History of Mount Mica of Maine, U.S.A., and Its Wonderful Deposits of Matchless Tourmalines.

Bangor, Maine: Published by the author, 1895. 8vo (8.75” x 6”), red cloth, gilt spine and cover titles. Frontis., [7], 72 pp., 43 color plates, b&w foldout panoramic illus., 2” x 10”, numerous b&w and color plates.

A handsome copy of this scarce, finely-illustrated volume on Maine’s famous tourmaline deposit.

Augustus C. Hamlin M.D. (1829–1905) was a physician in Bangor, Maine and medical inspector for the U.S. Army who wrote on a variety subjects. Hamlin was the son of Elijah Hamlin, one of the discoverers in 1821 of the gemstone deposit in Mount Mica—Elijah Hamlin’s own excavations at the mine beginning in 1865. The present work consists of a history of the discovery and excavation of the deposit; explanations of illustrated crystals; accounts of visits by noted scientists and figures; descriptions of the materials found, and so forth. Many of the striking plates depict green, blue, etc. tourmaline crystals; other images capture the site and mine plans, which indicate the location of mineral-rich pockets. Augustus Choate Hamlin’s other works include Martyria, or Andersonville Prison (1866), Leisure Hours Among the Gems (1884), The Tourmaline (1873), and The Battle of Chancellorsville (1896).

CONDITION: Very good, light wear to extremities; contents bright and clean; plates very good.