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Albert France-Lanord
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De Re Metallica (Dover Earth Science) Paperback – June 1, 1950

by Georgius Agricola (Author)
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 107 ratings
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Originally published in 1556, Agricola's De ReM etallica was the first book on mining to be based on field research and observation — what today would be called the "scientific approach." It was therefore the first book to offer detailed technical drawings to illustrate the various specialized techniques of the many branches of mining, and the first to provide a realistic history of mining from antiquity to the mid-sixteenth century. For almost 200 years, Agricola remained the only authoritative work in this area and by modern times it had become one of the most highly respected scientific classics of all time. A book more often referred to in literature on mining and metallurgy than any other, its Latin text prevented it from being as widely used as it might have been.
In 1912, the book was translated by former President Herbert Clark Hoover and his wife. Printed in a limited edition, the work was quickly bought up by book collectors, historians, and medievalists, who had found that there was much to be learned from its pages. The book contains an unprecedented wealth of material on alluvial mining, alchemy, silver refining, smelting, surveying, timbering, nitric acid making, and hundreds of other phases of the medieval art of metallurgy. The text even covers the legal aspects of mining the use of boundary stones, forfeitures of titles, safety requirements of tunnel building in the 1500s, and so on.
But the plates, perhaps more than anything else, have insured Agricola's continued importance. Brilliantly executed drawings, richly detailed, reveal a whole medieval world of machinery, industrial technique, tools, even costume and architecture. All 289 of the original woodcuts are reproduced in this reprint of the 1912 edition, offering students of the period, commercial artists, engineers, metallurgists, and even curious general readers an unforgettable picture of the first age of technology.

Previous page
  1. Print length
    672 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Dover Publications
  4. Publication date
    June 1, 1950
  5. Dimensions
    7 x 1.25 x 10.75 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0486600068
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0486600062
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

A Presidential Classic
The original edition of De Re Metallica (On the Nature of Metals, or Minerals) by Georg Bauer, writing under the Latinized pen name Georgius Agricola, was published in Germany in 1556. Bauer/Agricola had died the previous year, and had in fact completed writing the work several years before that. Publication was delayed, however, until the illustrations that supplement and ornament the work were completed.

De Re Metallica was a comprehensive treatise on the state of the art at the time of mining, refining, and smelting metals. Illustrated with 289 finely crafted woodcut illustrations, it was one of the most beautifully illustrated books produced in the first century of printing, and immediately became one of the landmarks of early scientific and technical printing as well. However, until the early years of the twentieth century, the book was only available in the original Latin version, affordable by only wealthy collectors and institutions, and readable only by those who knew Latin. At this point, the history of De Re Metallica intersects with the life of the 31st President of the United States, Herbert Hoover.

Hoover graduated from Stanford in1895 with a degree in geology and during the years before the start of World War One worked as a mining engineer primarily in Australia and China. Through his professional interest in mining, and with the assistance of his wife (Lou Henry Hoover, a Latin scholar who had studied geology in college), Hoover translated De Re Metallica into English.

In the late 1940s, over a decade after he left the Presidency, Hoover was retired, living in New York's Waldorf Astoria Hotel. Founder and first President of Dover Publications Hayward Cirker wrote to Hoover suggesting that Dover, then less than ten years old and publishers of what could only be described as a modest list of books of scientific interest, would like to reprint the Hoovers' translation of De Re Metallica in a new edition.

Over a period of time, Cirker convinced Hoover to do it. In 1950, the Dover edition came out. On the wall in Dover's Mineola office is a framed letter from President Hoover thanking Hayward Cirker for sending him the Dover edition of De Re Metallica and expressing satisfaction that the venture seemed to be working out well.

Now in its sixty-first year as a Dover book, first in hardcover, now in paperback, Dover's De Re Metallica is now one of the most successful books Dover has ever published.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Dover Publications (June 1, 1950)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 672 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0486600068
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0486600062
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.93 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7 x 1.25 x 10.75 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 107 ratings

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  1. Albert France-Lanord

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Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
107 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Mark
5.0 out of 5 stars Timeless classic
Reviewed in the United States on February 14, 2024
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Perfect copy
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Jay Ter Louw
5.0 out of 5 stars The historic book on mining and refining
Reviewed in the United States on January 19, 2022
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This was the world's authoritative book on mining and refining for more than 200 years. Originally in Latin but translated for us by Herbert Hoover. The amazing part of the book are the period woodcut illustrations of mining techniques, pumps, bellows, furnaces, and powered equipment.
One person found this helpful
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Taylor Jones
5.0 out of 5 stars Unbelievable in size, scope, and breadth
Reviewed in the United States on January 12, 2015
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Simply stunning. I was pretty excited to get this book, then I began flipping through it. The level of detail in the illustrations is astonishing, and the information provided is likely as relative today (to a degree) as it was 500 years ago. I would highly recommend this book over all other versions. It is a tome, and a rather sizable and weighty one at that, but content reigns supreme. I never knew much about Hoover, and nobody holds him in high regard due to the economic circumstances in the US during the time of his presidency, but this book really shows some serious knowledge and effort. Kudos, Mr. President and First Lady - kudos!
4 people found this helpful
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RB
5.0 out of 5 stars Great peice of history.
Reviewed in the United States on January 16, 2022
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Translation and illustrations provide a window into the past- plus information still current today.
One person found this helpful
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Camazotz
4.0 out of 5 stars Rare Earth, Indeed!
Reviewed in the United States on October 11, 2019
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I stumbled across this gem one morning in a used bookstore, otherwise I likely never would have heard of it. And that’s saying something; I absolutely LOVE old, weird books. And this is, without a doubt, one of the oldest and weirdest I have.

