An alphabetical list of the names of minerals, at present most familiar in their english, french, and german languages, with tables of analyses

[ALLAN, Thomas]

Published by Printed at the Caledonian Mercury Press, Edinburgh, 1808

About this Item

[8], 72pp, with 17 leaves of tables, each folded and mounted on a stub. [Bound after:] BALD, Robert. A general view of the coal trade of scotland, chiefly that of the river forth and mid-lothian, as connected with the supplying of edinburgh and the north of scotland with fuel; to which is added an inquiry into the condition of these women who carry goals under ground in scotland, known by the name of bearers. Edinburgh. Printed by A. Neill & Co for Oliphant & Brown., 1808. xv, [1], 173pp, [1]. Annotations in an early hand to A7-8 and B6, some spotting to text. 8vo. Contemporary calf. Rubbed, without lettering-piece, split to upper joint. Twentieth-century ink inscription of 'M.P. Ramsay' to FFEP, bookplate removed from FEP, earlier ink inscription (?'Lumsdains') to head of each title, and the first leaf of the text of the second mentioned item. The first edition of an extensive list of minerals 'employed by the latest authors' produced by Thomas Allan (1777-1833), banker and mineralogist who formed what was probably the finest mineral collection in Scotland. Bequeathed to his son, it was eventually incorporated into the collection of Robert Greg, which was itself later acquired by the British Museum of Natural History. As Allan, who went on to write the diamond article for the Encyclopaedia Britannica (Edinburgh, 1815) and singled out what came to be known as Allanite from the samples collected by Karl Ludwig Giesecke in Greenland, notes in his introduction, on the publication of this list mineralogical nomenclature was in its infancy with 'no rules yet.established'. By means of solution he presents this work 'in alphabetical order, the names used by the authors at present most in request, and selected those of Kirwan and Jameston in the English language, with those of Hauy and Brochant in the French, and a corresponding German title. The late works of Lucas and Brongniart having introduced many others, they are incorporated with the above'. The final section, presented in 17 double-page tables, show the 'composition of all the Minerals that appear hitherto to have been submitted to chemical analysis', in four classes, 'Saline', 'Earthy', 'Inflammable' and 'Metallic', and feature in each case the name of the analyst responsible for the work. Seller Inventory # AQ23956

Bibliographic Details

Title: An alphabetical list of the names of ...

Publisher: Printed at the Caledonian Mercury Press, Edinburgh

Publication Date: 1808

Edition: First edition.