gems, jade, Fischer-Book

A revised edition of René-Just Haüy’s major mineralogical treatise, presenting minerals through crystallographic form, physical properties and chemical composition. Haüy’s system emphasizes the internal structural relationships underlying crystal forms and applies these principles to the identification and classification of mineral species. Precious and ornamental stones are treated throughout the work. Of particular interest to jade studies is his discussion of nephrite (pp. 498–501), reflecting the early nineteenth-century understanding of jade before the later mineralogical distinction between nephrite and jadeite was firmly established. The work remains a major landmark in the development of crystallographic mineralogy and scientific gemstone identification.

gems, jade, Fischer-Book

A comprehensive mineralogical handbook by Karl Cäsar von Leonhard devoted to oryctognosy, the descriptive study and identification of minerals. The work classifies mineral species according to their external and physical characters, composition and relationships, reflecting the increasingly systematic mineralogy of the early nineteenth century. Precious and ornamental stones are included within the broader treatment of minerals, with attention to their diagnostic properties and nomenclature. The book is useful for tracing the development of gemstone classification and mineral identification during the period when descriptive methods were being increasingly integrated with chemical and crystallographic evidence.

gems, jade, Fischer-Book

A major account of Alexander von Humboldt and Aimé Bonpland’s scientific expedition through tropical America between 1799 and 1804. The work describes their travels in Venezuela and other parts of northern South America and combines narrative with observations on geography, geology, volcanism, climate, botany, zoology, Indigenous peoples, agriculture and commerce. Humboldt gives particular attention to the relationships between landscape, geology and natural resources, recording rocks, minerals and mining districts encountered during the journey. The work is an important primary source for the early scientific exploration of tropical America and for the development of physical geography and geological observation in the nineteenth century.

gems, jade, Fischer-Book

A major multi-volume French encyclopedia of natural history, prepared by a large group of naturalists and physicians and published by Deterville. The Nouveau Dictionnaire d’Histoire Naturelle covers the animal, vegetable and mineral kingdoms, with particular attention to the practical application of natural substances in agriculture, commerce, medicine and the arts. Its mineralogical articles include numerous entries on precious stones, ornamental stones and minerals, discussing their physical properties, composition, localities, nomenclature and uses. The work is valuable for tracing early nineteenth-century French mineralogical and gemological terminology and for documenting contemporary knowledge during a period of rapid advances in chemistry and crystallography.

gems, jade, Fischer-Book, mineralogy, early mineralogy

Schuh: Very scarce. Published in the same year as Werner's death, this work, edited with commentary by his student Johan Carl Freisleben, is based on the last lectures Werner gave as an instructor at the Bergacademie in Freiberg. The long introduction gives curious details about Werner's life and the disposition of his estate.

gems, jade, Fischer-Book, Chinese rice stones

An early chemical investigation by Martin Heinrich Klaproth of the Chinese material known as “rice stone” (Reisstein), an artificial stone used in imitation of jade. Klaproth analyzes the substance in order to determine its composition and establish that it is a manufactured material rather than a natural mineral. The paper is of particular interest to the history of gemology because it documents an early European chemical examination of a Chinese jade simulant and illustrates the growing use of analytical chemistry to distinguish natural gemstones from artificial substitutes.

gems, jade, Fischer-Book

A short antiquarian study by Joseph Hager devoted to identifying one of the precious stones named among the twelve gems of the breastplate of Aaron described in the Hebrew Bible. Hager examines ancient names and descriptions of the stone through biblical, classical and Oriental sources, comparing linguistic evidence with contemporary knowledge of gemstones in an attempt to establish its identity. The work illustrates the close relationship between philology, biblical scholarship and mineralogy in early nineteenth-century investigations of ancient gem names. It is of particular interest to the history of gemology for its treatment of the persistent problem of correlating ancient lapidary terminology with modern mineral species.

gems, jade, Fischer-Book, mineralogy, early mineralogy

Schuh: Very scarce. A thorough compendium classifying every known mineral species. Following the introduction is an overview of the classificaiton system. The system Hausmann follows in this enterprise, was originally presented in his Entwurf eines Systems der unorganisirten Naturkörper (Cassel, 1809) [see above entry]. Only slight modifications have been made to the system from the earlier work. After this overview the more detailed descriptive mineralogy arranged according to the outline is presented. It is divided into the classes of combustibles, incombustibles, earths, oxides, acids and salts. Throughout the volumes Hausmann has applied careful and judicial judgement in expressing his own views and the mention of new discoveries and theories. Volume three concludes with two indexes. Each lists the described mineral spieces, one referencing names in German, while the other lists names in French.

gems, jade, Fischer-Book

In 1799, Alexander von Humboldt and Aimé Bonpland set out to determine whether the Orinoco River connected with the Amazon. But what started as a trip to investigate a relatively minor geographical controversy became the basis of a five-year exploration throughout South America, Mexico, and Cuba. The discoveries amassed by Humboldt and Bonpland were staggering, and much of today’s knowledge of tropical zoology, botany, geography, and geology can be traced back to Humboldt’s numerous records of these expeditions. One of these accounts, Views of the Cordilleras and Monuments of the Indigenous Peoples of the Americas, firmly established Alexander von Humboldt as the founder of Mesoamerican studies. In Views of the Cordilleras—first published in French between 1810 and 1813—Humboldt weaves together magnificently engraved drawings and detailed texts to achieve multifaceted views of cultures and landscapes across the Americas. In doing so, he offers an alternative perspective on the New World, combating presumptions of its belatedness and inferiority by arguing that the “old” and the “new” world are of the same geological age. This critical edition of Views of the Cordilleras—the second volume in the Alexander von Humboldt in English series—contains a new, unabridged English translation of Humboldt’s French text, as well as annotations, a bibliography, and all sixty-nine plates from the original edition, many of them in color.

gems, jade, Fischer-Book

A large bilingual Latin–German and German–Latin dictionary based on the lexicographical work of Immanuel Johann Gerhard Scheller and prepared in this edition by I. J. G. Scheller-Lünemann. The Handlexicon provides Latin vocabulary with German equivalents and German terms with their Latin counterparts, including terminology drawn from classical literature, natural history and the sciences. For gemological research, it is useful for interpreting historical Latin names for gemstones, minerals, metals and related materials and for establishing how such terms were understood and translated by German scholars in the early nineteenth century. Its principal value is therefore linguistic and terminological rather than mineralogical.