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C1556
(1560)
A. First mill. B. Wheel turned by goats. C. Second mill. D. Disc of upright axle. E. Its toothed drum. F. Third mill. G. Shape of lower mill stone. H. Small upright axle of the same. I. Its opening. K. Lever of the upper milestone. L. Its o
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. From Book VIII – Describes how metals are extracted. … Read Full Description
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Full Title:
A. First mill. B. Wheel turned by goats. C. Second mill. D. Disc of upright axle. E. Its toothed drum. F. Third mill. G. Shape of lower mill stone. H. Small upright axle of the same. I. Its opening. K. Lever of the upper milestone. L. Its o
Date:
C1556
(1560)
Artist:
Georgius Agricola (1494 - 1555)
Engraver:
Hans Rudolf Manuel Deutsch
(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.
From Book VIII – Describes how metals are extracted. & ‘Some people build a machine which at one end and the same time can crush, grind, cleanse and wash the gold ore, and mix the gold with quicksilver.’
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.
