Books are the training weights of the mind. Epictetus, ca. 50–135 CE

Brush, ink, paper and ink stone are known in China as the “four treasures.” Long ago, the Chinese recognized that these simple tools were the most important invention of all, because they allow human beings to communicate ideas remotely, even beyond the grave, granting our species a form of immortality unlike any other. Thus we have christened the Lotus Gemology reference database after the most important human tools of all time.

At Lotus Gemology, we believe knowledge is the common property of all humankind. Towards that goal, we are making our internal reference database—created with thousands of hours of work over a period of nearly four decades—available free of charge. It is our way of giving back to those who have come before us, as well as providing tools to researchers to push gemology ahead.

The Lotus Gemology Four Treasures database contains thousands of references relating to gems, gemology and mineralogy. It is particularly strong in citations relating to corundum (ruby, sapphire), jade, emerald, spinel, color science, and Arabic-language gemology.

Got a reference you’d like to see included? Feel free to send it to us for consideration. Find a mistake? Again, let us know so we can correct the database.

8485 references total

Basic Reference Search

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Search Notes

Click on any cover image to view a larger version; note that covers may not be the exact issue number/edition of the reference in question
RWHL, JLEL, LTL - Copy or original in the Richard W. Hughes, John L. Emmett and/or Lisbet Thoresen Libraries
*,** - References of Particular Merit

Reference Types

Books (Includes Ancient Text, Book, Book Sections, Catalog, Conference Proceedings, Dictionary, Edited Books, Electronic Books, Electronic Book Section, Encyclopedia, Manuscript, Pamphlet, Report, Thesis, Unpublished Work)
Articles (Includes Blog, Conference Papers, Electronic Articles, Journal Articles, Magazine Articles, Newspaper Articles, Patents, Press Releases, Web Pages)
Multimedia (Includes Audiovisual Material, Film or Broadcast, Podcast)
Other (Computer Program, Discussion Forum, Map, Personal Communication)

Hidden Treasures | Lotus Gemology's Special Literature Guides

For those who wish to explore the literature of gems further, we recommend the following:

Key Reference Books

Below are listed the most important reference books for the literature on gems, minerals, jewelry and allied fields. To access a full list with cover images and abstracts, just do a general search on "bibliography".

Sinkankas, J. (1993) Gemology: An Annotated Bibliography. Metuchen, NJ: The Scarecrow Press, Inc., 2 Vols., 1179 pp.; RWHL**.
Schuh, C.P. (2007) Mineralogy & Crystallography: An Annotated Bibliography of Books Published 1469 through 1919. Unpublished manuscript: Vol. 1, 1562 pp.; RWHL**.
Born, G.M. (1982) Chinese Jade: An Annotated Bibliography. Chicago: Celadon Press; RWHL**.
Shigley, J. GIA Library Historical Gemology Reading Lists

Auction Catalogs

Christie’s (1987) The Gill Collection of Historical Gem Books (Part 1). New York: Christie’s, 21 October, Sale 6458, 48 pp.; RWHL*.
Christie’s (1987) Important Jewels [contains Part 2 of the Gill Historical Gem Book Collection]. 1–2 December, New York: Christie’s, Sale 6524, 308 pp.; RWHL.
Christie’s (1988) Magnificent Jewels [includes Part 3 of the Joseph Gill book collection]. New York: Christie’s, 20 April, 226 pp.; RWHL.
Christie’s (1988) Important Jewels [contains Part 4 of the Joseph Gill book collection]. New York: Christie’s, 7 June, Sale 6624, 243 pp.; RWHL.
Christie’s (1996) An Important Private Collection of Gem and Jewelry Books. New York: Christie’s, 15 April, Sale 8396, 66 pp.; RWHL*.
Christie’s (1997) The Théodore Horovitz Library. Geneva: Christie’s, 18 November, Sale 1239, 46 pp.; RWHL*.
Christie’s (1999) The Treasure of Siam | From a Single Private Collection. Bangkok: Christie’s, 7 August, Sale 9991, 108 pp.; RWHL*.
Christie’s (2000) Siamese Impressions. Bangkok: Christie’s, 30 July, Sale 7201, 134 pp.; RWHL.
Christie’s (2001) Arts of India. London: Christie’s, 27 September, 210 pp.; RWHL*.
Christie’s (2010) For the Enjoyment of Scholars: Selections from the Robert H. Blumenfield Collection. New York: Christie’s, 25 March, JENRO-2391, 149 pp.; RWHL*.
Christie’s (2011) Rare Classical Artwork Books. Beijing: Christie’s, 15 November, 123 pp.; RWHL.
Christie’s (2012) In the Pursuit of Knowledge: Asian Art Reference Books Including Selections From the C.T. Loo Library. Sale 2763, 13 September, New York: Christie’s, 107 pp.; RWHL.
Christie’s (2012) Auspicious Treasures for Scholars and Emperors • Selections from the Robert H. Blumenfield Collection. New York: Christie’s, 22 March, Sale 2648, 191 pp.; RWHL*.
Christie’s (2013) Studying the Past: The Hanshan Tang Reserve Collection. London: Christie’s, 14 May, 91 pp.; RWHL.
Pacific Book Auction Galleries (1999) The Library of Clifford J. Ewald • Mineralogy • Science • The Arts • Fine & Rare Books. San Francisco: Pacific Book Auction Galleries, 23 September, unpaginated, 420 lots; RWHL.
Sotheby’s (2001) The Magnificent Scientific Library of Joseph A. Freilich. New York: Sotheby’s, 10–11 January, Sale 7585, 478 pp.; RWHL*.
Sotheby’s (2016) China in Print and on Paper. London: Sotheby’s, 7 November, Cat. L16409, 148 pp.; RWHL.
Swann Galleries (1994) The Karl Krotki Library of Gemology & Mineralogy. New York: Swann Galleries, 8 December, unpaginated, 347 lots; RWHL.
Swann Galleries (2003) Books on Gems and Jewelry: The Henry Polissack Library, Part 1. New York: Swann Galleries, 20 March, unpaginated; 307 lots; RWHL*.
Swann Galleries (2003) Books on Gems and Jewelry: The Henry Polissack Library, Part 2. New York: Swann Galleries 27 May, unpaginated; 250 lots; RWHL*.

