Search Results: Mineralogy and Geology from Milestones of Science Books

London: Robert Baldwin, 1814. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Very Good. 1st Edition. Hardcover. 8vo - over 7¾ - 9¾" tall. An Attempt to Establish a Pure Scientific System of Mineralogy, by the Application of the Electro-Chemical Theory and Chemical Proportions. London: Robert Baldwin, 1814. 144 pp., including publisher's adverts at pp. [13]-144. [Bound with] WARDROP, James. On Blood-letting. An Account of the Curative Effects of the Abstraction of Blood. London: J.B. Bailliere, 1835. [2], viii, 148 pp., including half-title. [Bound with] EYRE, James. Practical Remarks on Some Exhausting Diseases, Particularly Those Incident to Women. John Churchill, 1845. [2], iv, 75 [1] pp.half-title. 3 works bound in one volume. 8vo (187 x 111 mm). Contemporary half calf over marbled boards, spine with morocco label lettered in gilt (extremities rubbed, corners bumped, spine repaired). Internally only little browned, minor spotting in places. Fine copy of a rare sammelband. ---- I. Wheeler Gift 721; Norman 225 and… Read More

Amsterdam: Jan Roman de Jonge, 1741. 2nd Edition. Hardcover. Very Good. 2nd Edition. Hardcover. Folio - over 12 - 15" tall. Folio (393 x 260 mm). [24], 340, [44] pp., including half-title, additional engraved title page (by Jacobus de Later after Jan Goeree), letterpress title printed in red and black and with large engraved vignette, engraved portrait of the blind author (by Jacobus de Later), large engraved head- and tailpieces, woodcut initials, and 60 engraved plates numbered I-LX. Bound in contemporary speckled calf, gilt spine, speckled edges (joints starting, lightly rubbed and with some minor restorations). Text bright and crisp, half-title with vertical crease, occasional minor finger-soiling, very minor occasional spotting. A fine copy. ---- Nissen ZBI 3519; Landwehr VOC 591. SECOND DUTCH EDITION of this magnificient work on marine life of the Moluccas. The beautifully engraved plates display a variety of crustaceans, shells, minerals, gems, corals and fossils found in the waters… Read More

Leipzig: Akademische Verlagsgesellschaft, 1910. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Very Good. 1st Edition. Hardcover. 8vo - over 7¾ - 9¾" tall. 8vo (224 x 157 mm). 12 pp. Contemporary green cloth, gilt lettered spine, original printed pictorial wrappers bound in. Minor dust soiling of wrappers, little age toning, but generally crisp and clean throughout. ---- EXCEPTIONALLY RARE FIRST AND ONLY EDITION, offprint issue (or separate printing) of Arrhenius' paper on the atmospheres of the planets in our solar system, issued with new pagination and dated at end of text 'Februar 1910.' In this paper, Arrhenius discusses the composition and chemistry of the planets in our solar system and the changes over geological times due to physical effects and chemical action such as oxidation, carbonation and other forms of weathering of geological rocks. - Visit our website to see more images!

Gotha: Justus Perthes, 1912. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Very Good. 1st Edition. Hardcover. 4to - over 9¾ - 12" tall. Die Entstehung der Kontinente. In: Dr. A. Petermanns Mitteilungen aus Justus Perthes' geographischer Anstalt 58/1, 1912, pp. 185-195, 253-256, 305-309, folding plate/map and text illustrations. Gotha: Justus Perthes. 4to (270 x 220 mm). In two volumes (with part I extending into vol. II): xvi, [4], 344 pp., 56 plates, maps and diagrams (some folding). Publisher's original plum cloth, blind-stamped boards (little wear and soiling), spine and front board gilt-lettered. Book block uncut. Some sheets working loose, some reinforced at gutter. Internally clean with only little spotting and browning. Provenanve: Werner Floss. Still very copy. ---- Norman 2192 - FIRST EDITION, journal issue. Wegener was the originator and one of the chief defender's of the theory of continental drift. This, his first paper on the subject, attracted little attention, and it was only with the publication of a… Read More

