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Peter Francis Jr. & The Center for Bead Research
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Peter Francis Jr. was a giant in the world of bead research, bead appreciation and cross-cultural understanding. We were not alone in being shocked by his 2002 sudden death from a brain hemorrhage while on a research trip in Ghana, West Africa. Following is a memorial for Peter, plus some information about the organization he lovingly kept alive for so many years, The Center for Bead Research.
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Rings & Things > Tips & Techniques > Organizations > Museums > Peter Francis Jr.
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With modest humor, Peter Francis, Jr. quoted someone's characterization of his birthday – August 6, 1945 (a birthday shared with the first atomic weapon called Little Boy) – as "two bombs on one day." In the course of his fascinating life, Pete went from middle American to world citizen. The son of a minister and an English teacher, he showed a lifelong fascination with interpreting the variety of cultures in the world. Drawn to travel, he criss-crossed Europe, Asia, and Africa in pursuit of knowledge. The past and present appealed to Pete equally, leading him to learn a number of languages, investigate archeological sites, and follow a path that led to places like Afghanistan, Spain and New York, absorbing all he saw.
From a chance incident while teaching English in Iran, Pete became aware of and fascinated by beads ... and the rest is history. He will long be remembered by many of us for his gentle yet acute observations on beads of every kind, teaching the world how very much there is to learn from this humble art form, and generously sharing his expertise. Among his many accomplishments can be listed the founding of the Center for Bead Research, the publication of its authoritative journal The Margaretologist, and his brilliant and beautiful books like his final work, "Asia's Maritime Bead Trade: 300 BC to the Present."
We were shocked by Pete's sudden death from a brain hemorrhage while on a research trip in Ghana, West Africa, on December 8, 2002. We'd like to express our appreciation for the many ways Pete set a fine example of a meaningful life. His death really is a great loss to all of us who love beads. We'll surely miss his tag line, "Peace," in these times of war and threatened war.
The website Peter started, www.thebeadsite.com, is still online as a read-only reference site for research purposes. To join The Center for Bead Research and see what it's been up to in recent years, go to http://www.thebeadsite.com/cbr-dex.html.
The Center for Bead Research brought information together that had previously been widely scattered. In Peter Francis, Jr's modest words, they housed "the world's best-documented bead study collection, largest library on beads, largest global bead sample card collection and most extensive photographic record of bead collections and living beadmakers. Additionally, collections of beadmaking tools, parallel collections, a good general library (with strong map and foreign dictionary sections) and a small laboratory."
The techniques and methods used to study beads come from archaeology, anthropology, history, geography, linguistics, and the natural and material sciences. As information is gathered, the results are made public in a variety of forms. As any given project was undertaken, its progress could be traced in the Current Projects section of www.thebeadsite.com. Publishing often took its first form as lectures and additions to the Bead Identification Workshops.
The first official printed information on a given project was usually in the Center's journal, The Margaretologist. Members, Patrons and Supporters of the Center received this newsletter twice a year. Major projects were published in other forms as well, either in book form or a smaller monograph. The Margaretologist was the voice of the Center for Bead Research. Each issue was full of the latest news in bead research. In 2001 they became a bi-media publication with the color plates on The Bead Site.
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