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C1556
(1560)
A. First machine. B. Its stamps C. Its mortar-box. D. Second Machine E. It’s Stamps F. It’s mortar-box. G. Third machine. H. It’s stamps. I. It’s mortar-box. K. Fourth machine L. It’s stamps M. It’s mortar-box.
Artist:
Georgius Agricola (1494 - 1555)
Rare woodcut from De Re Metallica printed in 1560, which was the the most famous study on all aspects of mining and metallurgy, and one of the first technological books of modern times. But to return to the stamping machines. … Read Full Description
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Full Title:
A. First machine. B. Its stamps C. Its mortar-box. D. Second Machine E. It’s Stamps F. It’s mortar-box. G. Third machine. H. It’s stamps. I. It’s mortar-box. K. Fourth machine L. It’s stamps M. It’s mortar-box.
Date:
C1556
(1560)
Artist:
Georgius Agricola (1494 - 1555)
Engraver:
Hans Rudolf Manuel Deutsch
(fl.1525 –
1572)
Condition:
In good condition.
Technique:
Woodcut
AUTHENTICITY
Genuine antique
dated:
1560
Description:
Rare woodcut from De Re Metallica printed in 1560, which was the the most famous study on all aspects of mining and metallurgy, and one of the first technological books of modern times.
But to return to the stamping machines. Some usually set up four machines of this kind in one place, that is to say, two above and the same number below. By this plan it is necessary that the current which has been diverted should fall down from a greater height upon the upper water-wheels, because these turn axles whose cams raise heavier stamps. The stamp-stems of the upper machines should be nearly twice as long as the stems of the lower ones, because all the mortar-boxes are placed on the same level. These stamps have their tappets near their upper ends, not as in the case of the lower stamps, which are placed just above the bottom. The water flowing down from the two upper water-wheels is caught in two broad races, from which it falls on to the two lower water-wheels. Since all these machines have the stamps very close together, the stems should be somewhat cut away, to prevent the iron shoes from rubbing each other at the point where they are set into the stems. Where so many machines cannot be constructed, by reason of the narrowness of the valley, the mountain is excavated and levelled in two places, one of which is higher than the other, and in this case two machines are constructed and generally placed in one building. A broad race receives in the same way the water which flows down from the upper water-wheel, and similarly lets it fall on the lower water-wheel. The mortar-boxes are not then placed on one level, but each on the level which is appropriate to its own machine, and for this reason, two workmen are then required to throw ore into the mortar-boxes. When no stream can be diverted which will fall from a higher place upon the top of the water-wheel, one is diverted which will turn the foot of the wheel; a great quantity of water from the stream is collected in one pool capable of holding it, and from this place, when the gates are raised, the water is discharged against the wheel which turns in the race. The buckets of a water-wheel of this kind are deeper and bent back, projecting upward; those of the former are shallower and bent forward, inclining downward.
BOOK VIII – Describes how metals are extracted.
Biography:
Georgius Agricola (1494-1555)
Agricola was a German Catholic, scholar and scientist. Known as “the father of mineralogy“, he was born at Glauchau in Saxony. His birth name was Georg Pawer (Bauer) and Agricola is the Latinised version of his name, by which he was known his entire adult life. Agricola, studied at Leipzig, Bologna and Padua and became town physician of the mining centre of Joachimsthal in Bohemia and physician at Chemnitz in Saxony from 1534 until his death. Living in mining regions all his life made it possible for him to study mining practices first hand and these direct observations made this series particularly valuable and effective.
The De Re Metallica embraces everything connected with the mining industry and metallurgical processes, including administration, prospecting, the duties of officials and companies and the manufacture of glass, sulphur and alum. The magnificent woodcut illustrations by Hans Rudolf Manuel Deutsch illustrate the different processes involved in mining and include mechanical engineering details such as the use of water-power, hauling, pumps, ventilation, blowing of furnaces and transport of ores.
Agricola made an important contribution to physical geology. He recognized the influence of water and wind on the shaping of the landscape and gave a clear account of of the order of the strata he saw in the mines. Writing on the origin of mountains, he descrivbes the eroding action of water as their cause with a perspicacity much in advance of his time.
The De Re Metallica was frequently reprinted and is said to have reached China in the seventeenth century. Interest in it was revived in the eighteenth century by Abraham Gottlieb Werner, and in 1912 it was translated into English by Herbert Hoover, afterwards President of the United States.