Bibliographies

Besterman, T. (1975) A World Bibliography of Oriental Bibliographies. Totowa, NJ: Rowman and Littlefield, 5th ed., 727 columns; RWHL.
Content, D.J. (1985) Glyptic Arts | Ancient Jewelry | An Annotated Bibliography. Houlton, ME: Crow Hill, 158 pp.; not seen.
Cordier, H. (1912) Bibliotheca Indosinica. good, Ed. Paris: Publications de L’École Française d’Extrême-Orient, 2 Vols., Vol. 1 (Burma, Assam, Siam, Laos), reprinted by Burt Franklin, NY, 1967, 1104 pp.; RWHL*.
Cox, E.G. (1935–41) A Reference Guide to the Literature of Travel: Including Voyages, Geographical Descriptions, Adventures, Shipwrecks and Expeditions. Seattle: University of Washington, 3 Vols., reprinted 1992 by Maurizio Martino, Cambridge, MA, 404, 591, 732 pp.; RWHL*.
Denman, C. (1945) Jade, A Comprehensive Bibliography. Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 65, No. 2, April–June, pp. 117–126; RWHL*.
Goossens, P.J. (1978) Earth Sciences Bibliography of Burma, Yunnan, and Andaman Islands. In Third Regional Conference on the Geology and Mineral Resources of Southeast Asia, ed., Bangkok, pp. 495–536; RWHL.
Johns, F.A. (1952) Some bibliographical material additional to Carolyn Denman’s “Jade: A Comprehensive Bibliography”. Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 72, No. 3, pp. 111–112; RWHL.
Kuhner, D. and Rizzo, T. (1980) The Herbert Clark Hoover Collection of Mining & Metallurgy: Bibliotheca De Re Metallica. Claremont, CA: Libraries of the Claremont Colleges, limited edition, 219 pp.; RWHL.
La Touche, T.H.D. (1917) A Bibliography of Indian Geology and Physical Geography with an Annotated Index of Minerals of Economic Value. Calcutta: Office of the Geological Survey of India, 571 pp.; RWHL*.
Oldham, R.D. (1888) A Bibliography of Indian Geology. Calcutta: Geological Survey of India, 145 pp.; RWHL.
Sinkankas, J. (1991) Bibliography of Jade. In Jade, Keverne, R., ed., New York, Van Nostrand Reinhold, pp. 356–367; RWHL*.
Sun, L. (1997) Chinese Historical Sources on Burma: A Bibliography of Primary and Secondary Works. Journal of Burma Studies, Vol. 2, Special Issue, pp. 1–116; RWHL*.
Vanderstappen, H.A. (1975) The T.L. Yuan Bibliography of Western Writings on Chinese Art and Archaeology. London, Mansell, 606 pp.; RWHL.
Ward, D.C. and Carozzi, A.V. (1984) Geology Emerging | A Catalog Illustrating the History of Geology (1500-1850) from a Collection in the Library of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Urbana-Champaign: University of Illinois, 565 pp.; RWHL*.
Westwood, A. (1914) Catalogue of the Books in the Library at the Assay Office Birmingham. London: Chiswick Press, 309 pp.; RWHL*.
Yang, J. (1982) Zhongguo Guyu Shumu [Bibliography of Ancient Chinese Jade]. [in Chinese and English], Hong Kong, Center for Chinese Archeology Art, Institute on Chinese Culture, Chinese University of Hong Kong, 141 pp.; RWHL*.
Zhao, C. (2004) Zhongguo Guyu Yanjiu Wenxian Zhinan 中国古玉硏究文献指南 [A Guide to Research Literatures on Chinese Ancient Jades]. [in Chinese], Beijing, Kexue Chubanshe, 362 pp.; RWHL.