Braunschweig: Vieweg & Sohn, 1915. 1st Edition. Soft cover. Very Good. 1st Edition. Soft cover. 8vo - over 7¾ - 9¾" tall. 8vo (222 x 144 mm). iv [2], 94 pp., 20 illustrations in text. Original publisher's printed wrappers (chipping at lower spine repaired with partial loss of printed title), pages untrimmed. Internally clean and unfoxed, a few pencil annotations and markings. Provenance: M.K. Engelbert van Bevervoorde (pencil signature to title-page). A very good copy, rarely found in original publishers binding. ---- DSB XIV, 217; Norman 2192 (journal issue). - First edition in book form of the famous work on the continental drift, the mainwork of Wegener. The text appeared first in Petermanns Mitteilungen

Paris: Martin le Jeune, 1580. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Very Good. 1st Edition. Hardcover. 8vo - over 7¾ - 9¾" tall. 8vo (165 x 108 mm). [16], 361, [23] pp. Signatures: *8 A-Aa8. Woodcut initials and headpieces. Bound in 19th century fine brown morocco by Hardy (see Flety 89), spine with 5 raised bands and gilt lettering, all edges gilt, board edges ruled in gilt, rich gilt-tooling of turn-ins, marbled endpapers (light rubbing of extremities). Text with little even browning, Y6 with short clean tear at fore-margin, V3 with repared tear at head obscuring page numbering, pp. 8-13 with unobtrusive text markings in black ink, first pages with occasional light finger soiling, tiny wormtrack at blank lower margin of pp. 289-302. In all a clean and sound copy with ample margins. ---- FIRST EDITION of this famous and fascinating collection of eleven distinct scientific treatises on subjects as diverse as the nature of water, the use of marl to reclaim land, and the famous treatise De l'Art de terre, an… Read More

Florence: [Joseph Cocchini], 1667. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Very Good. 1st Edition. Hardcover. 4to (280 x 167 mm). [8], 123 [1] pp. Signatures: ✠4 A-P4 Q2, 66 leaves. Woodcut Medici arms on title, 7 plates: 3 large folding woodcut plates numbered Tabula I-III and 4 full page engraved plates numbered Tab. [IV], V, [VI], VII (bound at the end with the engravings first). 18th-century roan-backed boards, vellum tips, gilt-tooled spine (extremities little rubbed, front endpaper removed, corners bumped). Small stain in preliminaries, some very light occasional spotting, a few early ink annotations and 3 neat ink diagrams in text. A fine, fresh and clean copy. Provenance: library of Walter Pagel (label fixed to inner pastedown). ---- Norman 2012; Garrison-Morton 577; NLM/Krivatsy 11432; Osler 4021; Waller 9223; LeFanu, Notable Medical Books from the Lilly Library, p. 79. - FIRST EDITION of "the first outline of a scientific theory of the development of the earth" (Norman), also important for Steno's… Read More

Paris: Gogue & Nee de la Rochelle, 1784. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Near Fine. 1st Edition. Hardcover. 8vo. (192x120 mm). [8], 236 pp. Half-title, 8 folding engraved plates by Sellier after Fossier. Contemporary quarter calf, spine gilt. Somewhat browned and foxed, half title stronger). ---- Dibner 92; Horblit 47; Sparrow 93; Norman 1021-1022, Ward & Carozzi, Geology Emerging, 1984: no. 1020; Wilson, History of Mineral Collecting, 1994: 53-6. - FIRST EDITION of the work that laid the foundation for the mathematical theory of crystal structure. Often thought of as the founder of crystallography, Hauy proposed the idea of the crystal molecule and recognized that, based on the discontinuity principle, there are limited varieties of a crystal species. (Dibner). Haüy's first printed book, this work was instrumental in establishing a solid foundation on which modern theories of crystal structure rest. In it, Haüy brought together the advances in crystallography made by Romé de l'Isle, Bergman and others… Read More

