Minor paper rippling bottom border. Antique authentic print. Plate VIII. "STERLING SILVER TEAPOT" Gilt, encrusted with baroque pearls from the rivers of Tennessee. Made by Tiffany & Co. Paris Exhibition, 1889. Published in "Bulletin of the United States Fish Commission", 1897-1898. George M. Bowers, Commissioner. Measures approx. 10.5x7.5 inches. This is an original antique NOT a reproduction. Items are shrink wrapped on acid free backing and mailed flat. 30-day return policy for any reason.

"PEARLS & PEARL FISHERIES"

"In view of the great interest and possible importance of the discoveries from time to time made in various parts of the United States, and particularly the Mississippi Valley, of pearls yielded by the fresh-water bivalve shells (Unionida) so abundant in many of our inland waters, a systematic inquiry was undertaken in 1894 by the United States Commission of Fish and Fisheries, to ascertain as far as possible the facts relating to the occurrence and distribution of the pearl-bearing species and the extent and conduct of the pearl industry as thus far developed. The value and elegance of many of these pearls, especially as shown in exhibits made at the Columbian Exposition in 1893; the popular excitements or "pearl fevers" at times arising in districts where a few pearls have been found, and characterized by wholesale and reckless destruction of the shells over large areas; the total lack of system in the search for pearls, as contrasted with the methods that have been developed on a smaller but more profitable scale in Europe, all seemed to call for more careful investigation by the Commission, with a view to better knowledge and wiser direction in the matter of inland American pearl fisheries." - Bulletin of the United States Fish Commission  1897-1898. George M. Bowers