Ercker´s Beschreibung... mineralischen Ertzt.1574
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Beskrivning
THE FIRST MANUAL OF ANALYTICAL AND METALLURGICAL CHEMISTRY. ERCKER, LAZARUS. Beschreibung: Allerfürnemisten Mineralischen Ertzt, unnd Berckwercksarten, wie dieselbigen, unnd eine jede in sonderheit, irer natur und eigenschaffe nach, auff alle Metaln probirt,... in fünff Bücher verfasst... Prag (durch Georgen Schwartz) 1574.
Folio (295x195 mm.). (4), 1-140, (6, last blank) ll. Title printed in red and black with woodcut vignette, 33 large woodcut illustrations (1 page defective [leaf CXV], which lacks about 40 % of text completed in manuscript, also the text verso).
Contemporary bound in vellum with old manuscript in two columns, worn, darkened, spotted,, blank spine. Last blank leaf cut in outer part. Partly foxed and spotted, the last 10 leaves harder in lower part. Later signature and annotation on first endpaper.
First edition. Compare Ferguson I, pp. 242-43 (for the 1598 ed.).
Lazarus Ercker (1528-1594).
This is the first manual of analytical and metallurgical chemistry and, along with Agricola's De re metallica, the most important book on metallurgy and assaying in the sixteenth century.
"In 1574 Ercker published his magnum opus, Beschreibung allerfürnemisten mineralischen Ertzt. The only one of Ercker's works to contain many drawings, it presents a systematic review of the methods of testing alloys and minerals of silver, gold, copper, antimony, mercury, bismuth, and lead, of obtaining and refining these metals, as well as of obtaining acids, salts, and other compounds. The last chapter is devoted to saltpeter. Ercker described laboratory procedures and equipment, gave an account of preparing the cupel, of constructing furnaces, and of the assaying balance and the method of operating it. He used as his model Agricola's De re metallica, yet was quite original and included only the procedures he himself had tested. Ercker was so hostile to alchemy that he did not use alchemical symbols, although his Probierbuchlein (1556) included a full list of them" (DSB)
From the library of Carl Sahlin.
Carl Sahlin (1861-1943), industrialist, writer on the science of mining and metallurgy.
He started his collecting as early as 1897 as a student of mining. Later he became head of the Ironworks part of the Stora Kopparbergs Bergslags AB (1893-1900), and then manager at Laxå Bruk. President of the Swedish Iron and Steel Works´ Association 1904-1928, delegate of the Swedish Ironmasters´ Association. He wrote extensively about mining and foundry history (also numismatics) and founded Bergslagets library and museum. He was also one of the founders of the Technical museum in Stockholm, to which museum he also donated his vast collections on mining and related history, including part of his library in 1933.
Photo.
Auktionsnummer:
6036
Datum:
2015-12-15