Rashleigh, Philip | One of the most beautiful early works on mineralogy

Rashleigh, Philip

Specimens of British Minerals. London: W. Bulmer and Co., 1797

Part 1 only, 4to (278 x 214 mm). 33 engraved plates, mostly aquatint and handcolored; minor oxidization of handcoloring, some off setting. Straightgrain red morocco gilt; a little rubbed.

One of the most beautiful early works on mineralogy, Specimens of British Minerals was issued in two parts (1797–1802) to illustrate Philip Rashleigh’s celebrated collection of Cornish minerals and fossils, begun around 1765. The plates—engraved by the Cornish artist Henry Bone and later by Thomas Medland, with coloring by Thomas Richard Underwood—depict many of the finest specimens then known, including classic examples of chalcopyrite, liroconite, and pharmacosiderite. Written at the urging of visitors and correspondents who sought a record of his holdings, Rashleigh’s work remains an important work on eighteenth-century mineral collecting.

REFERENCES

Schuh 4032; Ward & Carozzi 1833