Beads from Briare: now available
October 30, 2011 2 Comments
My first book on the production of Prosser beads from the French village of Briare is now available on Blurb.com. It can be bought as a paper book, or an ebook.
Below you can find part of the introduction of the book, and some of the pictures featured in the book.
Introduction
Beads are good at telling stories. Stories of people, craftsmen, trade and fashion. The beads from Briare in France tell the story of the industrial revolution, global trade and an entrepeneur from France. Industrial advancement in Europe changed the way we work, cook, travel, and the way we make beads.
In this book you can find the story of how beads suddenly were produced so much quicker, so much cheaper, and on a completely new scale. It is the story of a bead revolution from France.
The book starts off with a general description of trade beads and the production of glass beads in chapters 1 and 2. Chapter 3 shows how Prosser beads are made. In chapters 4 and 5 the focus is on the Bapterosses factory in Briare and the beads that were manufactured there, including the dumpsite of tiles, buttons and beads in Briare. Chapter 6 deals with the competition between different beadmakers in Europe. The final conclusion on the role of beadmaking in Briare in the worldwide trade and production of beads makes up the last chapter.
http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/2602875
About Floor Kaspers
My online bead museum 
I collect buttons and bought some buttons from the digs at Briare … would like to know more about the beads … are they china or glass?
Hi Joan, That is not such an easy question. The process in which they are made are quite similar to the process of making porcelain, but the chemical composition is close to glass. Also, the chemical composition varies between different Prosser products. Because of their overall appearance, I consider them to be glass.