With hundreds of crisp colour photos and intelligently written text that reaps the benefits of the authors thirty years of research, "The History of Beads" documents bead styles and uses in Europe, the Americas, Africa and the Far East. Ranging from prehistoric times to the 20th century, this book stops along the way to consider the magic eye bead, prayer beads and beads with other special attributes. A magnificent eight-page colour gatefold section offers a fascinating timeline of the beads history at a glance.