Problems and Sources in the History of Geology,1749–1810

d'Archiac E. J. A. , Introduction à l'étude de la paléontologie stratigraphique (2 vols., Paris, 1864), and other works by the same author; von Zittel K. A. , History of geology and palaeontology, tr. Ogilvie-Gordon M. M. (London, 1901); Adams F. D. , The birth and development of the geological sciences (New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1954); Hölder H. , Geologie und Paläontologie in Texten und Ihrer Geschichte (Freiburg/München, 1960).

Butterfield Herbert , The Whig interpretation of history (London, 1959), and Agassi Joseph , “Towards an historiography of science”, History and theory, Beiheft 2 (1963).

Hutton's Theory of the earth (2 vols., Edinburgh, 1795) is now available in a modern reprint (1959); cf. Archives internationales d'histoire des sciences, xii (1959) 180–181. Playfair's Illustrations … (1802) has been published in facsimile by the University of Illinois Press (1956). Werner's Von den äusserlichen Kennzeichen der Fossilien (1774) has been issued in an English translation in which Werner's marginalia in his own copy are included: Werner A. G. , On the external characters of minerals, tr. Carozzi A. V. (Urbana, 1962). Professor Alexander M. Ospovat of Oklahoma State University informs me that he is preparing for publication his translation of Werner's Kurze Klassifikation (1786).

There is a published catalogue of the Oklahoma collection, compiled soon after its acquisition: A check list of the E. DeGolyer collection in the history of science and technology as of August 1, 1954, compiled by McAnally A. Roller D. H. D. (Norman, Okla., 1954).

These are in part guesses, but the municipal library of Nîmes possesses the papers and library of naturalist J. F. Séguier, and the University of Strasbourg pioneered in the teaching of geology in the later eighteenth century. Cf. Dubois Georges , “L'Enseignement de la géologie à l'Université de Strasbourg avant 1870”, Revue d'Alsace, lxxxv (1938).

Lacroix Alfred , Déodat Dolomieu, Membre de l'Institut National (1750–1801): Sa vie aventureuse—sa captivité—ses oeuvres—sa correspondance (2 vols., Paris, 1921), and Déherain Henri , Catalogue des manuscrits du Fonds Cuvier … conservés à la bibliothèque de l'Institut de France (2 fasc., Paris/Hendaye, 1908, 1922).

See Freshfield D. W. Montagnier H. F. , The life of Horace Benedict de Saussure (London, 1920), esp. p. 466a, for a brief and provocative discussion of papers discovered too late for use in this biography.

E.g., the Société littéraire de Clermont-Ferrand, its papers now at the Bibliothèque municipale de Clermont-Ferrand. See also Schofield Robert E. , “Histories of scientific societies”, History of science, ii (1963) 70–83, and the same author's The Lunar Society of Birmingham (Oxford, 1963).

Buffon , Les époques de la nature, ed. Roger Jacques (Mémoires du Muséum national d'histoire naturelle, Série C, Tome x, Paris, 1962); cf. the superb bibliography, pp. 319–335.

Ibid., Avant-propos; cf. my review in Isis, in press.

Ospovat Alexander M. , Abraham Gottlob Werner and his influence on mineralogy and geology, University of Oklahoma Dissertation, 1960; and personal communication from Professor Ospovat.

Cf. also, Ospovat , “Werner's influence on American geology”, Proceedings of the Oklahoma Academy of Sciences for 1959, xl (1960) 98–103.

There are good biographies of Dolomieu, Raspe, and Saussure, but only Dolomieu has been seriously examined as a geologist; see above, refs. 6–7, and Carswell John , The prospector, being the life and times of Rudolf Erich Raspe (1737–1794) (London, 1950). I have not seen R. Michel's Le bi-centenaire de la naissance de Faujas de Saint-Fond (Montélimar, 1941). The only significant account of Desmarest is still Cuvier's eulogy in his Recueil des éloges historiques, nouv. éd. (3 vols., Paris, 1861). For Hutton, see Playfair , Biographical account of James Hutton, M.D. (Edinburgh, 1797?), and the valuable articles by Eyles V. A. “Note on the original publication of Hutton's Theory of the earth, and on the subsequent forms in which it was issued”, Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, lxiii (1947–9) 377–386, and “A bibliographical note on the earliest printed version of James Hutton's Theory of the earth”, Journal of the Society for the Bibliography of Natural History, iii (1955) 105–108. Also Eyles A. V. Eyles J. M. , “Some geological correspondence of James Hutton”, Annals of science, vii (1951) 316–339.

