Beudant Voyage mineralogique 1822 Paris, Verdière, 1822
4 vols including Atlas, 4to (255 x 2033 mm), pp [iv] viii 42 [2, errata] 560; [iv] 614; [iv] 659; [iv] 4, with one folding table, one folding hand-coloured engraved map, 7 folding double-page hand-coloured depictions of geological cross-sections, and 3 large folding handcoloured geological maps; a fine copy in contemporary tree sheep, decorated with neoclassical gilt ornaments and greek keys on sides, covers with some abraded patches. £2000
First edition of this geological survey of Hungary and environs. Beudant (1787-1850), director of the King's mineral cabinet, 'was sent by the state on a scientific expedition to Hungary, where he gathered masses of important data that were published in his three-volume Voyage' (DSB). The area covered by Beudant's survey actually comprised not only present-day Hungary but portions of Austria, Yugoslavia, Romania, Czechoslovakia, and Russia. 'During his peregrinations in Hungary, Beudant visited the famous precious opal minds in the Dubnik area of what is now Czechoslovakia. In vol 2, pp 182-192, he describes the mountains between Épéries and Tokay and incidentally the opal-mining industry, its commercial history, the principal deposits and mines, geology and mineralogy, types of opal, and also opal occurrences outside the principal mining center... Of even more value, however, are his discussions of opal in vol 3, pp 484-508, in which he not only considers precious opal mineralogically, but also the so-called jasp-opal and opalized wood... Here also is his speculation on the cause of color play in opal and reports on heat treatments designed to "clarify" opal, along with descriptions of the host rocks, opal vein systems and other matters of interest' (Sinkankas).
For some reason there are different issues of the Atlas; Sinkankas notes that in his copy there are 'two folding maps of Schemnitz region ; two folding maps of Lake Balaton region; two folding maps of Hungary/Transylvania. Aside from the last two folding maps, which appear to be identical, the previous two are printed in pairs, one with a geological legend on the right margin, and the other without. There is no rational explanation for this and nothing is said about it in the explanation'. The present copy has all of the maps and charts detailed in the 'Analyse des cartes et planches' (pp iv). Furthermore, the text collation for the Atlas volume in the Sinkankas copy differs from the above; this copy agrees with the one in the Linda Hall Library. Ekama, describing the Teyler copy, states that 'Vol IV consiste d'un atlas de 7 planches et de 4 cartes' as above, but does not mention the table.
Freilich 59; Sinkankas 612; Ward and Carozzi 205
£2000
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