Bead research is advancing all the time!
as you are in UK, I recommend joining the Bead Society of Great Britain which although many members are primarily hobbyists and jewellery makers, we also cater for collectors, and our acclaimed colour-illustrated journal comes out 3 or 4 times a year, with lots of news including research, symposiums, reviews of museums, fairs, shows, exhibitions and books.

And since you are obviously really seriously interested you should probably also join the Society of Bead Researchers which includes many archaeologists and academics among its members. a journal is also produced by SBR with in-depth reports on various research projects.

Various groups such as these are to be found on the links page of BCN-

Some of us who participate at Beadcollector.net have also written books or articles about aspects of the subject of beads. Constant new discoveries enlarge and update our knowledge all the time.

Do you know the beads in museums in UK? whether they are accurately labelled or not, there's a lot to see in the Pitt-Rivers and Ashmolean, Oxford, Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Cambridge (where the Horace Beck collection is kept, though not displayed)
The British Museum, The V&A, The Petrie collection at London University, the Glass museum in Stourbridge, and then many more in regional museums such as Whitby, etc.

i'm sure you will discover more of interest whichever way you choose to go!

happy hunting
Stefany

Hi Stefany

I am from the UK, though I am currently in Myanmar. I must've typed something wrong on my profile, any idea how to change it?

Many thanks for your reply and I am reading your message with interest, gratitude and enthusiasm.

Kind regards

Richard

richard
I participated in a bead conference in Sarawak last year just at this time of year, and there is likely to be another one in 2015. Maybe near enough for you to consider?
its organised by "Crafthub" .
i just discovered that they (BIBCO) have been able to use an image from my talk on organics as their facebook page heading! see link-

Dear Richard VII,

I should recommend visiting the library of the Siam Society in Bangkok.
The Thai librarians will help you find monographs in English by scholars
~which may help you in your research of beads from Burma and Thailand.

S.E. Asia is one of the most seductive places in the world for bead collectors.
I admire your opportunity to see and buy some of the most desirable
antique beads becoming available in the market place today.

Have fun, Frederick II

Richard,
I recommend these books for ancient beads:

For Islamic Era middle eastern beads traded to Africa: Middle Eastern and Venetian Glass Beads by Augusto Panini.

For a scholarly work on Indo-Pacific beads, 300 B.C to the present: Asia's Maritime Bead Trade by Peter Francis, Jr.

For a book based on the Ulrich Beck collection of ancient beads: Magical Ancient Beads by Jamey Allen.

These books can be very expensive to purchase - I suggest checking Amazon and ABE Books periodically, as well as eBay, to see if you can get a reasonable price on a used copy. The Francis book normally is available for under $50 but the other two are running $200 - $1000 right now.

Best of luck as you embark on a fascinating endeavor!

For ancient beads, James Lankton's A Bead Timeline. The History of Beads by Lois Sher Dubin is a must have for anyone interested in beads from comtemporary to ancient.

I forgot about "A Bead Timeline" by Lankton - it is available for less than $25 and is a very, very useful guide to pre-1200 A.D. beads.

Trade Beads and Bead Trade in Scandanavia ca. 800-1000AD by Johan Callmer, wonderful illustrations!
Ancient Glass in the Israel Museum, Beads and Other Small Objects by Maud Spaer
....and, of course BEADS: Journal of the Society of Bead Researchers

Volume 1 Chevrons
Volume 3 Fancy Beads
Volume 4 Whitehearts, Feather and Eye beads
Volume 5 Russian blues
volume 6 Millefiori beads
Volume 7 Chevron and Nueva Cadiz Beads

I know very little of ancient beads. Know a little about ancient islamic glass beads, but not much else.

So these recommendations are interesting. Have some of the books, not all. Any specific books on ancient stone beads?

The pre-Roman Era glass beads in the Archaeological Museum of Ibiza and Formentera. Not gorgeously illustrated, but with a serious text written by a trained archaeologist (i.e. including chemical analysis of the glass used in single beads).101 pages. With a short but interesting bibliography.
ISBN 84-87143-17-2
I was elated to learn there that men's necklaces were then short, while women's were long -- a fashion not yet obsolete, as most of the boys I see wearing necklaces do use chokers.

In my opinion this shouldn't be forgotten:
Perles d'Afrique, by M.-F. Delarozière
I was very interested in her detailed research on Mali stone beads.
I do not know about English translation. My french copy was published by Edisud,1994. 240 pages.ISBN 2-85744-724-8

Perles d'Afrique is one of my favorites as well! There was an English translation of parts of the book in an older issue of Ornament magazine, Marie-Francoise Delaroziere, Mauritanian Beads, Ornament 1985 February

Perles d'Afrique can be bought brand new, direct from the publisher for around $38, click the link to their site

the prices seem to be all over the place, I recommend buying direct from the publisher for the best condition and price (see previous post), this book should be on any bead collector's book shelf!

Thank you to Thomas for providing me with this. Handthoughts was a great site.

You will recognize many names here.....there are many useful links...links to links to links...

