De Re Metallica. Transl. from the First Latin Edition of 1556;

This is a rare or used book from the Berkelouw Rare Books Department.

with biographical introduction annotations and appendices upon the Development of Mining Methods Metallurgical Processes Geology Mineralogy & Mining Law from the earliest times to the 16th Century; by Herbert Clark Hoover and Lou Henry Hoover. Publ. for the Translators London 1912. Thick folio. Orig. full parchment (covers soiled and discoloured). (4 xxxii 642pp.). Illustrated throughout with line reproductions of the original woodcuts which show the processes referred to in the text. Ex-library copy. Extremely rare. NOTE: When Herbert Hoover was a senior in Stanford University and Lou Henry whom he afterwards married was a freshman they had access to the celebrated geological library of Professor J.C. Branner. Among the books was a copy of the most important mining book ever written namely Georgius Agricola's "De Re Metallica" written in Latin and published in 1556. When some years later in 1903 the Hoovers had the opportunity to purchase a copy of the original edition they decided to translate and publish an English version. The translation took them 5 years and most of this was done whilst travelling abroad in connection with Mr. Hoover's engineering work. It is therefore quite probable that much of this translation would have taken place whilst the Hoovers were working in Western Australia during this period. Mr. Hoover (later President of the U.S.A.) continued his interest in Australian mining and is acclaimed with the founding of Zinc Corporation (later Rio-Tinto-Zinc Corp. Ltd.) at Broken Hill and influenced its operations for several years.