Read My Pins by Madeleine Albright review

If you have an interest in vintage jewellery or brooches and pins then this book is a must.

Read My Pins by Madeleine Albright - Stories from a diplomat's jewel box

Published earlier this year makes a fascinating read. Not being political at all, I brought this book purely for the information about her brooches (pins) and I was not disappointed.

The book has over 200 photographs of brooches or pins from ones that cost only a few dollars to ones produced by Cartier. Antique and vintage jewellery mixed with newer brooches. Unknown designers to ones from Trifari, Monet, Swarovski, Kenneth Jay Lane, Christian Dior, Ciner, Haskell and Lea Stein. A Brooch made from a piece of the Berlin wall mixed with campaign badges. With a comprehensive "Pindex" with small photographs of each brooch/pin with information at the back of the book.

Madeleine Albright the US former Secretary of State has loved jewellery for many years adding to her collection as time and money has allowed. Wearing brooches in her lapel of her jackets, she wore a snake brooch to a meeting with Iraqi officials The snake was in response to a poem published by the Saddam Hussein's government because she had dared to criticize him.
Following the meeting, the press picked up on the brooches message; and soon she began to use the jewellery as part of her diplomatic arsenal. With "Read my pins"

Her collection of pins are now on tour in The Museum of Arts and Design, in New York, USA. The collection is there from 30th September 2009 to 31st January 2010. The collection will then move to Washington DC in the summer of 2010 and to Indianapolis, Indiana in the autumn of 2010. It is due to also tour internationally. If it comes to the UK, I would be one of the first to go.