2012 Reprint of Original 1946 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, so great that in 1946 the book was re-issued, with illustrations, as "Revised Lapidary Handbook. " It remains a classic book in the field.