Lenz, Johann Georg | Mustertafeln der bis jetzt bekannten Einfachen Mineralien…

Lenz, Johann Georg

Mustertafeln der bis jetzt bekannten Einfachen Mineralien… Jena: Auf Kosten des Verfassers, 1794

8vo (207 x 129 mm). Typographic tables with 344 watercolors of mineral specimens; lightly toned. Stiff white paper boards with a black ruled border; soiling, light wear, small losses at spine.

First edition of this extensively hand-illustrated work on mineral classification. The miniature watercolors of minerals are based on specimens from Duke Karl August's cabinet. The present work contains a dedication leaf and forward, before it lists 400 different mineral specimens in typographic tables, most of which are illustrated with their own hand-painted watercolor. The author had been a professor at the University of Jena and, since 1779, the inspector of the Duke's Mineral Cabinet, a role akin to a modern day curator. Rare — due to the high cost of production, this work was issued in a very small edition, with only 26 subscribers listed, including the author (and mineral-enthusiast) Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, and Duchess Anna Amalie, to whom the work is dedicated. No copies have appeared at auction since 2009, per Rare Book Hub.