gems, jade, Fischer-Book

A revised and substantially expanded edition of Rudolf Augustin Vogel’s systematic handbook of mineralogy. The work presents minerals according to the classification and terminology of eighteenth-century mineralogy, describing their external characteristics, composition, occurrence and practical uses. Precious and ornamental stones are included within its treatment of the mineral kingdom, making the book useful for tracing contemporary gemstone nomenclature, identification and classification. Published in Leipzig in 1776, this edition expanded Vogel’s earlier Practisches Mineralsystem and reflects the growing effort during the period to organize mineral substances into coherent systems based on observable and chemical properties.