jade, jadeite, fei cui, nephrite, Burma, China, Taiwan, Wyoming, Mesoamerica, Russia, bibliography, etc., gems

For those who aspire to collect books, a good bibliography is to the collector as a good map is to an explorer. Without it, one can easily become lost. Fortunately, jade book collectors have access to several first-class bibliographies. Top of the list is that of Gerald Born (1982), who produced this solid work. Bibliography is tedious work, and we are blessed by Born’s attention to detail. Sinkankas: Foreword by Joan Hartmann-Goldsmith, “destined to become the standard reference.” Bibliography “limited to material available in English” and covering “a period from about 1880 … until 1981.” There is a very useful essay on the development of jade literature in two parts, the first on Chinese sources and the second on English sources, each with references cited. The bibliography is arranged alphabetically by author for the most part, providing physical descriptions and content analyses with comments, which may range from a line or two to a full page or more. By far the largest number of entries are journal articles. Where known, library and collection holdings are indicated. Up to that time, the best available bibliography on jade. Commonly, enough detail is provided to enable a researcher to dispense with actual examination of the reference.