Whitby Jet

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.