2012 Reprint of Original 1935 Edition. Exact facsimile of the original edition, not reproduced with Optical Recognition Software. In the U.S. there was little activity in the field of lapidary until the 1930s, when European craftsmen emigrated to New York to serve the jewelry industry. In 1935 J. Harry Howard compiled all the available information into his "Handbook for the Amateur Lapidary. The demand for the book was great. It remains a classic book in the field.