historical traditions of beadwork has brilliantly informed her contemporary creations, pushing this art form to yet another level of excellence. 
Now, she has generously revealed the secrets of the craft, in this illuminating cross-cultural overview that synthesizes scholarship and 'how-to' projects."

 History, Collecting and Manufacture of Beads - Bead Jewellery and Beadwork
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500 BEADED OBJECTS New Dimensions in Contemporary Beadwork

Introduction by Carol Wilcox Wells

(paperback) 420 pages, colour photos. (2004) £16.95 + £5.95 p&p Discount p&p offer! - click here (Code no sp3304)

A very substantial, heavy book crammed with page after page of luscious colour photos of many beaded and beadworked objects made by different contemporarybeadworkers, described as “a showcase of gallery-quality works”.
Use this book to examine magnificent pieces of beaded art including jewellery, sculpture, wall hangings and many other objecs from the top names in the field today, as well as works from emerging artists. See also 1000 Glass Beads from the same publisher.

 History, Collecting and Manufacture of Beads - Bead Jewellery and Beadwork

THE GLORIOUS EPOCH OF BEADS IN RUSSIA

by Elena Yurova

(hardback) 168 pages, colour photos throughout (2003) £39.95 + £6.75 p&p Discount p&p offer! - click here

This is a magnificent book!! It is heavy and glossy and packed full of sumptuous colour photographs of antique beaded items dating from mainly the late 18th to late 19th centuries. As it is part of a Russian book series entitled 'Private Collections', this volume with complete english text features museum-quality pieces from not only the author's vast collection of antique beadwork, but also from eleven other private collections.
The sections in the book deal with bead manufacturing processes, beadwork techniques, beadwork handbooks and patterns, types of beadwork (embroidery, crochet, knitting, threading, loom beading, mosaic on beeswax and sablé work), beadwork subjects, accessories and home furnishings, needleworkers, beading as a pastime, and beadwork of the late 19th and 20th centuries. The text is well-researched and informative and is backed up by a substantial bibliography (only some entries of which are in English)

 History, Collecting and Manufacture of Beads - Bead Jewellery and Beadwork
Ethnic Beadwork (MORE in this category)

A WARRIOR I HAVE BEEN

by Richard Green

(paperback) 208 pages, colour photos throughout (2004) £20.50 + £4.25 p&p Discount p&p offer! - click here

This is a magnificent book full of colour photographs of antique Plains Indian beadwork. As a permanent visual and textual record this reference volume will be useful for the collector, scholar, researcher and beadworker alike, but it is far more than this. It is a book which allows the author's lifetime work in studying and collecting the material culture of Plains Indian tribal groups to be shared with the reader. The artifacts are magnificent - sometimes simple, often complex, using evocative, beautiful and intricate beaded patterns to decorate weapons, clothing, special regalia, everyday items and even items for sale.
Richard has been working to achieve a major exhibition of Plains tribal material for several years and finally the exhibition A Warrior I Have Been is running at the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery from 17 July to 3 October 2004 as a culmination of this endeavour.
The book has two parts - firstly five fully-illustrated authoratative and empathic essays on themes relating both to the transition and change evident in Plains Indian cultures in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and the interesting theme of stereotypes of Plains Indians. The second part catalogues 150+ objects from Richard's Collection - the material which forms the major part of the exhibition. It is the first published book on a British private collection of this kind and will undoubtedly remain a standard reference volume for years to come.

(Trade discounts available -- please enquire)

 History, Collecting and Manufacture of Beads - Bead Jewellery and Beadwork

LADIES' DRESS ACCESSORIES

by Eleanor Johnson

(paperback) 56 pages, colour & b/w photos (2004) £5.99 + £1.25 p&p Discount p&p offer! - click here

Through the ages men and women have used their costume to display status and wealth and also to enhance physical attractions. This additional function of dress was accompanied by a wide variety of complementary accessories. In the 19th and into the 20th century, dress accessories proliferated and take many forms. This book has amazing collections of jewellery, perfume bottles, buttons, buckles, buttonhooks, hat pins, gloves, handbags, purses, fans, parasols and many other attractive items, with later additions of make-up and smoking accessories.
Beads are included in many sections including both jewellery and other items such as girdles, hat pins, purses and handbags.

  History, Collecting and Manufacture of Beads - Bead Jewellery and Beadwork

BEADWORK (2nd Edition)

by Pamela Clabburn

(paperback) 40 pages, colour and b&w photos throughout (2001) £4.50 + £1.25 Discount p&p offer! - click here

An excellent value second edition of this old classic which features many new colour photographs of pieces of antique (and some contemporary) beadwork. The new images and increased page count make this book completely different to the 1st edition, and they compliment each other. Keen collectors of books on historical beadwork should have a copy of this book for the photographs alone!

History, Collecting and Manufacture of Beads - Bead Jewellery and Beadwork
 Beadwork - Bags and Amulet Purses (MORE in this category)

BEADED BAGS & MORE

(ed) by J & K Kliot

(paperback) 112 pages, b&w photos & diags (1998) £13.95 + £2.50 p&p Discount p&p offer! - click here

Facsimile edition of popular beadwork instruction books from the 1920's and one from c.1890. Knitted and crocheted beaded bags & a few lampshade patterns. (Trade discounts available -- please enquire)

History, Collecting and Manufacture of Beads - Bead Jewellery and Beadwork

THE BEAD EMBROIDERED DRESS

by Joan Edwards

(paperback) 28 pages, 42 illustrations/photos (1985) £2.95 + £1.25 p&p Discount p&p offer! - click here

Bead embroidery on costume: has good information on 'sweated' industries and tambour beading.