Here’s an ‘oldy but goody’……from the collection of the late Paul E. Desautels…..at its publication in 1972 this was considered to be one of the ‘must have’ books. Of course, today the photography has advanced to near perfection, so let this be a nostalgia piece and a bit of good provenance. Desautels one of the best collection builders of all time during his tenure at the Smithsonian. This year would have been his 100th birthday. – Dona

Published in 1974, the Encyclopedia of Minerals provided the most authoritative, up-to-date information available on the known and authenticated minerals of its time period.

This remarkable compendium provides chemical, physical, crystallographic, X-ray, optical, and geographical data on over 2200 alphabetically arranged species. Included are nearly 1,000 full-color photographs that have been carefully selected to illustrate the outstanding features of a wide range of minerals.