A treatise on diamonds, and precious stones : including their history-natural and commercial. To which is added the methods of cutting & polishing. With colored plates (…)

Second illustrated edition, with five plates, including one hand-coloured, one partly coloured, and one aquatint (cf. Sinkankas 4286; Borba de Moraes 542; not in Sabin).

Half beige sheep binding, smooth spine with some rubbing, marbled paper boards, marbled endpapers and pastedowns; modern binding signed Houdart.

Some light foxing; numerical notes in the upper right corner of the half-title.

An interesting work, largely devoted to the diamonds of Brazil.

First published in 1813 and reprinted in 1815, this edition—despite the statement on the title page—would thus be the third rather than the second (cf. Borba de Moraes). “Largely concerns Brazilian diamonds and their comparison with stones found elsewhere” (Maggs).

The plates depict: “Colored Stones” (hand-coloured frontispiece), “Peculiar Diamonds” (partly coloured), various types of diamonds (black plates nos. I and II), and “Diamond cutter [and] Diamond polisher” (two aquatint vignettes).