PROPERTY OF THE ILLINOIS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY*
BOYLE, Robert (1627-1691). An Essay about the Origine & Virtues of Gems. Wherein are Propos'd and Historically Illustrated some Conjectures about the Consistence of the Matter of Precious Stones, and the Subjects wherein their chiefest Virtues reside. London: William Godbid, 1672.
Details
BOYLE, Robert (1627-1691). An Essay about the Origine & Virtues of Gems. Wherein are Propos'd and Historically Illustrated some Conjectures about the Consistence of the Matter of Precious Stones, and the Subjects wherein their chiefest Virtues reside. London: William Godbid, 1672.
8o (170 x 103 mm). (Some light browing and minor marginal dampstaining.) 20th-century half morocco (rubbing to joints).
FIRST EDITION of this essay that marks the beginning of the modern development in knowledge of crystal structure. "The literature [on gems] increased at an astonishing rate during the first two centuries after printing; but except for technical works on stonecutting and the setting of precious stones, the subject continued to be largely a mixture of myth and credulity until the advent of Boyle's Essay of Gems" (Fulton 96). NLM/Krivatsy 1692; Ward & Carozzi 289; Wellcome II:222; Wing B-3947.
8o (170 x 103 mm). (Some light browing and minor marginal dampstaining.) 20th-century half morocco (rubbing to joints).
FIRST EDITION of this essay that marks the beginning of the modern development in knowledge of crystal structure. "The literature [on gems] increased at an astonishing rate during the first two centuries after printing; but except for technical works on stonecutting and the setting of precious stones, the subject continued to be largely a mixture of myth and credulity until the advent of Boyle's Essay of Gems" (Fulton 96). NLM/Krivatsy 1692; Ward & Carozzi 289; Wellcome II:222; Wing B-3947.