(Born: Sevran, France, 5 September 1742; Died: Paris, France, 20 March 1857) French mineralogist & geologist.

Dufrénoy studied at the École Polytechnique and École des Mines in Paris. He was named engineer of mines in 1818, and assumed the rôle as head of the collections of the École des Mines. At that same institution, he was appointed an assistant professor of mineralogy in 1827, becoming a full professor in 1835. In 1846, he was named director of the school, and in that capacity he was responsible for modernizing the curriculum. In 1822, under the supervision of Brochant de Villiers, Dufrénoy and Beaumont were selected by the government to carry out the necessary field work to prepare the first modern geological map of France. This research occupied Dufrénoy until 1841 when the map was published. After Brongniart's death in 1847, he was appointed professor of mineralogy at the Muséum d'Histoire Naturelle. He was made a member of the Academie des Sciences in 1840 and in 1843 the Geological Society of London presented Dufrénoy and Élie de Beaumont the Wollaston Medal for their geological map.

Biographical references: ABF: I 344, 211-216; 1058, 344-345. • Barr, Index to Biographical Fragments, 1973: 73. • DSB: 4, 217-8 [by J.G. Burke]. • Lambrecht & Quenstedt, Catalogus, 1938: 121. • Nouvelle Biographie Générale (Hoefer): 15, cols. 71-3. • Poggendorff: 1, cols. 614-5. • Sarjeant, Geologists, 1980: 2, 928 & Suppl. 1 (1986), 1, 394. • WBI. • World Who's Who in Science: 489.

1. French, 1827 [First edition].
Voyage | Métallurgique | En Angleterre, | Ou, | Recueil De Mémoires | Sur Le Gisement, L'Exploitation Et Le Traitement | Des Minerais D'Étain, De Cuivre, De Plomb, De | Zinc Et De Fer, | Dans La Grande-Bretagne; | Par MM. Dufrénoy et Élie De Beaumont, | Ingénieurs Des Mines. | [ornament] | Paris, | Bachelier, Successeur De M^me. V^e. Courcier, | Libraire Pour Les Sciences, | Quai des Grands-Augustins, n^o. 55. | [rule] 1827.

8°: [i]-xii, [1]-572 p., 16 folding plates (2 hand-colored), one hand-colored folding map.

Contents: [i-ii], Half title page, "Voyage | Métallurgique | En | Angleterre," verso blank.; [iii-iv], Title page, verso blank.; [v]-viii, "Avertissement."; [ix]-xii, "Note | Sur Les Poids, Mesures Et Monnaies."; [1]-549, Text.; [550], Blank.; [551]-572, "Table Des Matières."

Very scarce. Co-authored with Léonce Élie de Beaumont [1798-1874]. This is the first separate appearance of a publication that appeared as a series of articles in the Annales des Mines from 1824-27. "In the year 1820 a copy of Greenough's map of England and Wales having been sent to the École des Mines at Paris, the desire arose to provide France with a similar compendium of its geology. Accordingly, two engineers of the Mines Department, Beaumont and Dufrénoy, were, in 1822, sent to England where they spent six months studying the principles on which the English map had been constructed, and other subjects connected with the project." (Geikie) Its publication exerted a powerful influence on the development of geology in France.

Bibliographical references: Geikie, Founders of Geology, 1905. • NUC. • NYPL Catalog. • Zittel, History of Geology, 1901: pp. 150, 299, 501 & 517.

2. French, 1837-9 [2nd edition].
Voyage | Métallurgique | En Angleterre, | Ou | Receuil De Mémoires | Sur Le Gisement, L'Exploitation Et Le Traitement Des Minerais | De Fer, Étain, Plomb, Cuivre Zinc, | Et Sur La Fabrication De L'Acier, | Dans La Grande-Bretagne; | Par | MM. Dufrénoy, Élie De Beaumont, | Coste et Perdonnet, | Anciens Élèves de l'École Polytechnique, Ingénieurs des Mines. | Seconde Édition, | Corrigèe Et Considerablement Augmentée. | [ornate rule] | Tome Premier. | [ornate rule] | Paris, | Bachelier, Imprimeur-Libraire, | Quai Des Augustins, N^o 55. | [ornate rule] | 1837.

2 vols. and atlas. [Vol 1 1837] 8°: [4], i-vi (i.e., iv), [1]-607, [1] p. [Vol 2: 1839] 8°: [i]-viii, [1]-735, [1] p. [Atlas] Published in 1839.

Contents: [Vol 1] [2 pgs], Half title page, "Voyage | Métallurgique | En Angleterre," verso printer's information.; [2 pgs], Title page, verso blank.; [i]-vi (i.e., iv), "Préface."; [1]-585, Text.; [586], Blank.; [587]-607, "Table Des Matières | Contenues | Dans Le Premier Volume."; [1 pg], "Errata.

