corundum, introduction.0, history.1, gems

Sinkankas: This beautiful example of modern book design, executed in high-quality materials, is prized not only for the enormous amount of reliable information that it contains, indeed still unmatched in any work since, but also for the large number of high-quality illustrations in color and in black-and-white. The lavish use of gilding on the binding imparts a particularly opulent appearance. The text covers the entire span of ancient to modern knowledge of the pearl, its host, formation, the natural history of the several shellfish, salt- and fresh-water, methods of fishing, preparation of pearls, marketing, fashion, lore, and many other topics directly or indirectly related to the central theme. Scarcely any aspect is neglected in this truly monumental work, which remains indispensable both for the student interested in the strictly scientific aspects and the one interested in the sociological/cultural aspects. There is a very large bibliography, with all important works in any language brought together to form a still useful place for the commencement of a literature search on pearl. While well-made, and consequently somewhat costly for the time, the popularity of the book was instantaneous, and a number of reprintings had to be resorted to satisfy demand. In general, these closely resemble the first issue, but the “pearls” on the cover are omitted, the top edge is not gilt, and the fore and bottom edges are cut but not smoothly. The use of slightly thicker paper caused thickening of the volume, from ca. 5.7 cm to ca. 6.2 cm.