An Exhilarating NEW Read!

The Glory of Beads by Nicole Anderson

   So this book has been in the works for some time now...Nicole has been sharing little bits and bobs here and there....its coming, its coming~ well. IT is finally here and is amazing! I feel absolutely comfortable saying that beads have been a lifelong passion for Nicole, just as they have been for me~ but she has gone light years farther and beyond what I ever could dream of doing, to share her love of them with us all.  I have had great difficulty researching the history of seed beads and how they were made in the 17th century~ I wish wish wish wish this would have been out years ago!  Nicole's book focuses on a particular factory in Venice...hence the title,  'The Glory of Beads, The Rise and Fall of the Societa Veneziana per l'Industria delle Conterie' ....and in the 19th c, but in 17th c was basically the same process, just without the few machines that were being used later.  If you have ever had any question or interest in how glass beads, and in particular, seed beads, were made, you  m.u.s.t.  r.e.a.d.  t.h.i.s.  b.o.o.k!

 It is paperback, 230 GLORIOUS pages including a glossary of terms at the back.  Most photos are in black and white, but there are some in color. And lets talk about these photos..... Not only does Nicole go in depth as to how beads were made, she provides proof in original period photographs taken at the factory. Everyone has seen the early engravings of the 'runners' who draw out the hot glass into long canes....but have you ever actually seen a photograph of the process????(seen above)  I know I hadn't, not until I read this book!

Nicole gives faces to the workers needed for each and every step of the process~ so we can appreciate the hand work actually involved in making everything from seed beads, lampwork beads, beaded fringes used on the elaborate lampshades of the times....there is even an entire chapter devoted to Aldo Bullo, who hand made the needles for stringing the beads~ from pg. 146~

"The term 'hair-thin needles' has an actual mathematical basis. Using a caliper, one strand of hair measures approximately 0.7mm, and the thinnest known needle made by Bullo measured 0.5mm"

 So many of my questions have been answered by this book, and I have learned so much about the SVC that I did not know~ for some reason I thought it went out of business in the 1930's...but not so! The Societa Veneziana per l'Industria delle Conterie did not shut its doors until 1992, after years of valiantly trying to keep up with the changing times & circumstances. Who knew a factory that could produce such gorgeous little beads, also produced glass pellets for encapsulating nuclear waste? 

 On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the best, I give Nicole's passionate book, The Glory of Beads, at least a 20 on the must read & own scale. 

If you would like to order a copy you can send Nicole a message on facebook here , or email her at  thegloryofbeads@gmail.com.  Books are 65.00 each, plus shipping, and worth every penny