Book Collecting

Allen, N. (2003) Pearls of the Orient: Asian Treasures from the Wellcome Library. Chicago: Serindia Publications, 216 pp.; RWHL.
Basbanes, N.A. (1995) A Gentle Madness | Bibliophiles, Bibliomanes, and the Eternal Passion for Books. New York: Henry Holt, 638 pp.; RWHL*.
Carter, J. (1952) ABC for Book Collectors. New Castle, Delaware: Oak Knoll Press, 7th ed., 224 pp.; RWHL.
Ellis, E., Seebohm, C. and Sykes, C.S. (1995) At Home With Books. London: Thames & Hudson, 248 pp.; RWHL*.
Freudenberger, N. Biblio•Style: How We Live at Home with Books. London: Hardie Grant Books, 272 pp.; RWHL.
Jordan-Smith, P. (1934) For the Love of Books | The Adventures of an Impecunious Collector. New York: Oxford University Press, 306 pp.; RWHL.
Kindersley, D. (2017) Remarkable Books | A Celebration of the World’s Most Beautiful and Historic Works. 256 pp.; RWHL*.
Pettegree, A. and Weduwen, A., der (2021) The Library | A Fragile History. New York: Basic Books, 518 pp.; RWHL.
Terrell, H. (2021) The Personal Librarian. New York: Berkley, 352 pp.; RWHL*.
Thomas, A.G. (1975) Great Books and Book Collectors. New York: Excalibur Books, 1st American edition, 280 pp.; RWHL.

Dictionaries/Glossaries

Carvalho, R.G., de (2024) Gempedia | A Comprehensive Glossary for Gemstones and Gemology. Bangkok: AIGS, 719 pp.; RWHL*.
Chikayama, A. (2013) Dictionary of Gemstones & Jewelry. Translated by Gill, S.H., Tokyo: IMACBC Co., 1st English edition, 652 pp.; RWHL*.
Chou, M., [周志仁著], (1987) Dictionary of Jade Nomenclature [“玉”名稱辭典]. [in English and Chinese], Hong Kong: privately published, 150 pp.; RWHL*.
Hansford, S.H. (1954) A Glossary of Chinese Art and Archælogy. China Society Sinological Series No. 4, London: China Society, 104 pp.; RWHL.
Na, C.-L., [那志良] (1982) 玉器辞典 – Dictionary of Chinese Jade. [in Chinese], Taipei: Wen wen chu ban she, 2 Vols., 456, 391 pp.; RWHL*.
Shipley, R.M. (1971) Dictionary of Gems and Gemology. good, Ed. Los Angeles: GIA, 6th ed., 230 pp.; RWHL.

