Syndyne
Shaun Galman
Hi all,
Thought I'd share with you all a few books that I've had and used for many years. Some of these were gifts to me as a child and many I have collected myself over time. I'll put down as much info on them as I can gather as you may either have copies yourselves or, are just looking into the better books to have handy. You can never have enough info as a prospector or general rock, gold or gem enthusiast -as most of us here are.
This is only a small few that I picked apart from about thirty or so that weren't very important regarding info and mostly contained images etc. I have no idea if these are even available anymore? Many of these came from lucky finds at a garage sale or an old book stores long before the internet came into existence lol. There may be newer revised editions available so I'll list the publishers, years and editions where applicable so they will be easy to compare to.
Starting top left:
1. The Wonderful World Of Precious Stones In Their Natural State. Published by Abbey Library in Italy. 1979.
(Not a great shot of the cover due to the clear covering making it look very blurry) This contains a lot of the known rarer crystals in both cut and natural states along with a bit of info about opal. A fairly basic mineral book by most standards.
2. The Australian Gemhunter's Guide. An authoritative handbook for all collectors. By K. J. Buchester. Published by Ure Smith. 5th Edition, March 1967.
An extremely good book with plenty of easy to understand knowledge on many overall related topics. I definitely need to read this one more thoroughly.
3. Gemstones (Planet Earth). By Paul O'Neil. Published by Time Life Books. 1984.
This is by far one of my favorite books overall, not so much due to the information contained as it's very limited in that respect, more in part to the stunning full page glossy photographic plates of some of the worlds best specimens (at that time), the areas they came from and how they were discovered.
4. Gem Cutting, A Lapidary's Manual. By John Sinkankas. Published by Van Nostrand Reinhold [VAN]. 2nd Edition, 1962.
Not much I can offer on this book as I haven't gone too deep into the faceting/polishing aspect of gems as yet. Just flicking through, it's a very large and comprehensive book from what I can see. Even though cutting and polishing methods have changed very little over the decades, I'm sure there are far better books on this topic available now. This is more of a collectors book today.
5. How And Where To Find Gemstones In Australia And New Zealand. Published by Summit. 3rd Edition, 1978.
This book is probably one of the best I've ever seen or read on the topic. It has very comprehensive overall coverage on every topic from identifying crystals/minerals/opal right through the spectrum to just about everything to do with gold. It's a fairly thick book at around 600 pages and I was astonished to find about 100 maps right up the back showing almost all of the known Australian and NZ gold, opal and gem fields right through into the islands and down into Tassie. These are very detailed maps showing everything found in each area and the associated metallurgic ground types of all the listed areas. I could not rate this book highly enough for any prospector. A real treasure!
6. The Mineral Kingdom. By Paul Hamlyn, Paul E. Desautels of the Smithsonian Institution. Published by Ridge Press. 1969.
Another of my favorite books detailing many of the worlds best mineral and crystal specimens and many of the unseen ones that are a part of the Smithsonian's collection. A very good book for any rockhound to own. Nothing much to offer the prospector regarding info. This has many impressive full page glossy photographic plates printed throughout.
7. The Gem Kingdom. By Paul E. Desautels (Author of The Mineral Kingdom book above). Published by Ridge Press.
No publishing or copyright date listed on this one but I would imagine early 70's-ish. This book is again very well presented and details everything the Smithsonian use for gem identification, right down to diagrams of Specific Gravity tests. This also shows the method that's currently use to determined gold weight from a host rock, called a Double-Pan Beam Type (as opposed to the method known as the Jolly method -which uses a sample hung on the end suspended spring in water). Also a very interesting and great book for a rockhound, but again, very little to offer the prospector. The full page glossy photographic plates are once again extremely impressive.
8. Rocks And Minerals (Simon & Schuster's guide to). Published by Fireside. 1978. This edition was revised in 1983.
One of my most important books when it comes to rock, mineral and crystal identification. I go to this book first, even before consulting Dr.Google as it's extremely comprehensive and very well detailed. It contains over 1000 listings with all of their associated information and relative details such as locations, specific gravity, rarity, formation, known elements and mode of occurrence etc. etc... This book is a must own for all of us interested in this topic and one I treasure dearly.
