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MOORE, Nathaniel Fish.

(1782 – 1872)

(Born: Newtown, Long Island, New York, U.S.A., 25 December 1782; Died: Highlands of the Hudson, New York, U.S.A., 7 April 1872) American scholar, librarian, educator & mineral collector.

Moore graduated from Columbia College in 1802. He was admitted to the legal profession in 1805, but he preferred classical studies. In 1817, he was appointed adjunct professor and in 1820 professor of Latin and Greek at Columbia College. He resigned the position in 1835, and in 1838, after two years of travel in Europe and the Holy Land, he returned to become librarian of the college, to which he sold his own great library of classics. In 1842, he became president of the college, but resigned in 1849. In 1851, he made a tour of Europe, during which he visited the World's Fair in London, and became highly interested in the new art of photography, to which he subsequently devoted much study.

Biographical references: ABA: I 1135, 214-216; 1138, 335-341; II 423, 67. DAB: 7, pt. 1, 134-5. Drake, Dictionary of American Biography, 1872: 632. Herringshaw's National Library of American Biography. Moore, N.F., A trip from New York to the Falls of St. Anthony in 1845. Edited by Stanley Pargelis and Ruth Lapham Butler. Chicago, University of Chicago Press for The Newberry Library, 1946. xviii, 101 p., frontispiece (portrait), illus., plates, maps. National Cyclopedia of American Biography: 6, 345, portrait. Sarjeant, Geologists, 1980: 3, 1744. WBI. White, History of Geology, 1973. Who Was Who in America: Historical volume, 434.

Ancient Mineralogy, 1834

1. English, 1834 [First edition].
Ancient Mineralogy: | Or, | An Inquiry Respecting | Mineral Substances | Mentioned By | The Ancients: | With | Occasional Remarks | On The Uses To Which They Were Applied. | [rule] | By N.F. Moore, LL.D. | Professor Of The Greek And Latin Languages In Columbia | College, New York. | [rule] | New York: | Published By G. & C. Carvill & Co. | [rule] | M DCCC XXXIV.

8°: π2, 1-146 1156 2154; 96l.; [1]-192 p., index. Page size: 186 x 108 mm.

Contents: [i-ii], Title page, verso copyright notice.; [iii], "Preface."; [4], Blank.; [5]-187, Text.; [188], Blank.; [189]-192, "Index."

Rare. This book contains discussions of mineral substances mentioned by a great many of the ancient writers, especially Dioscorides, Pliny and Theophrastus. In addition, Biblical references to minerals are discussed at length, including the foreign and domestic sources of minerals known to the Israelites and the foreign trade and travel indicated by their mention. A section on "Metallic Substances, Earths, &c., Employed as Pigments by the Ancients" is a valuable source of reference to terms of colors and pigments in classical literature, for localities from which the materials were derived, and the methods of preparation. Another feature useful in the present day are the lists of Latin names with their modern interpretation and lists of books in several languages that include material on ancient mineral terms and references to sources. This history of ancient mineralogy, is notable for the citations of almost all the ancient writers from Homer to Vitruvius and for the exact references in the text and in footnotes to the literature. An index at the end lists the 200 minerals discussed in the text or in the footnotes.

Facsimile reprint, 1978: New York, Arno Reprint, 1978. 8°: 192, 2 p. ISBN: 0-405-10452-9. Photographic reprint of the original 1834 edition.

Bibliographical references: Sinkankas, Gemology Bibliography, 1993: no. 4567.

2. English, 1859 [2nd edition].
Ancient Mineralogy; | Or, | An Inquiry Respecting | Mineral Substances | Mentioned By | The Ancients: | With Occasional Remarks | On | The Uses To Which They Were Applied. | By N.F. Moore, LL.D. | Second Edition. | New York: | Harper & Brothers, Publishers, | Franklin Square. | 1859.

8°: [i]-[vi], [7]-250, [1]-12 p. Page size: 176 x 103 mm.

Contents: [i-ii], Title page, verso blank.; [iii]-iv, "Preface to the first edition."; [v], "Preface to the second edition."; [vi], Blank.; [7]-245, Text.; [246], Blank.; [247]-250, "Index."; [1]-12, "List of books published by Sampson Low, Son, and Co. ..."

Very scarce. Although the text has been reset, the text is essentially the same as the 1834 edition; however, more references to ancient literature appear in the numberous footnotes. The work maintains the same high scholarly value.

London issue, 1859: Ancient Mineralogy; | Or, | An Inquiry Respecting | Mineral Substances | Mentioned By | The Ancients: | With Occasional Remarks | On | The Uses To Which They Were Applied. | By N.F. Moore, LL.D. | Second Edition. | London: | Sampson Low, Son, & Co., 47, Ludgate Hill. | New York: | Harper & Brothers | [rule] | 1859. 8°: [i]-iv, [5]-250, [1]-12 p. Only the title page has been reset.

Bibliographical references: Dana's 7th (Bibliography): 77. Sinkankas, Gemology Bibliography, 1993: nos. 4568 & 4569.

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