Hericart de Thury, Louis Etienne F. & Houry, Louis C.; Mineralogie Synoptique ou Tableaux des Substances Minerales Specifiees, Caracterisees et Decrites Au Moyen De Signes Conventionels. Paris, 1805. Octavo, pp. 160, (36 pages of text and final part consist of tables).
In later calf, text untrimmed, light browning to text edges, very good.
Hericart de Thury (1776-1854) and Houry (1780-1843) were both French mining engineers. Within this work they outline a new systematic method of describing minerals. Based on twenty-two characteristics; the method relies on such features as hardness, color, crystal structure, chemical characteristics, and electrical and magnetic properties. The work took a very practical approach to mineral identification in order to make it a more useful tool for the mining industry. The tables use this system to describe over 200 minerals.