[Vol 2] [i-ii], Half title page, "Voyage | Métallurgique | En Angleterre," verso printer's information.; [iii-iv], Title page, verso blank.; [v]-viii, "Note | Sur Les Poids, Mesures Et Monnaies."; [1]-711, Text.; [712], Blank.; [713]-735, "Table Des Matières | Contenues | Dans Le Second Volume."; [1 pg], "Errata."

Rare. Second edition, revised and enlarged. A separate and very rare atlas of plates was published in 1839.

Bibliographical references: NUC. • NYPL Catalog. • Zittel, History of Geology, 1901: pp. 150, 299, 501 & 517.

3. French, c1830.
Cours de Minéralogie, | Redige d'apres les Notes priss aux Lecons | de M. Dufrénoy, 1829-1830.

2°: [1]-189 p.

Contents: [1]-189, Text.

Very rare. Published in Paris about 1830, this Course of Mineralogy contains Dufrénoy's lecture notes used during his mineralogy presentation in 1829 and 1830 at the École des Mines (School of Mines) in Paris. It is lithographed from a beautifully prepared manuscript, and it is written in a clear style, allowing for self study of the subject. There is no title page to the work, rather the heading is found at the top of the first page.

Bibliographical references: NYPL Catalog.

Traité de Mineralogie, 1844

4. French, 1844-7 [First edition].
Traité | De | Minéralogie | Par | A. Dufrénoy, | [...7 lines of titles and memberships...] | [rule] | Tome Premier. | [ornament] | Paris | Carilian-Goeury et V^or Dalmont, | Libraires Des Corps Royaux Des Ponts Et Chaussées Et Des Mines, | Quai Des Augustins, 39. | [rule] | 1844 [-1847].

3 vols. and atlas. [Vol 1: 1844] 8°: π² 1-41⁸ 42⁷; ??l.; [4], [i]-viii, [1]-669, [1] p., folding plate.; [Vol 2: 1845] 8°: π² 1-43⁸; ??l.; [4], [1]-685, [3] p.; [Vol 3: 1847] 8°: π² 1-51⁸ 52⁴; ??l.; [4], [1]-823, [1] p.; [Atlas: 1847] 8°: π² a⁸ 1-16⁸ 17⁴; ??l.; [4], [i]-xvi p., 224 plates on 112 leaves, 225-263, [1] p. Page size: 212 x 132 mm.

Contents: [Vol 1] [2 pgs], Half title page, verso "Impreimerie De Hennuyer Et Turpin, ..."; [2 pgs], Title page, verso blank.; [I]-VIII, "Préface."; [1]-664, Text.; [665]-669, "Table Des Matières | Contenues | Dans Le Premier Volume."; [1 pg], Blank.

[Vol 2] [2 pgs], Half title page, verso "Impreimerie De Hennuyer Et Turpin, ..."; [2 pgs], Title page, verso blank.; [1]-676, Text.; [677]-[678], "Errata Du Preimier Volume."; [679]-685, "Table Des Matières | Contenues | Dans Le Deuxième Volume."; [1 pg], Blank.; [2 pgs], Advertisement.

[Vol 3] [2 pgs], Half title page, verso "Impreimerie De Hennuyer Et Ce, ..."; [2 pgs], Title page, verso blank.; [1]-733, Text.; [734]-746, "Supplément."; [747]-790, "Appendice."; [791]-792, "Errata Du Deuxième Volume."; [793]-796, "Table Des Matières | Contenues | Dans Le Troisième Volume."; [797]-823, "Table Générale Des Matières."; [1 pg], Blank.

[Atlas] [2 pgs], Half title page, verso "Impreimerie De Hennuyer Et Turpin, ..."; [2 pgs], Title page, verso blank.; [I]-XVI, "Notation | Adoptée | Pour Représenter Les Faces Des Cristaux | Et | Méthode Pour Les Construire."; Plates 1-224 (mostly crystal drawings).; [223]-232, "Table Des Plances | Contenues Dans L'Atlas."; [233]-236, "Errata Du Troisième Volume."; [237]-263, Table Générale Des Matières.; [1 pg], Blank.

Scarce. This is an important mineralogical and crystallographic work in the history of those sciences. Haüy, gone for over twenty years when these volumes appeared, no longer dominated the French school. Chemistry and crystallography had made major discoveries, making it possible to advance to a more successful theoretical stage in mineral classification. New original research was being carried on, as is evident by the amount of information contained in these volumes. Here the author describes the effects of high temperature on minerals and crystals and gives theories about the structure of crystals, together with the standard information about the physical characters of minerals, chemical properties, crystal systems and systematic mineralogy, in which the author follows a natural method of classification.

