Author: Beche, H. de la
Title: A selection of the Geological Memoirs, contained in the Annales des Mines, together with a synoptical table of equivalent formations and Brongniart's table of the classification of mixed rocks. Translated with notes by H. T. de la Beche, Esq.
Description: London, William Phillips, 1824. 8vo (21.1 x 13.3 cm). xxii, 335 pp.; one hand-coloured folded geological map of France and the Netherlands including a great part of Germany, the Alps and northern Italy, by J. d'Omalius d'Halloy (numbered plate 11 [not II]) and two further hand-coloured geological maps or profiles (numbered I-II), eight folded lithographed plates (numbered III-X), including a very fine view of the coalmine at Treuil near St. Etienne, one folding table. Contemporary half calf over marbled boards. Spine with gilt lines and title. Edges speckled red. = First edition of an important contribution to the geology and mining of France and adjacent countries - thought worth disseminating in the English-speaking world - by Henry De la Beche. It comprises of 24 papers by such authors as d'Omalius d'Halloy, Beudant, Dufrenoy, Brochant de Villiers, Von Buch, Brongniart, and Alexander Von Humboldt. A second edition was published in 1836. De la Beche (1796-1855) was the first director of the Geological Survey of the United Kingdom. Provenance: with, mounted on the front pastedown, the armorial bookplate of W. Thomas Lewis ("gwna a ddylit doed a ddel" ([do what you should do right]), i.e. the Welsh coal mining magnate Sir William Thomas Lewis, 1st Baron Merthyr (1837-1914). Rebacked with only a part of the old spine preserved. Scattered, mostly marginal spotting; otherwise a very good copy. Complete copies, such as this one, are rare. Ward and Carozzi, 616.

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