Description

Rand, McNally & Co., Chicago, Published date: 1898. Hardcover, 183 pp; 17 cm. Illustrated throughout with black and white engravings and diagrams. In Acceptable+ condition. Original red cloth-covered flexible boards with gilt lettering to front and spine; moderate to heavy rubbing and surface wear with scattered spotting and small stains; noticeable discoloration and staining to cloth; spine ends and corners worn; gilt lettering still legible though dulled; binding remains intact and sound. Previous owner's ink stamp to front and rear free endpapers; inner hinges show wear but remain secure. Interior pages moderately toned with scattered foxing and age-related staining, heavier to endpapers; occasional small marks but text remains fully legible. Treatise intended as a practical manual for prospectors during the late 19th century mining era. Bramble covers exploratory and preparatory work including physical properties of ores, field geology, identification of mineral associations, blow-pipe tests, chemical analysis and assay methods, and practical techniques for working valuable deposits. Includes chapters on quartz and hydraulic mining, detailed discussion of placer mining, camp life guidance, medical hints, and glossary of mining terminology. Illustrated with engravings of tools and assay equipment including pocket lens, weighing scales, assay balances, scorification furnace, hammer, horn spoon, steel mortar, and alcohol lamp. Contents include: Prospecting; How to Test for Minerals; Blow-Pipe Tests; Economic Ores and Minerals; Mining; Camp Life; Surveying; Floating a Company; Medical Hints; Dynamite; Atomic Weights; Odds and Ends; Glossary.