9. Complete Book Of Rocks, Gems And Minerals (Worlds most comprehensive suppliers directory). By Don MacLachlan. Published by Petersen. 1968.
This is an information heavy book from the US. It details some very interesting topics from making detailed mud maps through to organising successful prospecting field trips and group outings. One I've not yet delved into very deeply, but it looks like there's quite a bit to gain hidden throughout it's pages.
10. Gemstones. Published by Sterling. 1988.
This is only a small booklet detailing a few of the better known gemstones and some the best associated jewelry made from it -delving into Faberge and the crown jewels of many countries etc. Not much of importance but very nicely displayed in full glossy colour.
11. Popular Prospecting, A Guide To Australian Minerals. By K. J. Buchester (also the author of The Australian Gemhunter's Guide). Published by Rigby. 1972.
This is another little gem of a book for the prospector. While it doesn't have much in the way of maps, it still tells of all the known locations of the associated mineral etc. I would imagine a few of you out there own this book as it has become a staple of the prospecting community over the years, particularly when it comes to gold prospecting. Many detailed sections of the known aspects of mineral hunting.
12. Getting Acquainted With Minerals. By George Letchworth English and David E. Jensen. Published by McGraw Hill 2nd Edition, revised 1958.
this is another book I've had packed away for many years. It's mostly an old collectors item today. It's dwells more on the scientific side of mineral collecting and details right down to the molecular make-up of each mineral, along with how to collect, clean and display your collection safely. It also has a good illustrated guide to the identification of over 500 rare, unusual and common mineral types.
Hopefully that is of some help to those on the hunt for good books to collect and study on the topic. I need to get in there and get some reading done and more importantly memorizing the information!
I have a small collection of gold books that I could post/list also if anyone is interested.
Kindest regards,
Shauno.
EDIT: Mods, If this is in the wrong topic section please move it to where you feel appropriate.
Thought I'd share with you all a few books that I've had and used for many years. Some of these were gifts to me as a child and many I have collected myself over time. I'll put down as much info on them as I can gather as you may either have copies yourselves or, are just looking into the better books to have handy. You can never have enough info as a prospector or general rock, gold or gem enthusiast -as most of us here are.
This is only a small few that I picked apart from about thirty or so that weren't very important regarding info and mostly contained images etc. I have no idea if these are even available anymore? Many of these came from lucky finds at a garage sale or an old book stores long before the internet came into existence lol. There may be newer revised editions available so I'll list the publishers, years and editions where applicable so they will be easy to compare to.
Starting top left:
1. The Wonderful World Of Precious Stones In Their Natural State. Published by Abbey Library in Italy. 1979.
(Not a great shot of the cover due to the clear covering making it look very blurry) This contains a lot of the known rarer crystals in both cut and natural states along with a bit of info about opal. A fairly basic mineral book by most standards.
2. The Australian Gemhunter's Guide. An authoritative handbook for all collectors. By K. J. Buchester. Published by Ure Smith. 5th Edition, March 1967.
An extremely good book with plenty of easy to understand knowledge on many overall related topics. I definitely need to read this one more thoroughly.
3. Gemstones (Planet Earth). By Paul O'Neil. Published by Time Life Books. 1984.
This is by far one of my favorite books overall, not so much due to the information contained as it's very limited in that respect, more in part to the stunning full page glossy photographic plates of some of the worlds best specimens (at that time), the areas they came from and how they were discovered.
4. Gem Cutting, A Lapidary's Manual. By John Sinkankas. Published by Van Nostrand Reinhold [VAN]. 2nd Edition, 1962.
Not much I can offer on this book as I haven't gone too deep into the faceting/polishing aspect of gems as yet. Just flicking through, it's a very large and comprehensive book from what I can see. Even though cutting and polishing methods have changed very little over the decades, I'm sure there are far better books on this topic available now. This is more of a collectors book today.
