Pearls: Free Audiobook and Listening Guide

Pearls, credited to William John Dakin, is available as a LibriVox volunteer audiobook. This guide identifies the recording, its source summary and its audio tracks.

About the work

The LibriVox catalogue summary, preserved with the recording, reads:

LibriVox recording of Pearls by William John Dakin. Read in English by MaryAnn Spiegel. "The use of pearls as jewels and their recognition as objects of value date back into the far beyond when the histories of ancient peoples were transcribed upon papyrus. It is very likely that pearls were amongst the earliest gems known to man, and this is not surprising when one considers that the earliest dwellers by the sea probably fed upon the shellfish which produce such objects." This book was written by an Australian zoologist with a view to giving the average reader a summary of the most important facts about pearls, pearl fishing and pearl formation. (from "Pearls")

Recording facts

• Recording title: Pearls
• Author credits: William John Dakin
• Language: English
• Original MP3 tracks: 11
• Listed recording duration: 2:57:00

Catalogue topics

• India
• Ceylon
• oyster
• pearls
• mollusk

Track guide

1. 00 - Preface — 2:42
2. 01 - The History of Pearls — 14:17
3. 02 - Where Pearls are Found — 9:05
4. 03 - The Anatomy of the Pearl Oyster and the Structure of the Shell — 29:43
5. 04 - The Life History of the Pearl Oyster, and the Conditions Under Which It Lives — 13:39
6. 05 - Pearls — 19:04
7. 06 - A Ceylon Pearl Fishery — 19:19
8. 07 - Pearl Fisheries of Other Lands — 9:38
9. 08 - The Origin of Pearls — 29:18
10. 09 - Pearls in Jewellery and Trade, Odd Facts — 12:19
11. 10 - The Pearl Oyster, The Trader, and the Scientist — 17:56

Listen to this recording

Open the complete recording and player on Internet Archive. The player includes the full track list and available download formats.

Source and rights

This is a record from LibriVox's official Internet Archive collection, with a public-domain licence recorded in its metadata. LibriVox's policy includes its catalogue summaries as well as its recordings. Its public-domain assessment follows United States law; copyright status can differ elsewhere. The summary and track facts are reproduced and reformatted from that record. Dates attached to the archive upload are not treated as original book publication dates.