Agricola, G. Vom Bergkwerck

XIJ Bucher darin alle Empter, Instrument, Bezeuge, vnd alles zu disem Handel gehörig, mit schonen figuren vorbildet (...). Trans. Philip Bech. Basel, Hieronymus Froben and Niclaus Bischoff, 1557. 1st German ed. (8),ccccxci,(12) p. Woodcut printer's device on title-p. and last p., Gothic text w. a few dec. initials, richly ill. w. 277 in-text woodcut engr. and diagrams (many half or full-p.) and 1 fold. engr. by Hans Rudolf Manuel Deutsch. Contemp. blindst. calf over boards (lacking clasps, orig. vellum prof rest. on edges with calf). Folio.

"Ex libris Francisci Moser" and Institution of Naval Architects library sticker upper pastedown, some (contemp.) marginal annotations. Later upper and lower endpapers, a few p. w. sm. tears (1 sl. affecting text), some foxing/ browning as usual, text and wood engr. fine and readable. Agricola was a German humanist scholar, mineralogist and metallurgist, and he is most well-known for this pioneering and comprehensive work on mining, mining sciences and metallurgy. Until the publication of this work, Pliny the Elder's work Historia Naturalis was the main source of information on metals and mining techniques. Some of the most important sections are those on mechanical engineering, use of water power, pumps, ventilation, blowing of furnaces, transport of ores, and more. With this work Agricola also made an important contribution physical geology, as he recognized the influence of the natural environment in the shaping of landscapes and, by extension, mines. Unrivaled in its complexity and accuracy, this work served as the standard reference work for two centuries. The Latin edition of the work was published one year earlier, but it is this first German edition that is rarer. *Proceeds go the Red Cross.