Trans Thomas Weaver (1 results)
More imagesPublished by Graisberry and Campbell for M.N. Mahon & Longman, Rees, Hurst and Orme, Dublin & London 1805
- Hardcover
- First Edition
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Hardcover. Condition: Near fine. First. THE LADY MARY LUCY TALBOT-BARRY YAMPOL COPY. First edition in English of Werner's first book. Octavo (9 1/16" x 5 ¾", 232mm x 146mm). [Full collation available.] With 2 folding engraved plates. Bound in the publisher's tape-backed blue boards. On the spine, a printed paper label with the t…itle and author between double lines. All edges of the text-block untrimmed. Boards starting, particularly the front board. Some signs of damp to the binding, albeit not reflected in the text-block. Some wear and chips peripherally. Mildly evenly tanned, with the very odd spot of foxing. Quire O starting at the top, but still firm. Ink ownership signature of Mary Lucy Talbot to the half-title-page, with a receipt of hers, dated 2 September 1815, laid in. Abraham Gottlob Werner (1749-1817) was the father of German geology. His "Neptunist" theory that Earth's minerals formed through crystallization in oceans -- although a good early explanation of sedimentation -- is now depreciated, but his impact on early modern mineralogy cannot be overstated. His pupils -- Wernerians -- filled the universities of Europe and Britain; Friedrich Mohs (whose scale of hardness is widely used) and Alexander von Humboldt numbered among them, as did Thomas Weaver, the translator of the present work, drawn on Werner's first publication, Von den äusserlichen Kennzeichen der Fossilien (Leipzig, 1774). Weaver (1773-1855) studied under Werner in Freiburg, such that the present edition, published some 30 years after the first, has been updated with advances in the field (pp. viii-ix). The word "fossils" in the title should not be understood in the modern sense of "organisms preserved through petrification" but as "minerals" (from Latin fossilis, the adjective of fossa, a trench or chasm) the sole sense it held in English through the XVIIc. As such, the Treatise is a pioneering work in English on the study of crystals and minerals more broadly. The Wernerian system of classification, drawn no doubt on Linnaeus' classification of living things, allowed for scientific collaboration through a shared language. Lady Mary Lucy Talbot (née Fox-Strangways, d. 1855) was the eldest child of the 2nd Earl of Ilchester, who was widowed by Thomas Mansel Talbot of Margam Park and Penrice Castle in 1813. The wealthy widow -- her receipt from the milliner-hosier-haberdasher Ann Nicson of Swansea for "10 yds Blew Ribon" comes to a rather staggering total -- had a strong interest in science, which she passed on to her nephew William Henry Fox Talbot, the pioneer of photography in Britain. W.H.F. Talbot also developed the field of spectral analysis, i.e., interpreting the effect on light of various crystals. His design for the polarizing microscope was crucial in examining thin sections of minerals to assess their composition. Barry Yampol (1937-2023) was a legendary collector of minerals and gems. His Mineral Trust held a rich collection of specimens and books (their Research Library entry, dated 30 May 2006, is presented with the volume) on mineralogy and related subjects. Yampol's library went to auction at Sotheby's New York 12 December 2025; the present volume was lot 215. Hoover 880 (albeit with an incorrect page-count).
