Fine Printed Books & Manuscripts, Including Americana

Tall 8vo. 10 plates. (Some spotting to title-page.) Modern half calf; original printed wrappers bound in. Provenance: Charles Smith Wilkinson (1843-1891), Australian geologist and president of the Royal Society of New South Wales in 1887 (signature on upper wrapper); [indecipherable] D. Duncan (signature on title-page dated 1880); U.S. Geological Survey Library (perforated stamp on upper wrapper, withdrawn stamps on title-page).

FIRST EDITION. "Gustav Thureau was the first mines inspector and geologist appointed to Government service in Tasmania. Arriving in South Australia in 1849 he worked for a short time as an ore dresser in Burra Burra before moving to Victoria. Between 1852 and 1878 Thureau worked on various Victorian goldfields including Forest Creek, Maryborough, Ararat, Malmsbury Ballarat, Daylesford and Warrandyte, ultimately becoming manager and inspector of mining companies. He came to be regarded as an authority of the mining and geology of central Victoria and published on a number of articles on mineral deposits...In 1877 he was delegated to visit California to study mining methods and innovations" (ASI). RARE: No online records indicate that any copies have appeared at auction.