On this general subject, there is Geikie's old but still useful Annals of the Royal Society Club (London, 1917). Cf. also, Schofield , Lunar Society.

The most useful works in this area, each from a special point of view, are Guerlac Henry , “Some French antecedents of the chemical revolution”, Chymia, v (1959) 73–112, and Fayet Joseph , La Révolution française et la science, 1789–1795 (Paris, 1960). The latter is reviewed by Hahn R. in Isis, li (1960) 605–607.

Roger Jacques , op. cit., pp. lxvi–lxvii and lxi, n. 3; Haber Francis C. , The age of the world: Moses to Darwin (Baltimore, 1959), ch. 3; and Gillispie Charles C. , Genesis and geology (New York, 1959), ch. 2. Haber adds little to Gillispie's work, which is limited to the English scene, 1790–1850.

Raspe , An account of some German volcanos, and their productions (London, 1776) 14–16; Hamilton , Campi Phlegraei (Naples, 1776) 11; Ferber , Travels through Italy, in the years 1771 and 1772, tr. Raspe R. E. (London, 1776) 133–134; and Monnet MS “Histoire d'un voyage fait au mont d'or en 1786”, École des Mines, MS 8286, pp. 118–120. This manuscript has been edited and published by Henry Mosnier in Mémoires de l'Académic des sciences, belles-lettres et arts de Clermont-Ferrand, xxix (1887).

Desmarest , article “Hutton”, in Encyclopédie méthodique (Paris, 1782–1832): Géographie physique, i, 732–782; de Lamétherie J. C. , Théorie de la terre (3 vols., Paris, 1795) in, 393 ff. John Playfair's claim that there was little response to Hutton's work for several years needs investigation; see Playfair, quoted by Eyles V. A. in Isis, xlviii (1957) 387.

Guettard , “Mémoire sur quelques montagnes de la France qui ont été des volcans”, Mémoires de l'Académie royale des sciences, 1752 (1756) 27–59.

Geikie , The founders of geology, 2nd ed. (New York, 1962) 136.

Cf. Dietrich in von Trébra F. W. H. , Observations de M. de Trébra, sur l'intérieur des montagnes, tr. Dietrich (Paris, 1787), p. lii, n. 2. Guettard's conversion was complete by 1775 when he visited the region around Montélimar in Dauphiné, and his change of opinion was probably announced in a rare work which I have been unable to examine with care: Guettard , Mémoires sur la minéralogie du Dauphiné (2 vols.-in-i, Paris, 1779).

For a convenient summary of the issues as they are usually presented, see Gillispie , op. cit., ch. 2. I am indebted to Professor Ospovat for calling to my attention a relevant and important article (which I have not yet been able to consult) by Otfried Wagenbreth, “Abraham Gottlob Werner und der Höhepunkt des Neptunistenstreites um 1790”, Freiberger Forschungshefte, Reihe D: Kultur und Technik, 11 (1955) 183–241.

Raspe , op. cit., 27.

Hamilton , op. cit., 6.

Whitehurst , op. cit., 105; Geikie , Memoir of John Michell (Cambridge, 1918) 42–43; Ferber , “An essay on the oryctography of Derbyshire …” in Pinkerton John (ed.), A general collection of the best and most interesting voyages and travels in all parts of the world (17 vols., London, 1808–1814), ii, 468; Pallas , Observations sur la formation des montagnes et les changemens arrivés au globe, particulièrement à l'égard de l'Empire Russe (St Petersburg, [1777]) 35–36.

Freshfield Montagnier , op. cit., 466a. The authors refer to a letter from Adam Ferguson to Saussure, dated 1787, announcing that Ferguson is forwarding papers by Hutton who is described as a great admirer of Saussure; the authors believe that Hutton's Theory of the earth was probably one of the ‘papers’ in question.

Whitehurst , op. cit., 85–86, and Darcet , Discours en forme de dissertation sur l'état actuel des montagnes des Pyrénées, et sur les causes de leur dégradation (Paris, 1776), esp. 3–6.

Geikie , Founders, pp. 94–95, 121–126, 155–166, and Haber , op. cit., 175–179.

Lavoisier A.-L. , Oeuvres de Lavoisier (6 vols., Paris, 1862–1893), v, 186–204. In the published memoir Lavoisier refers only in passing to “several hundreds of thousands of years” (p. 198); but in an early draft he concluded more boldly that “tout atteste que le globbe que nous habitons est dune anciennete pour ainsy dire incalculable” (Lavoisier Papers, Academy of Sciences, dossier 335B, fol. 2 v).

