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SEPTEMBER 2008 BOOK REVIEW

Title: Georgian Jewellery 1714-1830
Authors Ginny Redington Dawes with Olivia Collings
Type of Book: Hardcover
Average Price: $85.00 in print, available from other sources for less just look around on-line
In Print
Pages: 191
300 color illustrations most are photos but some archival materials.

Brief Description of Book
Georgian Jewellery 1714-1830 is beautiful! There are hundreds of color photos that hook the reader into the dazzling beauty of ornaments of yesterday. The bulk of the pieces in this book were made during the last 50 years of the Georgian Era.
Georgian Jewellery is composed of six chapters the first three; Dawn, Day and Night group jewelry by what time of day it was intended to be worn. Tidbit: Coral was the only natural material that was considered acceptable for all times of the day and night. The remaining chapters group jewels by their purpose: Love, Death and Eternity.  A note that is the English spelling of jewelry I didn't forget to use spell check.


Quantity of Illustrations: 300 total including original photos and archival images
Comments: Score: 10

Quality of Illustrations: Most illustrations are color photographs by Tom Dawes, the author Ginny Redington Dawes husband. He has a steady hand and a wonderful eye for jewels. Most of the photos are large so there is a lot of detail. Many times there are one or two photos to a page so the pieces look as if they are close to their true size. I see two shortcomings in this book. One, there are only a few photos of the reverse side of the pieces. Since many readers will not have the opportunity to handle Georgian pieces first hand those photos would have been a great aid to help positively identification. The second shortfall is that there are no measurements of the pieces so it is impossible to determine how large or small they are.
There are also a number delightful of archival paintings and etchings that show how the jewelry was originally worn.

Score: 10

Quantity of Information: 10
Is the information thorough? It is hard to say but I sure learned a lot reading Georgian Jewellery.

Score: 10

Values Listed (Prices):No
Score: NA

User Friendly: Yes, includes an index
Is the book easy to read and follow? Yes it is. It is written in a readable style not too chatty and not to dry. I found it very interesting and have referred to it a number of times since I purchased it.  
Score:  10

Average score: 10

Is this book a must have? Yes. If you are interested in jewelry history this is a must have.

Overall comments: Buy it!
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