London: Printed for John Taylor and John Wyat, 1691. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Very Good. 1st Edition. Hardcover. 8vo - over 7¾ - 9¾" tall. 8vo (168 x 105 mm). [26], 158, [2], 28, [2] pp., including half-title and final errata leaf to second part. Bound in contemporary speckled sheepskin, spine with gilt-lettered morocco label, original endpapers (rebacked, extremities worn, boards warped, corners bumped and scuffed). Text somewhat browned (title stronger), some dust-soiling, minor scattered spotting. Provenance: from the Stephen White Collection. Collated and complete. ---- Wing B-3959; Fulton 193. RARE FIRST EDITION and his last book published in his lifetime. "Though this was the last tract published during Boyle's life, it is less important than 'The History of Air', which came out a few months after his death. There is an interesting preamble in the form of a letter to Oldenburg in which Boyle expresses the hope that his observations 'may be taken in good part from a Person . . . that was… Read More

Zürich: David Gessner, 1709. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Very Good. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Folio - over 12 - 15" tall. Folio (370 x 245 mm). [2], 44 (i.e., 42) pp., including engraved title with large vignette by J.H. Huber after J.M. Füssli, 10 folding engraved plates depicting fossil plants (one printed in brown) bound at the end. Page numbers 33-34 omitted in pagination. 20th century three-quarter calf over black cloth covered boards by Period Binders of Bath, gilt lettered spine, new endpapers (light rubbing of extremities). Text and plates crisp and clean troughout, very minor occasional spotting, small torn-off portion of title at lower inner margin backed by paper (outside print area). Provenance: H.W.J. Van Amerom (bookplate to front pastedown), plates with explanations added in light pencil. Very good copy. ---- FIRST EDITION with plates depicting specimens believed by Scheuchzer to have been relics of Noah's flood. This work firmly entrenched Scheuchzer (1672-1733) as the father of… Read More

Mainz: Jacob Mydenbach, 1491. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Very Good. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Folio - over 12 - 15" tall. 23 June 1491. Chancery Folio (285 x 197 mm). 441 (of 454) unnumbered leaves, lacking the first printed leaf A1 and the final two gatherings 2D-2E of the index including colophon (11 unillustrated text leaves and final blank). Text in two columns; spaces left blank for initials, some with printed guide letter. 6 (of 7) full-page and 1066 (of 1066) column-width woodcut illustrations of herbs, plants, animals and human activities in text, all in fine contemporary hand-color. Signatures: A-B⁸ C-Z⁸̇̇⁻⁶ a-l⁶̇̇⁻⁸ ²M⁸ n-z⁸̇̇⁻⁶ [et]⁸ aa-hh⁶̇̇⁻⁸ ii-ll⁶ [chi]⁸ ²v⁶ ²A⁸ ²B-²E⁶ (-A1, -D⁶, -E⁶). Leaf A4 unsigned; leaf n unsigned; leaf v1 unsigned, leaves v2-v3 signed "v j" and "v ij"; leaf ee2 unsigned; gathering [chi] signed on [chi2]-[chi4] as follows: "ij", "iij" and "iiij"; leaves ²v1-²v3 signed "v", "vj" and "vij". Gathering ²B… Read More

Edinburgh / London: William Creech / Cadell and Davies, 1802. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Very Good. 1st Edition. Hardcover. 8vo - over 7¾ - 9¾" tall. 8vo (210 x 130 mm). xx, 528 pp. Contemporary calf, rebacked with the original spine preserved, red morocco lettering piece. Text little age toned, occasional very minor spotting, brown offsetting from silk bookmark to pp. 411/12. Provenance: Cranstoun of Corehouse (armorial bookplate to front pastedown). A very good, clean copy. ---- Horblit 52b; Norman 1717. FIRST EDITION. Landmark book in the development of the science of geology. "Playfair, a professor of mathematics at the University of Edinburgh and a friend of James Hutton, revised Hutton's Theory of the Earth to present his case more precisely, with additional evidence and without Hutton's religious ideas. Although Playfair's primary works were in mathematics and physics, he added substantially to the sum of geological knowledge of his time." (Norman). - Visit our website to see more images!

