Whitby Jet

Description

Jet, a hard, black, shiny gen, closely related to coal, has been fashioned into jewellery and trinkets for generations, but during the Victorian period, when the ritual surrounding death and the long mourning of Queen Victoria made black fashionable, jet became hugely popular. Although jet is found elsewhere in the world, it is the jet from Whitby that excites collectors and even jet jewellery manufactured elsewhere is often called Whitby Jet. This book traces the history of jet and the Whitby jet industry, Different types and styles of jet jewellery are examined, and the work of some of the best-known Whitby craftsmen is pictured.

Helen Muller has studied the Whitby jet industry and its products for much of her life, and she is one of the best known and respected figures in the field. She was awarded the Tully Medal of the Gemmological Association of Great Britain. Katey Scrace is Helen Muller's daughter, and she has inherited a great love for an knowledge of Whitby jet from her mother.