Not every author who writes a book on a professional subject is technically competent to cope with the material at his or her disposal. The newspaper science editor, the public relations writer will not hesitate to compile data and translate them into language can comprehend. The work may prove to be both readable and informative, but hardly a definitive reference book.

Beth Benton Sutherland is the foremost exponent of the glyptic art living today. The Romance of Seals and Engraved Gems is an authoritative work which will be consulted for years to come by all who are sincerely interested in a very special form of art and thee craftsmanship which makes it possible.