Glass Beads: The Levin Catalogue of Mid-19th Century Beads, a Sample Book of 19th Century Venetian Beads, Guide to the Description and Classification of Glass Beads

Janet Arnett is the former campus manager of adult education at Ontario’s Georgian College. She is the author of Antiques and Collectibles: Starting Small, The Grange at Knock, and 673 Ways to Save Money.

This book consists of three short documents grouped together for the convenience of anyone with the task of cataloguing beads found at archaeological sites. It is not a book for the layman or even the avid social historian, as no attempt is made to put the various classifications of beads into a social context. The focus is strictly technical classification data.

Section one, the Levin Catalogue, is a verbal and photographic record of a bead collection from the mid-nineteenth century. The catalogue itemizes drawn, wound, mould-pressed and carnelian beads intended for trade, in Africa, in exchange for palm oil, ivory, gold, and slaves.

The second document is a sample book of Venetian beads, probably from the second half of the 1800s. These were used in the India trade. Again, the work is limited to technical descriptions and black-and-white photos of the collection.

It is the third document that is probably of most value. A guide for anyone attempting to classify beads found at Canadian archaeological sites, it covers an overview of bead manufacturing, a look at several classification schemes, a description of the various classes and types of beads that have been recorded to date, and some interpretive material. Clear line drawings help to sort out drawn, wound, wound-on-drawn, mould-pressed, blown, and Prosser moulded beads.