The epic story of a legendary gem and its colourful succession of extraordinary owners. Allegedly a curse to those that own it, the Hope Diamond - a flawless blue diamond of over forty-five carats - has inspired centuries of legends and lies, fabulous superstition and fierce passion. In rich, shimmering prose, Marian Fowler explains how the Hope Diamond was formed in nature - and how it was taken from the mines and temples of India to the royal courts of seventeenth-century Europe. Acquired and cherished by Louis XIV, the ...
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The epic story of a legendary gem and its colourful succession of extraordinary owners. Allegedly a curse to those that own it, the Hope Diamond - a flawless blue diamond of over forty-five carats - has inspired centuries of legends and lies, fabulous superstition and fierce passion. In rich, shimmering prose, Marian Fowler explains how the Hope Diamond was formed in nature - and how it was taken from the mines and temples of India to the royal courts of seventeenth-century Europe. Acquired and cherished by Louis XIV, the stone was stolen in an almost farcical French Revolution robbery. It resurfaced twenty years later in London and passed through numerous hands, including those of a notorious music hall singer, a socially ambitious gold miner's daughter and the famous jeweller Harry Winston - until it finally arrived at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. At once erudite and extravagantly entertaining, HOPE is an irresistible and alluring work of social history, bringing to vivid life the diverse parade of men and women who were linked by their obsession with the world's rarest jewel.
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Seller's Description:
Fine in Fine jacket. 8vo-over 7¾-9¾" tall Hardback. First Edition. Fine in Near Fine dust jacket. Tiny dent to dust jacket front near spine. 366pp with index and bibliography. B&W illustrations.
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Seller's Description:
Very Good. Very Good condition. Very Good dust jacket. A copy that may have a few cosmetic defects. May also contain a few markings such as an owner's name, short gifter's inscription or light stamp.
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Seller's Description:
Good. Good condition. Good dust jacket. A copy that has been read but remains intact. May contain markings such as bookplates, stamps, limited notes and highlighting, or a few light stains.
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Seller's Description:
Fine in Fine jacket. Book FIRST PRINTING of the First Edition (stated). The 'biography' of the famous 'Hope' Diamond, its various prominent owners and how they came to covet, acquire, and lose it, the most beautiful women who have worn it and the most unprincipled men who bought it for them, as well as providing much information on the workings of the diamond industry, the psychological issues involved with possessing these rocks, much more. Hardcover with dust jacket, contains illustrations, bibliography, indexed, 367pp. A very nice copy, the jacket neatly encased in an acid-free Brodart plastic protector. Size: 8vo-over 7¾"-9¾" tall.