I would have purchased the copy in the used bookstore but, after picking through it, I decided that I wanted one that was virgin so that the wear and tear and eventual marginalia scarring its body would be all mine.

This book is about mining and it hails from the mind and soul of one Georgius Agricola, writing in the year 1556. The book didn’t have a readership much outside of highly specialized until 1950, the year that it was successfully translated by Herbert Hoover. The former President. See? Told you it’s weird. When I saw that fact on the first page my face twisted into an unmistakeable WTF sort of expression. It was when I riffled to the part where all of the winds are given proper names based on the directions from which they hail that my wallet opened of its own accord and demanded to have its money removed.

Beyond such wonders as named winds, the writing in the book itself is a treasure. Pulling from a random section, for instance: “It remains to speak of the touchstone with which gold and silver are tested, and which was also used by the Ancients. For although the assay made by fire is more certain, still, since we often have no furnace, nor muffle, nor crucibles, or some delay must be occasioned in using them, we can always rub gold or silver on the touchstone, which we can have in readiness. Further, when gold coins are assayed in the fire, of what use are they afterward? A touchstone must be selected which is thoroughly black and free of sulphur, for the blacker it is and the more devoid of sulphur, the better it generally is; I have written elsewhere of its nature.”

And that single paragraph comes with more footnotes than David Foster Wallace could have waggled his bandana at (and they’re far more pleasurable to read than most of his were; a book within a book, for an added bonus).

Georgius Agricola came to full intellectual height in that strange period of time that was neither the Middle Ages nor the Renaissance, and it shows in his writing. There are sections of this work that have an almost mystical timbre and others that—while lacking reference to our current technology—are quite dry and scientific. The blend proves a heady one and there’s only more intoxication to be found in the numerous woodcuts showing slices of land or miners at work on whatever task Agricola is at pains to describe in its proximity.

This book, old as it is, would still prove useful to anyone with a keen interest in metals, mining and metallurgy in general. However, I am at pains to say that anyone with an equally keen interest in subjects ranging from the writing style of H.P. Lovecraft, to the character of Judge Holden, to tomes that dally on a surveyors divide between a magical-then and a scientific-now (i.e. The Anatomy of Melancholy) would find De Re Metallica a singularly valuable addition to their library.

I knock off one star only for the quality of the copy that I ordered. It is the most recent printing of the Dover edition and I find the paper within feels quite a bit cheaper than the older printing (also Dover) that I fondled in the used bookstore. I should have ordered “...used/like new...” from a couple of editions back. Lesson learned. Still, don’t let that act as a roadblock to you if you find you’re interested in this work. Get any copy you can—within reason—it’s entirely worth it.
5 people found this helpful
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Al Price
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Reference Book
Reviewed in the United States on February 20, 2013
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I am a docent (a guide) in a Western History Museum in Gold Country, in the mountains of Central California. This book will make a valuable contribution to our mining exhibits. Originally written in 1555, not published until 1556 --- after the author had died --- while waiting for the woodcut plates to arrive for the book's illustration. Then translated almost 400 years later (1912) from Latin into English by future President Herbert Hoover, a mining engineer, and his wife Lou, a Latin linguist and Geologist! A great treasure of mining information and history! THANK YOU!
4 people found this helpful
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Allen
5.0 out of 5 stars Hard to read such old vernacular
Reviewed in the United States on August 20, 2019
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I loved reading this book. It's archaic, but a joy to see how people thought in those times. A bit sad, but every other page seems to have a faded, lighter print. With modern publishing, it should be easy to darken that print appropriately.
One person found this helpful
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A. J. Luna
5.0 out of 5 stars A good historical reference.
Reviewed in the United States on February 26, 2019
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A faithful reproduction of a geology historical book. It's often good to go back to the beginning of understanding of your field to see how far our science has come.
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Top reviews from other countries

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Jose Ortiz
5.0 out of 5 stars Libro histórico
Reviewed in Mexico on December 26, 2023
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Con esta frase lo digo todo "Soy minero de Corazón"
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Darrell Cole
5.0 out of 5 stars EXceeded expectations
Reviewed in Canada on February 14, 2023
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Arrived very quickly and in mint condition. The book itself was more substantial than I realized. Delighted with the purchase! I would not hesitate to order again from this seller.
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Alexander
5.0 out of 5 stars Boa impressão, ótimo livro
Reviewed in Brazil on June 21, 2021
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Livro histórico Metallurgist da idade média
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Lanz Großmann
2.0 out of 5 stars Unclear letters.
Reviewed in Germany on May 21, 2021
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Text is simply scanned and copied from historic version. It's not a good scan. It's not a good copy. Sometimes you hardly can read the letters. And why the book is so big, but the actual content displayed small?? This really makes me not want to buy any Scholar's select again. Ever.
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Lucie
2.0 out of 5 stars Endommagé
Reviewed in France on April 23, 2021
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Livre supposé neuf, reçu avec le couverture pliée et les premières pages cornées. Emballage intact ce n'est pas un problème pendant le transport.
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