Siebold's "De mineralogia Japonica"

Viac o knihe

The German physician and naturalist Philipp Franz von Siebold (1796–1866) lived in Japan from 1823 to 1829, where he gathered extensive botanical, zoological, and mineralogical specimens. Upon returning to the Netherlands, he published Fauna Japonica and Flora Japonica, which remain essential references for research on Japan's flora and fauna. Although a third volume, Mineralogia Japonica, was never published, evidence suggests that it was planned. Siebold assigned his assistant, Heinrich Bürger, to oversee work in mineralogy. The mineral collection is housed at the Biodiversity Center Naturalis in Leiden, while various documents related to Bürger’s mineralogical work are preserved in the Siebold Archive at Ruhr University Bochum. In “De Mineralogica Japonica,” the editors aim to reconstruct the Mineralogia by combining the mineral specimens from Leiden with Bürger’s documents. This work offers valuable insights into the geological and mineralogical landscape of early nineteenth-century Japan. Those interested in mineralogy, geology, and the history of science will find it an intriguing resource on natural resources and the evolution of natural history in both Japan and Europe.