"HandThoughts
exists to advance
the understanding
and appreciation
of beads and
beadwork. We focus on the social and cultural meanings
of beads, and on contemporary bead arts.

Because we don't make the "Art vs.
craft" distinction,
because it is the translation of an African word, and
because we love
how handthoughts
says that art comes right from the
center of our
beings through
our minds and
our hands, we've
chosen that word
for our name."

Jane Sidney Oliver
Founder, Senior Editor, and Publisher
HandThoughts.com

Here is a list - it's not complete, and many of course have already been mentioned here, but you may find some new leads -

The History of Beads
Lois Sherr Dubin
Abrams1987
concise 1998
revised 2009

Collectible Beads
Robert Liu
1995
Ornament, Inc.

Beads from the
West African Trade Series
by John and Ruth Picard:

Volume III
Fancy Beads

Volume IV
White Hearts

Volume V
Russian Blues, Faceted
and Fancy Beads

Volume VI
Millefiori

Volume VII
Chevrons

African Beads
Jewels of a Continent
Evelyn Simak
Carl Dreibelbis
2010
Africa Direct

A Bead Timeline
James Lankton
2003 The Bead Society of Greater Washington

The Timeless Cowrie
Its Significance the World Over
Anita von Kahler Gumpert
Publisher Bead Society of Greater Washington

Silver Speaks:
Traditional Jewelry of the Middle East
Joyce Diamanti, images by Robert Liu
The Bead Society of Greater Washington

Naga Tribal Adornment:
Signatures of Status and Self
Ayinla Shilu Ao
images by Robert Liu
Bead Society of Greater Washington

The Nagas: Hill Peoples of Northeast India
Julian Jacobs
Second Edition 2012

Middle Eastern and Venetian Glass Beads
Eighth to Twentieth Centuries
Augusto Panini
2007
Skira, Milan, Italy

Magical Ancient Beads
with Jamey Allen,
Robert Liu, Ulrich J. Beck,
Maud Spaer, Sumarah
Adhyatman, Anne Richter
1998 Times Editions

Manik-Manik
di Indonesia
Beads in Indonesia
Sumarah Adhyatman,
Redjeki Arifin
1993 Penerbit Djambatan

Beads of the World
Peter Francis, Jr
Schiffer Publishing Ltd
1999

Venetian Beads, Mosaic Glass and Murrine
Giovanni Sarpellon
Palazzo Rota
2003

Africa Adorned
Angela Fisher
Abrams
1984
The

Bead Goes On
Koos van Brakel
KIT Publishers, Amsterdam
2006

Glass Beads from Europe
Sibylle Jargstorf
Schiffer Publishing Ltd
1995

Glass in Jewelry
Sibylle Jargstorf
Schiffer Publishing Ltd
Revised 1998

Baubles, Buttons and Beads, The Heritage of Bohemia
Sibylle Jargstorf
Schiffer Publishing Ltd
1993

Ethnic Jewelry from Africa, Europe and Asia
Sibylle Jargstorf
Schiffer Publishing Ltd
2000

Beads!
Stefany Tomalin
1988 David and Charles Publishers

The Bead Jewellery Book
Stefany Tomalin
David & Charles
1997

Beads from Briare
The story of a bead revolution from France
Floor Kaspers
2011 Blurb

Beads from Tucson
Where the world meets for beads, stones and jewelry
Floor Kaspers
2012 Blurb

Beads from Jablonec
Floor Kaspers
2014 Blurb

Perlen aus Gablonz
Waltraud Neuwirth
Self
1994

Ancient Glass in the Israel Museum, Beads and other Small Objects
Maud Spaer
The Israel Museum
2001

Beads of Borneo
Heidi Munan
Editions Didier Millet Pte Ltd, Singapore
2005

The Jewelry of Nepal
Hannelore Gabriel
Weatherhill Inc
1999

Seventeenth Century Beads from Holland
Volume XIV
Gerald B Fenstermaker
1978

South American Colored Trade Bead Chart, 1850-1870
Volume VII
Gerald B Fenstermaker
1956

The Chinese Bead
Gerald B Fenstermaker
Fenstermaker
1979

Classification and Nomenclature of Beads and Pendants
Horace C Beck
George Shumway Publisher
1973

Proceedings of the 1982 Glass Trade Bead Conference

The Bead is Constant
Alexandra Wilson
2003 Accra : Ghana Universities Press

'Ghana: Where the Bead Speaks'
Ama Ata Aidoo
2011

Beadazzled: Where Beads + Inspiration Meet
Penelope Diamonti
2008

Journal of the Borneo International Beads Conference 2010
pub. by Sarawak Museum

Journal Borneo International Beads Conference 2011
pub. by Sarawak Museum

International Bead and Beadwork Conference
2007 Kadir Has University, Istanbul

The Universal Bead
Joan Mowat Erikson
W.W. Norton & Company, Inc.
ISBN 0-393-31005-1

World on a String
A Companion for Bead Lovers
Diana Friedberg

A Bead Primer
Elizabeth Harris
1987 The Bead Museum

What a great list! Thanks Joyce! I wonder if anybody has a copy of the Bead Goes On that they're willing to sell ?