Milestones of Science Books

NICOLS, Thomas.

A Lapidary or, the History of Precious Stones: with Cautions for the Undeceiving of all Those That Deal with Precious Stones.

Cambridge: Thomas Buck, 1652.

1st Edition. Hardcover. Very Good. Item #002628

4to (179 x 137 mm). [10], 239 [1] pp. Includes folding table, but without the initial blank. Bound in later half calf over marbled boards, blind-stamped and gilt-lettered spine (repair to spine, hinges and corners). Text little browned throughout, light dampstaining to preliminary leaves and title and faint to several signatures near the end, occasional minor spotting, top margin trimmed closed but not affecting headlines, old repaired tear at fold of table. Provenance: F. B. Lorch (leather bookplate); Henry & Carol Faul (bookplate). Still a very good and unmarked copy. ----

Wing N1145; Hoover 610; Wheeler-Gift 136 (cites 15 leaves of prelims, in error). - FIRST EDITION of the first book written in English on gemstones and important also from the perspective of the development of geological science. "Nicols follows De Boodt closely and quotes him frequently. He adopts his classification of gems and his views concerning the occult powers which certain of them possess, as derived from the divine Being, acting through good or evil spirits, the stones being intermediaries, and thus they are "Oft times the habitacles of daemones and intelligences which Johannes Langius in his epistle calleth syderum & orbium motores" The introduction to his chapter entitled Of the Emerauld or Smaragde is an interesting example of the quaint phraseology of the time : The Emerauld is a precious gemme or stone of so excellent a viridity, or spring-colour, as that if a man shall look upon the Emerauld by a pleasant green meadow, it will be more amiable than the meadow, and overcome the meadows glorie, by the glory of that spring of viriditie which it hath in itself: The largeness of the meadow it will overcome with the amplitude of its glory, wherewith farre above its greatnesse it doth feed the eie: and the virescencie of the meadow it will overcome with the brightnesse of its glory, which in it self seemeth to embrace the glorious viridity of many springs. This stone is known by its apparent coldness in the mouth, by its gravity being weighed; and in this, that being cast into a fire, it will not burn, nor send forth any flame, and that in the brightnesse of the Sunne, it will keep its excellent viridity and greenness." Frank Dawson Adams. Medieval Mineralogy. In: Mineralogical Record, 1995, vol. 26, no. 4, p.38).

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