Join us for our next meeting
"The American Pearl Rush: Its' Wisconsin Beginnings"
Sunday, March 6, 2011 from 3 pm to 5 pm
George Johnson, journalist and historian, has recently completed a major project detailing a seldom-described aspect of U.S. history. His scholarly article The American Pearl Rush: Its' Wisconsin Beginnings is to appear in the Wisconsin Magazine of History.
While the American Gold Rush has been thoroughly documented and romanticized, the equally sensational Pearl Rush, which occurred from August 1889 to 1915, has never been thoroughly described. Mr. Johnson sees himself as the successor of famed gemologist George Kunz, who, in his 1908 "Book of the Pearl" could only cover the beginning of the Wisconsin stampede to pearls.
What happened to those pearls is the subject of much speculation as well. Once the rush ended, pearling gave way to clamming, both for nacre to produce buttons for the world, and for nuclei to send to Japan for the nascent cultured pearl industry. But some natural pearls continued to be discovered, and some of those will be on view for this presentation. Mr. Johnson, who has another vocation as a restorer of native prairie, is an energetic and fascinating speaker. Copies of the January 2011 Wisconsin Magazine of History will be available to be signed by the author. To be held on Sunday, March 6, from 3 to 5 pm at the gallery.
Refreshments will be served
RSVP: 847-869-7920 or email contact@evejewelry.com
Please RSVP Now – space is limited
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