Overview of the Rare Books collection
The Rare Book comprises approximately 3,500 books covering the history of geology and its component subjects, such as palaeontology, mineralogy, exploration, engineering, mapping and volcanology. Theological interpretations of the geological sciences are also strongly represented in the collection
The 'Dragon of Rhodes' from Athanasius Kircher's 'Jesu Mundus subterraneus, in XII libros digestus...' (1665).
Most of the books are published after 1800, but the collection includes important earlier works dating back to the 16th century. The oldest item in the collection is Georg Agricola’s 'De Ortu & Causis Subterraneorum' (1546), a work on the origins of ore deposits, whilst the most important probably is that same author's ‘De Re Metallica’ (1561), a summary of all mining knowledge from the late Middle Ages.
A large proportion of the collection came as part of the bequest of one of our founders, George Bellas Greenough (1778-1855), who studied and travelled on the continent – hence why around two thirds of the collection is in a European language. Other volumes were presented to the Society on publication by their authors (who were also Fellows), including such geological luminaries as Charles Darwin, Charles Lyell, Georges Cuvier, William Buckland, Gideon Mantell, Roderick Impey Murchison, James Parkinson and James Sowerby.
Tract collection
The collection also includes around 1800 volumes of bound tracts. These were short publications, articles or pamphlets donated to the Society's Library mostly in the 19th century. To make them easier to shelve, they were bound together sometimes quite randomly. The pre-1870s volumes are of particular interest and include such rare items such as the earliest US geological survey reports, sales catalogues for private fossil collections and contemporary accounts of the eruptions of Vesuvius from 1632.
Information for Researchers
The Rare Book collection is listed in the Library catalogue. Please contact the Library to arrange an appointment to view items from the collection.
Please note that the Tract Collection is not yet included in the Library catalogue. However if there is a particular subject or author of interest, please contact the Library as it may be included in the collection.
Collection Highlights
Detailed focus on some of the more unusual items in the Rare Books and Tracts collections.
