gems, jade, Fischer

An important early systematic treatise on mineralogy by the Swedish mineralogist Johan Gottschalk Wallerius. Mineralogia, eller Mineralriket attempts to organize the mineral kingdom according to observable physical and chemical properties rather than relying primarily on traditional lapidary descriptions. Wallerius divides mineral substances into broad classes and provides descriptions of their appearance, properties, occurrence, uses and contemporary nomenclature. The work includes precious and ornamental stones among its treatment of minerals and is significant in the development of mineral classification during the eighteenth century, preceding the establishment of modern chemical and crystallographic systems.