Plattes, Gabriel | A Discovery of Subterraneall Treasure, viz. of all manner of Mines and Mineralls, from the Gold to the Coale

Plattes, Gabriel 

A Discovery of Subterraneall Treasure, viz. of all manner of Mines and Mineralls, from the Gold to the Coale. London: I. Okes for Jasper Emery, 1639

4to (184 x 126 mm). Woodcut ornaments; repairs to leaves at beginning and end, mainly marginal, browning. Modern calf antique.

First edition of the rare first English book entirely devoted to mining and metallurgy.

A fascinating treatise offering detailed guidance on locating, extracting, and refining metals—a practical manual for prospectors and alchemists alike. Plattes describes methods for the “melting, refining and essaying” of ores and even for manufacturing gold. His fate was as tragic as his experiments were ambitious: according to Lowndes, Plattes “dropped down dead in the London streets for want of food.” The work further contains "interesting notices of the gold and silver mines in Peru, New England, Virginia, the Bermudas, and other parts of America" (Sabin).

REFERENCES

Lowndes III, p. 1880; Sabin 63360

PROVENANCE

James Roland (early inscription and manuscript notes)