Paris: Delalain, 1807. 2nd Edition. Hardcover. Fine. 2nd Edition. Hardcover. 4to - over 9¾ - 12" tall. 4to (256x200 mm), xxxvii, (3) 654, (2) pp., marbled endpapers, half title, title with small vignette, 13 engraved folding plates. Contemporary full calf with morocco label and gilt-tooled spine (boards, hinges and extremities rubbed), interior bright and virtually unfoxed. A fine and copy of an extraordinarily rare work, important in the history of metallurgy and iron mineralogy. ---- Exeedingly rare second edition, much rarer than the first edition (only one copy listed in Worldcat: Ecole des Mines, Paris). In 1775 Pierre Grignon published a book on various aspects of iron mineralogy and metallurgy which is of considerable importance to the history of metallurgy and crystallography. Grignon was occupied in the commerical operation of a blast furnace and forge plant and his science stemmed from observations on a much larger scale than those of his laboratry contemporaries. He had… Read More

Paris: De Bure l'Aîné, 1742. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Very Good. 1st Edition. Hardcover. 4to - over 9¾ - 12" tall. Two parts in one volume. 4to (289 x 220 mm). [8], 1-230, [4], 231-491 [1] pp. Title printed in red and black, engraved and hand-colored allegorical frontispiece by Chedel after Boucher and 32 engraved plates, all in fine contemporary hand-coloring, woodcut head- and tailpieces. Without the later issued Appendix found in a few copies only. Bound in contemporary French calf, rebacked and recornered with most of the original spine leather and morocco label preserved, marbled endpapers, red-dyed edges, both boards with gilt-stamped central supralibros (leather rubbed and scratched). Text somewhat evenly browned, minor occasional spotting, single wormtrack in blank fore-margin of pp. 393-426. Provenance: Leo Laigurei (signed and dated 1930 on first flyleaf). A very good copy with wide margins and with the plates in fresh and vivid colors. - Visit our website to see more images! ----… Read More

Naples: Gaetano Nobile, 1855. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Very Good. 1st Edition. Hardcover. 4to - over 9¾ - 12" tall. 4to (300 x 230 mm). viii, 207 [1] pp., 7 lithographed plates bound at end. All pages untrimmed. 20th-century papercard boards. Text and plates bright and clean with just a little browning and dust-soiling to outer edges and occasional minor spotting. Provenance: Giancarlo Beltrame Library. Very good copy. ---- FIRST SEPARATE EDITION (first published in the Rendiconto dell' Accademia delle scienze fisiche e matematiche di Napoli) of a report of the massive eruptions of Mount Vesuvius in 1850 and 1855. - Visit our website to see more images!

Lyon: J. & P. Prost, 1636. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Near Fine. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Folio - over 12 - 15" tall. Mineralogia, sive Natvralis philosophiae thesauri, in qvibvs metallicae concretionis medicatorúmque fossilium miracula, terrarum pretium, colorum & pigmentorum apparatus concretorum succorum virtus lapidum atque gemmarum dignitas continentur. Lyon: J. & P. Prost, 1636. Folio (360x230 mm), [16], 626, [70] pp. Contemporary flexible vellum, title lettered in manuscript on spine. Half-title, title printed in red and black with engraved vignette, paper repairs to fore margin of first 3 leaves, not affecting text block. Woodcut initials, head and tail pieces. Library stamps on dedication page, first page, 8pp of text and 58 pp. of index (not affecting text). Stamp from "Escuela de Ingenieros" dates 1882, discharged. Old repair to the lower tip of p.115, worm tracks on pp 304-350, last 6 pages of index with unobtrusive paper repairs to lower corner, light… Read More