General Literature Surveys

Adams, F.D. (1938) The Birth and Development of the Geological Sciences. Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins, 506 pp.; RWHL*.
Anonymous (1784) Verzeichniss, systematisches, aller deijenigen Schriften, welche die Naturgeschichte betreffen. [A Systematic Catalog of all those Writings that Concern Natural History]. [in German], Halle: Johann Christian Hendel, 446 pp.
Boehmer, G.-R. (1785–89) Bibliotheca scriptorum historiae naturalis. [Library of Writers on Natural History]. [in Latin], Leipzig: Johann Friedrich Junius, Parts I–IV in 2 Vols., Part V in 1 Vol., 778 pp.; RWHL*.
Bohm, J. (1985) The history of crystal growth. Acta Physica Hungarica, Vol. 57, No. 3–4, pp. 161–178; RWHL*.
Bromehead, C.E.N. (1945) Geology in Embryo (up to 1600 A.D.). Proceedings of the Geologists’ Association, Vol. 56, Pt. 2, pp. 89–134; RWHL.
Brunet, J.-C. (1860–65) Manuel du libraire et de l’amateur de livres. [Manual for the Bookseller and the Book Lover]. [in French], Paris: Brunet, Vols. 1–6; RWHL.
Chennault, C.L., Knapp, K.N., Berkowitz, A.J. and Dien, A.E., ed. (2015) Early Chinese Medieval Texts | A Bibliographic Guide. China Research Monograph 71, Berkeley, CA: Institute of East Asian Studies, University of California, 546 pp.; RWHL.
Cobres, J.P. (1782) Deliciae Cobresianiae: Büchersammlung zur Naturgeschichte. [Delights of Cobresiana: Book Collection on Natural History]. [in German], Augsburg: self published, 2 Vols., 957 pp.
Feigelson, R.S. (2015) Crystal growth through the ages: A historical perspective. In Handbook of Crystal Growth, Vol. 1 | Fundamentals: Thermodynamics and Kinetics, and Transport and Stability, pp. 1–83; RWHL*.
Fischer, H. and Hughes, R.W. (2025) Nephrite and Jadeite. Bangkok: Lotus Publishing, 638 pp.; RWHL*.
Gatterer, C.W.J. (1798–90) Allgemeines Repertorium der mineralogischen, bergwerks- und salzwerkswissenschaftlichen Litteratur. [General Repertory of Mineralogical, Mining, and Salt Works Literature]. [in German], Giessen: Georg Friedrich Heyer, 2 Vols., 318 pp.; RWHL*.
Jöcher, Christian Gottlieb (1750–51) Allgemeines Gelehrten-Lexicon 1–4 [General Lexicon of Scholars]. Theil. Leipzig 1750–51. 4. — Fortsetzungen und Ergänzungen dazu von Joh. Christ Adelung [Continuations and Additions by Johann Christoph Adelung]. Leipzig. 1784–87. 4. 2 Vols. — see also von Heinrich Wilhelm Rothermund. 3.-6. Vol. Delmenhorst, Bremen. 1810–22.
Ledoux, C.N. (2015) Liste des Publications Réalisées dans le Cadre du Projet Jade [29.11.2015]. Maison des Sciences de l’Homme et de l’Environnement, accessed 11 February 2024; RWHL*.
Loewe, M. (1993) Early Chinese Texts | A Bibliographical Guide. Early China Special Monograph Series No. 2, Berkeley, CA: Society for the Study of Early China, 546 pp.; RWHL*.
Merk, R. (2002) A survey of jade literature. Bulletin of the Friends of Jade, Vol. 10, pp. 179–182; RWHL.
Moore, N.F. (1834) Ancient Mineralogy. New York: G. & C. Carville & Co., 192 pp.; RWHL.
Na, C.-L., [那志良] (1983) Preface to collected illustrated works on ancient jade. Bulletin of the Friends of Jade, Vol. 3, (Trans. by Frances Wood), pp. 58–62; RWHL.
Schuh, C.P. (2007) Mineralogy & Crystallography: On the history of these sciences from the beginnings through 1919. Tucson: self-published, unpublished manuscript, 406 pp.; RWHL*.
Thorndike, L. (1923–1958) A History of Magic and Experimental Science. New York: Macmillan Co., 8 Vols., Reprinted, Vol. 1, pp. 775–782; Vol. 2, pp. 246–278 (Pseudo–Aristotle); Vol. 7, pp. 241–271; RWHL*.
Wallerius, J.G. (1779) Brevis Introductio In Historiam Litterariam Mineralogicam Atque Methodum Systemata Mineralogica Rite Condenda. [A Brief Introduction to the Literary History of Mineralogy and the Method for Properly Establishing Mineralogical Systems]. [in Latin], Stockholm: M. Sweder, 194 pp.
Wilson, W.E. (1994) The History of Mineral Collecting, 1530–1799. Mineralogical Record, Vol. 25, No. 6, November–December, 264 pp.; RWHL*.
Wilson, W., editor (1995) Mineral Books: Five Centuries of Mineralogical Literature. Mineralogical Record, No. 4, July–August, Tucson, AZ: Mineralogical Record, Vol. 26, 192 pp.; RWHL*.

Indexes

Gill, J.O. (1978) Gill’s Index to Journals, Articles and Books Relating to Gems and Jewelry. Santa Monica, CA: Gemological Institute of America, 420 pp.; RWHL.
Journal of Gemmology Cumulative Index and Bibliographies
Lapidary Journal (1992) The Lapidary Journal Index: 1947–1991. San Diego: Lapidary Journal Press, 433 pp.; RWHL*.
Mineralogical Record (1985) The Mineralogical Record Index: 1970–1983. Livermore, CA: Friends of Mineralogy, 246 pp.; RWHL.