Advances in the chemical composition of mineral species now allowed Dufrénoy to employ chemistry as a true means of classification. He uses this classification because he believes it brings together all observations made in the science under a single, unified explanation. However, he believed that using the bases to classify metals, gave birth to true natural groups in which there was one common element. For example, all those of lead, all those of copper, and all those of iron. On the other hand, silicates were their own distinct group because hardness, luster and other properties were similar. Dufrénoy believed then, that classification by acids should be confined to the silicates.

In the first volume of the text are seven folding engraved plates, four of which are detailed renderings of mineralogical instruments: goniometers (Haüy, Wollaston, Mitscherlich, Adelmann and Babinet), Soleil refractometer and a Soleil polariscope. The atlas volume contains over 200 engraved plates showing more than 1,200 crystal diagrams with references to Naumann's crystal notation.

Bibliographical references: Dana's 7th (Bibliography): 70. • Freilich Sale Catalog: no. 162. • Sarjeant, Geologists, 1980: 2, 828. • Ward & Carozzi, Geology Emerging, 1984: no. 699.

5. French, 1856-9 [2nd edition].
Traité | De | Minéralogie | Par | A. Dufrénoy, | […3 lines of titles and memberships…] | [wavy rule] | Deuxième Édition, | Revue, Corrigée. | Et Considérablement Augmentée. | [wavy rule] | Tome Premier. | [wavy rule] | Paris | Victor Dalmont, Éditeur, | Successeur de Carilian-Gœury et V^or Dalmont, | Libraire Des Corps Impériaux Des Ponts Et Chaussées Et Des Mines, | Qual des Augustins, 49. | [short rule] | 1856.

5 vols. [Text] [Vol 1: 1855] 8°: [i]-xii, [1]-715, [1] p., text illus., 5 folding plates; [Vol 2: 1856] 8°: [4], [1]-683, [1] p.; [Vol 3: 1856] 8°: [4], [1]-719, [1] p.; [Vol 4: 1859] 8°: [4], [1]-770 p.; [Vol 5, Atlas: 1856] 8°: [4], i-lii p., plates 1-110, [liii]-lx p., plates 161-236. Page size: 214 x 132 mm.

Contents: [Vol 1] [i-ii], Half title page, "Traité | De | Minéralogie," verso "Typographie Hennuyer, ..."; [iii-iv], Title page, verso blank.; [v]-xii, "Préface."; [1]-707, Text.; [708], Blank.; [709]-715, "Table Des Matières | Contenues | Dans Le Premier Tome."

[Vol 2] [2 pgs], Half title page, "Traité | De | Minéralogie," verso "Typographie Hennuyer, ..."; [2 pgs], Title page, verso blank.; [1]-674, Text.; [675]-683, "Table Des Matières | Contenues | Dans Le Deuxième Volume."; [1 pg], Blank.

[Vol 3] [2 pgs], Half title page, "Traité | De | Minéralogie," verso "Typographie Hennuyer, ..."; [2 pgs], Title page, verso blank.; [1]-710, Text.; [711]-719, "Table Des Matières | Contenues | Dans Le Troisème Volume."; [1 pg], Blank.

[Vol 4] [2 pgs], Half title page, "Traité | De | Minéralogie," verso "Typographie Hennuyer, ..."; [2 pgs], Title page, verso blank.; [1]-632, Text.; [633]-656, "Table | De La Distribution Des Espèces Mineraes."; [657]-670, "Extrait Du Tableau Minéralogie | De M. Adam."; [671]-689, "Supplément."; [690], Blank.; [691]-726, "Appendice."; [727]-767, "Table Des Matières | Contenues | Dans Le Quatrième Volume."; [768], Blank.; [769]-770, "Errata."

[Vol 5, Atlas] [2 pgs], Half title page, "Traité | De | Minéralogie. | [short rule] | Atlas," verso "Typographie Hennuyer, ..."; [2 pgs], Title page, verso blank.; [i]-xxxii, "Notation | Adoptée | Pour Représenter Les Faces Des Cristaux | Et | Méthode Pour Les Construire."; [xxxiii]-xlviii, "Exposé Sommaire | Du Système | Cristallographie De Mohs | Et De Sa Notation."; [xlix]-lii, "Nomenclature Cristallographique | Et Notation."; Plates 1-110.; [liii]-lx, "Table Des Figures | Contenues Dans l'Atlas."; Plates 161-236.

Rare. Second edition, greatly enlarged. The atlas contains a section on Mohs crystal notation and crystal notation in general. The plates of the atlas show crystal drawings, while the plates in volume one of the text show various mineralogical apparatus.The enlarged second edition of this standard work on mineralogy. The first edition appeared in 1844-1847.

Bibliographical references: Dana's 7th (Bibliography): 70.

Handbuch zum Bestimmen der Mineralien auf dichotomischem Wege nach Dufrenoy's Traité de Minéralogie. Mit einem Vorwort von Dr. Chr. Zimmermann ... Nebst 240 Abbildungen. (Clausthal, 1848).
See under: Zimmermann, Johann Christian.

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