Nicols, Thomas

Arcula Gemmea: or, A Cabinet of Jewels. Discovering the Nature, Vertue, Value of Pretious Stones, with Infallible Rules to Escape the Deceit of all Such as are Adulterate and Counterfeit. London: Printed for Nath: Brooke at the Angel in Cornhill, 1653

8vo (178 x 133 mm). Folding table. Bound to style in early 18th-century calf, spine with raised bands in six𒁏 compartments, second with red mor♚occo lettering piece.

First edition, second issue of the first book on gemstones by a British author

The present volume on precious stones by Nicols—who was associated with Jesus College, Cambridge—was his only work, and was published three t🐓imes throughout his life, each issue with a different title. The present edition is identical to the first published in 1652 with a new title page in addition to the previous one.

Nicols begins the work with an "admonition" to the💙 reader, warning against using gems for supernatural purposes, and with a fold-out table classifying stones (as well as fossils, coral, pearls, and amber) by size, rarity, hardness, color, and clarity. He includes general information about the definition and history of gems, drawing on works by Boethius de Boot and Pliny, plus chapters on the properties, uses, and value of various stones, from diamonds to flints. He further discusses how to polish and engrave stones, how to detect counterfeits, and the supernatural effects and "dignities and vertues [sic]" of several types of stones.

Very scarce