Glass Bead Bibliography by Jhan A. Knebel

Display from Steppes Artisan Event, August AS XXXV
Lady Rixende de Rouen

Bibliography of Glass Bead Sources
Jhan A. Knebel

Here is a list of historical sources available for pre- 16th century glass beads.

Sources I have sited	Notes
Francis, Jr., Peter. Asia's Maritime Bead Trade from ca. 300 BC to the Present. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 2002	Fabulous book by Pete Francis of the Center for Bead Research. Summary quoted from the CBR website: "The book covers the trade in beads for 2300+ years from West Asia (aka the Middle East) through East Asia. In fact, it involves more: Pacific island heirlooms, the shores of East Africa, the early trade to West Africa, across the Pacific to Alaska and Mexico, and even around the world ending up in a Spanish mission in Georgia (USA)." If you are interested in trade routes as well as beads, this is a must read!
Guido, Margaret. The Glass Beads of the Prehistoric and Roman Periods in Britain and Ireland.	Guido's first detailed archeological bead book. Excellent source for Roman beads found in Britain and Ireland. Limited pictures and many color line drawings of found beads.
Guido, Margaret. The Glass Beads of Anglo-Saxon England c. AD 400-700. Rochester, NY: The Boydell Press, 1999	Excellent source for Anglo-Saxon beads. No pictures and many color line drawings of found beads. Warning: It's an archeology identification guide book, and reads like one.
Spaer, Maud. ANCIENT GLASS IN THE ISRAEL MUSEUM: Beads and Other Small Objects. 2002	While I have not acquire this book yet, I do recommend it if only for it's explanation of the construction techniques for Islamic folded glass beads. The website summary of the book includes diagrams of the construction process. Expensive, look for it on ILL. (I've only found 2 copies and they were both over $110 US.)
Dubin, Lois Sherr. The History of Beads. New York: Harry N Abrams; 1987	Great overview of glass beads from all cultures and centuries. Expensive, but worth it.
Sode, Torben. Anatolske Glasperler. Copenhagen: Thot, 1996	This book is written in Danish. Mostly deals with the modern glass industry in modern Anatolia, but does have good pictures of gold-glass beads found in Turkey.
Francis, Pete. "Ancient European Glass Beads" Margaretologist. 9.1 (1996)	I highly recommend the Margaretologist. Available from the Center for Bead Research. (Pete Francis is the director, and is sited in many of the primary publications on bead history and archeology.)
Glass and Amber. Regia Anglorum Publications 1995.	Decent overviews, used primarily for images. Once the original sources are tracked down, I will eliminate this reference from my list.
Glass and Amber. Regia Anglorum Publications 24 Feb. 2000	Decent overviews, used primarily for images. Once the original sources are tracked down, I will eliminate this reference from my list.

Additional Sources	Notes
Callmer, John. Trade Beads and Bead Trade in Scandinavia ca. 800-1000 A.D.	Recommended by Saexburga of Kent, OL. I have not been able to get a copy of this book yet.