H. Hoover Signed & Inscribed Copy of Georgius Agricola's "De Re Metallica" Translated from 1556 First Latin Edition

A splendid limited edition copy of Herbert Hoover and Lou Henry Hoover's English translation of Georgius Agricola's definitive Early Modern treatise on mining, "De Re Metallica" [trans: "On the Nature of Metals"], signed and inscribed on the front loose endpaper by its co-translator (and future 31st U.S. President) Herbert Hoover (1874-1964), as, "The Good Wishes of / Herbert Hoover." The English translation of "De Re Metallica," originally published in Latin in 1556, was published on a subscription basis for the Hoovers by The Mining Magazine, Salisbury House, London in 1912. Printed by Albert Frost & Sons, Rugby, on thick, high-quality paper and extensively illustrated with plates reproducing the original woodblock cuts. Bound in original full vellum with four raised spine bands and black spine print. A collector's stamp is adhered to the front pastedown endpaper. Expected wear including scattered foxing mostly confined to the endpapers, else near fine. 640pp, uncut. 9.25" x 13.25" x 2.875." Folio. Accompanied by relevant newspaper and magazine articles and clippings.

The Hoover's translation of Agricola's treatise into English was the first ever; the treatise had previously been translated into German, Italian, French, and Spanish. The Hoover's translation is prized for its accuracy, clarity, and inclusion of extensive footnotes, appendices, and indices. The proposed printing run was initially 3,000 copies--which cost over $20,000 to produce at the time due to plate replication--but the actual printing is about half of that. Thus the book is quite unique, and the scarce Hoover signed copies we have seen sell upwards of $4,000!

Georg Bauer (1494-1555), more commonly known by his Latinized name of Georgius Agricola, gained mining experience in what is today Germany and the Czech Republic. Up until this time, mining expertise was typically shared orally among members of elite groups, so Agricola's treatise codifying previously inaccessible technical knowledge was highly valued. "De Re Metallica" is comprised of twelve books discussing such topics as surveying, finding veins, extracting and smelting ore, separating minerals, and mining tools and machinery.

Herbert Hoover and Lou Henry Hoover (1874-1944) had both graduated with Geology degrees from Stanford University, in 1895 and 1898 respectively. Hoover had over ten years of professional experience in the mining industry as a mine scout, an independently contracted mining consultant, and a mining company executive. Hoover had distilled his hands-on experience in early twentieth-century gold, silver, lead, and zinc mining in a series of lectures delivered at Columbia and Stanford Universities, and published as "Principles of Mining" in 1909. Lou Henry's knowledge of geology was no less expansive, and she was also a linguistic scholar, eventually mastering Latin, French, Spanish, Italian, German, and Mandarin. As editors and translators of Agricola's work, the Hoovers made an impressive team.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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