5. How And Where To Find Gemstones In Australia And New Zealand. Published by Summit. 3rd Edition, 1978.
This book is probably one of the best I've ever seen or read on the topic. It has very comprehensive overall coverage on every topic from identifying crystals/minerals/opal right through the spectrum to just about everything to do with gold. It's a fairly thick book at around 600 pages and I was astonished to find about 100 maps right up the back showing almost all of the known Australian and NZ gold, opal and gem fields right through into the islands and down into Tassie. These are very detailed maps showing everything found in each area and the associated metallurgic ground types of all the listed areas. I could not rate this book highly enough for any prospector. A real treasure!
6. The Mineral Kingdom. By Paul Hamlyn, Paul E. Desautels of the Smithsonian Institution. Published by Ridge Press. 1969.
Another of my favorite books detailing many of the worlds best mineral and crystal specimens and many of the unseen ones that are a part of the Smithsonian's collection. A very good book for any rockhound to own. Nothing much to offer the prospector regarding info. This has many impressive full page glossy photographic plates printed throughout.
7. The Gem Kingdom. By Paul E. Desautels (Author of The Mineral Kingdom book above). Published by Ridge Press.
No publishing or copyright date listed on this one but I would imagine early 70's-ish. This book is again very well presented and details everything the Smithsonian use for gem identification, right down to diagrams of Specific Gravity tests. This also shows the method that's currently use to determined gold weight from a host rock, called a Double-Pan Beam Type (as opposed to the method known as the Jolly method -which uses a sample hung on the end suspended spring in water). Also a very interesting and great book for a rockhound, but again, very little to offer the prospector. The full page glossy photographic plates are once again extremely impressive.
8. Rocks And Minerals (Simon & Schuster's guide to). Published by Fireside. 1978. This edition was revised in 1983.
One of my most important books when it comes to rock, mineral and crystal identification. I go to this book first, even before consulting Dr.Google as it's extremely comprehensive and very well detailed. It contains over 1000 listings with all of their associated information and relative details such as locations, specific gravity, rarity, formation, known elements and mode of occurrence etc. etc... This book is a must own for all of us interested in this topic and one I treasure dearly.
9. Complete Book Of Rocks, Gems And Minerals (Worlds most comprehensive suppliers directory). By Don MacLachlan. Published by Petersen. 1968.
This is an information heavy book from the US. It details some very interesting topics from making detailed mud maps through to organising successful prospecting field trips and group outings. One I've not yet delved into very deeply, but it looks like there's quite a bit to gain hidden throughout it's pages.
10. Gemstones. Published by Sterling. 1988.
This is only a small booklet detailing a few of the better known gemstones and some the best associated jewelry made from it -delving into Faberge and the crown jewels of many countries etc. Not much of importance but very nicely displayed in full glossy colour.
11. Popular Prospecting, A Guide To Australian Minerals. By K. J. Buchester (also the author of The Australian Gemhunter's Guide). Published by Rigby. 1972.
This is another little gem of a book for the prospector. While it doesn't have much in the way of maps, it still tells of all the known locations of the associated mineral etc. I would imagine a few of you out there own this book as it has become a staple of the prospecting community over the years, particularly when it comes to gold prospecting. Many detailed sections of the known aspects of mineral hunting.
12. Getting Acquainted With Minerals. By George Letchworth English and David E. Jensen. Published by McGraw Hill 2nd Edition, revised 1958.
this is another book I've had packed away for many years. It's mostly an old collectors item today. It's dwells more on the scientific side of mineral collecting and details right down to the molecular make-up of each mineral, along with how to collect, clean and display your collection safely. It also has a good illustrated guide to the identification of over 500 rare, unusual and common mineral types.
Hopefully that is of some help to those on the hunt for good books to collect and study on the topic. I need to get in there and get some reading done and more importantly memorizing the information!
I have a small collection of gold books that I could post/list also if anyone is interested.
Kindest regards,
Shauno.
EDIT: Mods, If this is in the wrong topic section please move it to where you feel appropriate.
