Mother-of-pearl carving in Bethlehem Mother-of-pearl carving in Bethlehem Mother-of-Pearl carving, a traditional handicraft in Bethlehem, is said to have been brought to the city by Franciscan friars from Italy in the 15th century. Bethlehem's position as an important Christian city has for centuries attracted a constant stream of pilgrims. This generated much local work and income, also for women, including making mother-of-pearl souvenirs. According to Weir, Bethlehem women's employment in the mother-of-pearl industry goes back at least to the seventeenth century. It was noted by Richard Pococke, who travelled there in 1727. Previously, most of the oysters for the mother-of-pearl supply came from the
Pearl Rivers Pearl Rivers Eliza Jane Nicholson (formerly Holbrook; née Poitevent; March 11, 1843 – February 15, 1896), who wrote under the "nom de plume" Pearl Rivers, was a United States journalist and poet. She took the name from the Pearl River near her home in Mississippi. Eliza Jane Poitevent was born in Gainesville, Hancock, Mississippi, USA, on March 11, 1843 (some sources say 1849). She was the third child of a prosperous family of five, with a busy father and a sickly mother. She is listed on the 1850 U.S. Census as living in Beat 2 of Hancock County, Mississippi, with