Braunschweig: Schulbuchhandlung, 1790. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Very Good. 1st Edition. Hardcover. 8vo - over 7¾ - 9¾" tall. 8vo (155 x 100 mm). [i-v] vi-viii, [9-11] 12-126 pp. Contemporary thin cardboard, spine and front cover hand-lettered in ink, blue-dyed edges (some paper chipping at spine ends and joints, dust-soiling). Protected in a dark-blue roan pull-off case. Light even browning internally, occasional faint foxing, small ink spots to title and p. 34; a few annotations and ink corrections in text, in all crisp and clean throughout. Provenance: Johann Friedrich Gmelin; Theodor Wagner; Alexander von Humboldt; Adolph Lewisohn. Dedication copy of Alexander von Humboldt to his teacher Johann Friedrich Gmelin at Göttingen University, inscribed and signed on inner front-cover "Herrn Hofrath Gmelin / von seinem Schüler / A. von Humboldt". Further inscribed by von Humboldt below, but more than 60 years later in his well-known matured hand "Dieses Exemplar ist mir zu meinem 85sten Geburtstag von… Read More

Leipzig: Verlag von Wilhelm Engelmann, 1888. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Very Good. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Folio - over 12 - 15" tall. Two parts in two volumes. 8vo (228 x 155 mm). x, 852; vi, 697 [1] pp., including 624 text illustrations, 10 lithographed plates of which 6 printed in colors. Uniformly bound in contemporary half sheepskin and marbled boards, gilt-lettered spines, marbled edges (leather and extremities rubbed, minor wear to edges, boards protected by coated mylar foil). Text with little age-toning, but generally very clean and bright throughout. Provenance: 'SDL Bücherei' (stamps on front free endpapers); Collection of Peter and Margarethe Braune. Very good set. ---- FIRST EDITION of the author's first major work. "Lehmann discovered liquid crystals; substances which behave mechanically as liquids but display many of the optical properties of crystalline solids. [. . .] Lehmann's early scientific interest and experimentation were concerned with electric discharges in rarified gases,… Read More

Stockholm: L. Salvius, 1753. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Very Good. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Large Folio. Large folio (412 x 258 mm). [8], 123, [9] pp. Title with engraved armorial vignette by J. E. Rehn, engraved headpiece incorporating a medallion portrait of Linnaeus, 2 ornamental engraved initials, text in facing pages (or parallel columns) of Swedish and Latin, 12 engraved plates. Contemporary card board binding, boards with marbled paper, spine rebacked with later blue paper (extremities worn, covers rubbed and slightly warped). Light browning of text (less to plates), accasional minor spotting, plate IV with paper repair of lower blank corner (outside platemark). A handsome and wide-margined copy. ---- Hoover 781; Nissen ZBI 2521; Soulsby 1081; Ward & Carozzi 2160, Freilich Sale Catalog 524; Hulth p. 89. - RARE FIRST EDITION of the catalogue of count Carl Gustaf Tessin's mineralogical cabinet, edited by Linné. The binomial system which Linné extended to all the kingdoms of nature in the 10th… Read More

Zurich: D. Gessner, 1746. Hardcover. Fine. Hardcover. 8vo - over 7¾ - 9¾" tall. Natur-Geschichte des Schweitzerlandes: samt seinen Reisen über die Schweitzerische Gebürge. Aufs neue hrsg. und mit einigen Anmerkungen versehen von Joh[ann] Georg Sulzern. Zürich: David Gessner, 1746. 16, 488, [2]; [8], 381 [1] pp. First title printed in red and black and with engraved vignette, errata leaf at end of vol. I, 30 engraved plates (7 folding). Tear in folding plate to p.191 in vol. II verso repaired by tape, some minor browning and occasional spotting. [Bound with]: SULZER, Johann Georg, Untersuchung von dem Ursprung der Berge, und andrer damit verknüpften Dinge. Zürich: David Gessner, 1746. 44 pp. 1 folding engraved plate, woodcut tailpiece. [Bound with:] SULZER, Johann Georg. Beschreibung einiger Merckwürdigkeiten, welche er in einer Ao. 1742 gemachten Berg-Reise durch einige Oerter der Schweiz beobachtet hat. Zürich: David Gessner, 1747. 71 [1] pp. Engraved title vignette, woodcut initials,… Read More