THE BOOK OF AMBER By Dr. G. C. Williamson
Amber, like jade, has its own votaries who delight in the beauty of the material. Primitive man cherished it just as modern woman does, and the prehistoric trade routes from the Baltic to the Mediterranean and to Central Asia have been traced by the finds of amber here and there. At all periods since history began amber has been prized, and all the great collections of objects of art include pieces of worked amber among their most valued treasures. The whole subject is methodically treated, for the first time in English, in The Book of Amber (Berm, 15s.), by Dr. G. C. Williamson, himself a well-known collector. He describes the origin of amber in the gum from coniferous forests of the pre-glacial age which were submerged and gradually fossilized. 'The chief depOsits of true amber or suceinite lie on the coast of East Prussia and the Baltic States, though some amber is found on the Suffolk beaches. The Baltic deposits .are worked under State supervision and have for centuries yielded a useful return. Amber is also found, in smaller quantities and of varying quality, in many other parts of the world ; the Chinese, who are past masters in the carving and staining of amber, draw their supplies from the Behoving Sea. Dr. Williamson describes some of the principal examples of ,corked amber, and illustrates a few of them, including the important cup found in a tumulus at Hove. A coloured frontispiece gives a fair idea of the various types of amber, though its beauty cannot be reproduced.
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