Casimir Christoph Schmidel Erz Stuffen und Berg Arten mit Farben genau abgebildet
Nürnberg (Nornberg), J.M. Seligmann 1753
Plates: 30 pcs, hand-colored copperplate engravings of minerals, some additionally gilded
Text: 36 pages, + title p.
ca 24×19 cm
Binding : spotted cardboard with leather gilt signboard on spine, block stained
Lehrer - Bibliothek Konigl. Friedrichs - Gymnasium zu Breslau sticker
"A very rare work that was left unfinished. It was published in parts and is almost never complete. (...) Ward and Carozzi No. 1980 list a copy with 36 pages and 26 plates, the British Museum (Nat. Hist.) piece has the same number of pages and plates, and the Vienna Museum of Natural History has 38 plates. Carl Krotsky's copy had 26 plates. The full agreed number of plates and pages is 42 color plates with 52 pages of text, see Brunet and Cobres. However, several pieces have 46 plates, the last 4 having been published a few years after the edition of 42. In June 2006, a piece from the Pierre Berès collection was sold in Paris along with 46 plates. Schmidel was a well-known mineralogist-botanist who edited Gesner's posthumous botanical publications. He was a professor of pharmacology in Erlangen and served as physician to Margrave Carl Alexander. The plates of the above work are unique and among the most attractive mineralogical plates ever made. "In his prospectus, Gauthier d'Agoty discusses the difficulties involved in reproducing minerals in color. (...) He takes exception to the work of" Mr. Schmiedel " whose hand-colored plates depicting mineral specimens, he admits, are among the best we have in the genre "(Wilson. Mineral books p. 67)."
A very scarce work which remained unfinished. It was issued in parts and is hardly ever found complete. (...)Ward and Carozzi no. 1980 list a copy with 36 pages and 26 plates, the British Museum (Nat. Hist.) copy comprises the same number of pages and plates and the Vienna Natural History Museum has 38 plates. The Carl Krotki copy had 26 plates. The full number of plates and pages agreed upon seems to be 42 colored plates with 52 pages of text, see Brunet and Cobres. However a few copies have 46 plates, the last 4 plates were published a few years after plate 42 was published. In June 2006 a copy from the Pierre Berès collection was sold in Paris with 46 plates. Schmidel was a famous mineralogist-botanist editing Gesner's posthumous botanical publications. He was professor of pharmacology at Erlangen and served as physician to Margrave Carl Alexander. The plates of the above work are outstanding and belong to the most attractive mineralogical plates ever made. "Gauthier d'Agoty, in his prospectus, discussed the difficulty involved in rendering minerals in color. ... He does make an exception here for the work of 'Mr. Schmiedel', whose handcolored plates showing mineral specimens he acknowledges to be among the best we have in this genre" (Wilson. Mineral books p. 67).
Source: https://www.antiquariaatjunk.com/item.php?item=8498&c_sourcepage=search.php?pg=1&s_author=&s_title=&s_keywords=schmiedel&s_currency=&s_pmin=&s_pmax=&s_sort=&s_direction=&s_bookid=&s_viewmode=#booknr8498&s_currency=