[Japan]: ca. 1898-1912.

Copper mining at Ashio in Tochigi Prefecture began about 1600 and production continued until 1973; in the late 19th century, it produced 39 percent of Japan’s copper output. At the end of that century, it was decided to build a railway connecting the mine to major rail lines to facilitate transportation of the outbound copper ore and inbound supplies (horses had carried or pulled everything before). The engineering problems were considerable: the line runs along the Watarase River through a deep valley subject to frequent flooding. The railway was finished in 1911-12.

The collection contains a series of letters containing reports on design and construction, printed documents regarding the stock company formed to finance the building of the railway (“Ashio Tetsudo Kabushikigaisha”), reports from engineers regarding preparations, further reports regarding expected capacity needs for the railroad line, six photographs of the construction, and a very fine and large (1820 x 760 mm.) manuscript diagram on four joined sheets of tissue paper showing the route through the valley and elevations. This large diagram has been heightened in color (green, blue, red, and brown). More about A collection of manuscripts & printed documents, photographs, & orig. drawings concerning...

Title within woodcut border & numerous woodcut illus. in the text. 8 p.l., 168 leaves. Small 4to, cont. limp vellum. [Venice: Comin da Trino for C. T. de’ Navò], 1558.

Third edition of the first systematic book on mining and metallurgy; according to Cyril Stanley Smith, the second edition of 1550 and our edition are far superior to the first edition of 1540 for in that earlier edition “the type is worn, poorly aligned, and arranged in a solid mass, unrelieved by paragraphing.”–Smith & Gnudi, The Pirotechnia (1943), pp. xix-xx.

Biringuccio (1480-1539?), after travelling throughout Italy and Germany, inspecting metallurgical operations and running an iron mine... More about Pirotechnia. Li Diece Libri Della Pirotechnia, Nelli quali si tratta non solo la diversità...

Lithographed frontis. xvi, 276 pp. 8vo, orig. printed wrappers, uncut. Freiberg: Craz & Gerlach, 1825.

First edition of this rare account of the great mining city Freiberg in Saxony which owes its origin to the discovery of silver mines ca. 1163. Freiberg has traditionally been the seat of the general administration of the mines throughout Saxony and is the home of the famous mining academy, which produced so many famous geologists and mineralogists.

Breithaupt (1791-1873), a leading mineralogist and professor of mineralogy at the mining academy at Freiberg (succeeding Mohs in 1826), has provided an extremely detailed account of the history, the chief landmarks... More about Die Bergstadt Freiberg im Königreiche Sachsen, in Hinsicht auf Geschichte, Statistik, Cultur und...

40 leaves (the final blank). Small folio (332 x 210 mm.), orig. paste-paper boards (spine & extremities somewhat worn), uncut. [Clausthal?: ca. 1815].

A fine and legible manuscript instructional manual on techniques and problems of mine surveying. The text is divided into five chapters: “Von der Vorbereitung zum Markscheiden” (“On preparations for measuring the area in which mining may be carried out”), “Von Bennenung der Gänge und Klüfte” (“On the naming of seams and fissures”), “Vom Observiren” (“On Observations”), “Vom Vermaß oder Verbestimmung eines Grubenfelds” (“On measuring and defining a mining claim”), and “Von Wasserfällen, Wasserleitungen und Tiefbau” (“On waterfalls, water conduits and underground mining”)... More about Manuscript on paper on mine surveying, with 12 large & fine folding manuscript plates,...

3 p.l. (lacking the first leaf, a blank; title a little soiled), 143, 152-66 pp. Small 4to, cont. English limp vellum. London: N. Okes for N. Bourne, 1623.

First edition of one of the great early English accounts of the exploration of the interior of Africa and the first to be published separately (others appear in collections); it is a classic account of the search for gold.

Ghana, the earliest known empire of the western Sudan, first entered the historical consciousness of North Africa near the end of the eighth century but probably originated long before. Famous to North Africans as the... More about The Golden Trade: or, A Discovery of the River Gambra, and the Golden Trade of the Aethiopians. ...

Finely engraved title-page, one folding engraved map, & numerous large & fine engraved head- & tail-pieces. xx, 464, [34] pp. Folio, cont. marbled sheep (lower cover a little abraded), spine richly & brightly gilt, orange morocco lettering piece on spine. Vienna: M. A. Schmidt, 1780.

First edition, and a really fine copy, of this beautifully decorated and attractive book. This work contains a detailed account and history, district by district, of the mines of Bohemia, an area of great mineral wealth including coal, lignite, iron, and the raw materials for porcelain. Peithner provides much information on the earlier and contemporary mineralogical and geological histories of the area... More about Versuch über die natürliche and politische Geschichte der böhmischen and mährischen Bergwerke

Several small woodcuts in the text. 12 p.l., 128 pp. 8vo, early 20th-cent. half-calf & marbled boards, spine gilt. Stockholm: L. Salvius, 1761.

First edition and very rare. Polhem (1661-1751), the father of Swedish technology, was a pioneer in the mass production of replaceable machine parts, which he made with great precision and accuracy. He made other important contributions to applied mechanics, mining engineering, the construction of canals and docks, building materials and the construction of buildings, and the manufacturing of textiles. Polhem also established a mechanical laboratory for the development and construction of machines, technical instruments, astronomical clocks, etc.

This title of this posthumously published work, edited by his son Gabriel, can be translated as “Patriotic Testament, or Information on Iron, Steel, Brass, Tin and Lead for Those who want to start Industries in these Fields. Including a list of all his Mechanical Inventions,” is the best account by Polhem of his numerous achievements and provides his “alphabet” of machines which demonstrated the basic elements of mechanics. More about …Patriotiska Testamente, eller Underrättelse om Järn, Stål, Koppar, Mässing, Tenn och Bly...

9 p.l., 62 pp. Small 4to, 18th-cent. blue limp boards (margins of title a little frayed, occasional faint dampstaining), uncut. Rudolstadt: printed by C. Fleischer for B. Fuhrmann in Osterode & Nordhausen, 1678.

Second, greatly enlarged, edition (1st ed.: 1670) of this very rare historical account of the mining activities in the Duchy of Braunschweig-Lüneburg and the adjoining Harz mountains. These areas were rich in minerals — chiefly silver, coal, iron, lead, copper, sulphur, alum, etc. — and had been mined for many centuries. The author has furnished much statistical information at the end and accounts of remarkable events.

Very good copy. More about Kurtzer Historischer Bericht von Aufkunst und Anfang der Fürstlichen...