AGRICOLA Georges De ortu & causis subterraneorum Lib. V. De natura eorum quae effluent ex terra Lib. IIII. De natura fossilium Lib. X. De veteribus & novis metallis Lib. II. Bermannus, sive de re metallica dialogus. Interpretatio Germanica vocum rei metallicae, addito Indice foecundissimo

Adams, A-345; BM/STC, German, p. 8; Grolier/Horblit, 2a; Neville, p. 15; Hoover, 14; Norman, 19.

First edition of the book that marked the beginning of mineralogy as a science.

The collection discusses the origin and distribution of ground water and mineralizing juices, the origin of subterranean heat, the origin of ore channels, and the principal divisions of the mineral kingdom as given in De Natura Fossilium.

“The ‘First handbook of modern systematic mineralogy ‘ (Horblit). It contains four new works and an enlargement of the Bergmannus, which first appeared in 1530. In addition to containing the first work on physical geology and ore deposits, it contains the first worthwhile book on on mineralogy, plus a history of mining and metallurgy from ancient times, with a glossary in Latin and German. Of chemical importance are the contemporary views on the composition of metals” (Neville).

De Natura Fossilium is often cited as the publication that marked the beginning of mineralogy as a science, 10 years before Agricola’s De Re Metallica. In this work, Agricola rejected the general view of Aristotle that stones, metals, and gems had their origin in the influence of heavenly bodies. Instead, he looked to natural causes, to the solution of minerals in liquids and their precipitation by gravity, heat, cold, and evaporation. Agricola’s system of classification exhibits a degree of generalization not found in earlier handbooks.

The De Natura Fossilium contains detailed descriptions of the characteristics of minerals such as color, brilliance, taste, shape, hardness, etc. Among the substances described are salt, soda, potash, saltpeter, alum, vitriol, orpiment, camphor, bitumen, coal, amber, lodestone, bloodstone, gypsum, talc, asbestos, mica, geodes and various fossils, fluorite, quartz, marble, serpentine, onyx, alabaster, limestone, gold, silver, copper, lead, quicksilver, iron, tin, antimony, and zinc. Also included are descriptions of useful operations such as gilding and making brass.

From 1518 to 1522, Agricola studied medicine and chemistry and in 1527, he opened a medical practice in Joachimsthal, Czechoslovakia. In this locality, with the mining activities of the surrounding area impacting his daily life, Agricola began to study mining techniques and mineralogy, and he became one of the most extraordinary scientists of his age. For his works that dealt with mining and mineralogy, he was labeled “the father of mineralogy.”

Good copy, preserved in a box. Minor damp staining to outer upper corners in second half of book. Final leaf with two careful and small paper repairs to fore edges.