corundum, Burma.12, Montana.12, USA.12, gems, pearls, diamond

Edwin Streeter was a leading Victorian jeweller of his day who, rising from humble beginnings, masterminded the exploitation of the Burma Ruby Mines and opened up the Pearl Fisheries of Western Australia. Other expeditions, seeking diamonds in South Africa, sapphires in Montana and emeralds in Egypt, were disastrous. After a long, controversial and colourful career, he was to die in genteel poverty in Hampstead in 1923. This edition is extensively revised from the 1993 original.