Kern, Johann Gottlieb | Bericht vom Bergbau, first edition

Kern, Johann Gottlieb

Bericht vom Bergbau. Freiberg: im Verlage der Churfürstl. Sächs. Bergakademie, 1769

4to (212 x 174 mm). Engraved title vignette of the Bergakademie, 8 engraved plates depicting mining and assaying machinery; light spotting. Contemporary boards with paper spine label; minor foxing, light wear.

First edition, and rare.

Issued under the auspices of the renowned Mining Academy at Freiberg, founded in 1765, this was the Academy’s first major textbook, intended to provide a comprehensive introduction to the practice of mining in Saxony. Kern’s work is divided into six sections covering the full process of mineral extraction: prospecting and identifying veins, tunnel construction and support systems, and the removal, processing, and assaying of ore. The engraved plates offer depictions of the machinery and engineering techniques then in use, including hoisting devices, pumps, and assay furnaces.

“Rare. Interesting as describing and illustrating very fully the methods of mining in vogue in Germany — more especially at Freiberg in Saxony — in the middle of the XVIIIth Century” (Sotheran 2279).

REFERENCES

Hoover 475; Pogendorff I, 1247

PROVENANCE

Schönborn-Buchheim Library (manuscript shelf number) — Joseph A. Freilich (bookplate)