Dictionnaire Universel des Fossiles propres et des Fossiles accidentels, contenant une Description des Terres, des Sables, des Sels, des Soufres, des Bitumes, des Pierres simples & composée, communes & prétieuses transparents & opaques, amorphes & figurées, des Minéraux, des Métaux, des Pétrifications du Règne animal, & du Règne végétal, &c. avec des recherches sur la formation de ces fossiles, sur leur origine, leur usages, &c

Titles printed in red & black. 1 p.l., xxxii, 284 pp.; 1 p.l., 256 pp. Two vols. in one. 8vo, cont. sheep, spine nicely gilt. The Hague: P. Gosse, Jr. & D. Pinet, 1763. First edition, The Hague issue (there is also an Avignon issue). Bertrand (1712-77), Swiss naturalist and geologist and a member of many scientific societies throughout Europe, wrote several interesting books on earthquakes, the structure of the earth, and other geological matters. "Scarce. An early comprehensive dictionary defining terms used in the 18th century study of oryctology, which by today's convention would include all of the earth sciences such as geology, mineralogy, crystallography, paleontology, and vulcanology. In the alphabetical list, various terms deal with earths, salts, sulfurs, bitumens, petroleum, simple and complex stones, common and precious gems, minerals, metals, petrifications of animals and plants, the latest theories on their formation, and their uses. In many instances a substantial definition is provided, which shows Bertrand's good knowledge of the subject."-Schuh, Mineralogy & Crystallography: A Biobibliography, 1469 to 1920, 523. Nice copy. ❧ Kafker, The Encyclopedists as Individuals: A Biographical Dictionary of the Authors of the Encyclopédie, pp. 34-39. Poggendorff, I, 170.