See Crosland Maurice , Historical studies in the language of chemistry (London, 1962), and Bergman Torbern , Manuel du minéralogiste, tr. Mongez., ed. Lamétherie , (2 vols., Paris, 1792) i, pp. xii–ciii.

Lamétherie , op. cit., ii, 196–229.

Fitton W. H. , “Notes on the history of English geology”, Philosophical Magazine, i (1832) 147–160, 268–275, 442–450; ii (1833) 37–57. Eyles A. V. Eyles J. M. , “On the different issues of the first geological map of England and Wales”, Annals of science, iii (1938) 190–212.

Cuvier Brongniart , “Essai sur la géographie minéralogique des environs de Paris”, Mémoires de la classe des sciences mathématiques et physiques de l'Institut impérial de France, 1810 (1811) 1–278.

See Déherain, cited above, ref. 6. A monograph on Cuvier by William Coleman of Johns Hopkins University is now in press; although Mr Coleman informs me that his emphasis is on Cuvier the zoologist, he refers also to Cuvier's early career and to his geological work and has made extensive use of the Cuvier papers at the Institut. Some indication of the Brongniart sources is given by de Launay Louis , Les Brongniart (Paris, 1940), chs. 3–6 and pp. 195–200.

Guettard , Mémoires sur différentes parties de la physique, de l'histoire naturette; des sciences et des arts, &c. (5 vols.-in-6, Paris, 1774–1786), i, p. v; vi, 187.

Greene , op. cit., ch. 4.

The format of this work varies and complete sets are rare; one such set is in the library of the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia. See Mazon A. , Histoire de Soulavie (naturaliste, diplomate, historien) (2 vols., Paris, 1893), and the discussions in Archiac , op. cit., i, 348–354, and Haber , op. cit., 173–174.

Ibid.; Greene , op. cit., ch. 4; and Geikie , Founders, 338–341.

Ferber in Pinkerton , op. cit., ii, 469–474; Guettard in Mémoires de l'Académie royale des sciences, 1756 (1762) 226–227; Whitehurst in North F. J. , “From Giraldus Cambrensis to the geological map”, Transactions of the Cardiff Naturalists' Society, lxiv (1931) 87; Pallas , op. cit., 1–5; Werner in Greene , op. cit., 78–80. For Lavoisier, see the discussion of cartography, below.

Boué Ami , Guide du géologue-voyageur, 2 vols. (Brussels, 1836), ii, 332–349; also published in von Leonard Karl C. , Zeitschrift für Mineralogie, Frankfurt-am-Main, April, 1828, and Bulletin des sciences naturelles et de géologie, xvi (1829) with a supplement in Annales des sciences naturelles, xvi (1829).

The best available description of the Atlas is in Duveen Denis I. Klickstein Herbert S. , A bibliography of the works of Antoine Laurent Lavoisier 1743–1794 (London, 1954) 236–244.

Lavoisier , op. cit., v, 205–206.

Palassou , Essai sur la minéralogie des Monts-Pyrénées (Paris, 1781).

Carte corografiche, e memorie riguardanti le pietre, le miniere, e i fossili … Abbozzate e raccolte del Prefetto degli studii del Reale Collegio Fernandiano a Nunziatella (Naples, 1782); d'Auteroche Chappe , Voyage en Sibérie (2 vols.-in-3, and atlas, Paris, 1768). Christopher Packe's map of the region around Canterbury (1743) is described and reproduced in Campbell Eila M. T. , “An English philosophicochorographical chart”, Imago mundi, vi (1949) 79–84. Lehmann , “Karte der Umgegend von Dresden, geognostisch illuminirt. fol.”, n.d., is referred to in Agassiz Louis , Bibliographia zoologiae et geologiae, ed. Strickland (4 vols., London, 1848–54), iii, 442. Gläser F. G. , Versuch einer mineralogischen beschreibung der gefürsteten Graffschaft Henneberg (Leipzig, 1775); Charpentier J. F. W. , Mineralogische Geographie der Chursächsischen Lande (Leipzig, 1778). I am indebted to Dr V. A. Eyles for calling Gläser's map to my attention. The known French cartographers include Chappe, Desmarest, Soulavie, Palassou, Guettard, Lavoisier and Monnet.

de Thury C.-F. Cassini , Carte de la France (Paris, 1744–1787). See von Nischer-Falkenhof E. , “The Survey by the Austrian General Staff … during the Years 1749–1854”, Imago mundi, ii (1937) 83–88. Also, de Reparaz-Ruiz Gonzalo , “Les études scientifiques et la géographie en Espagne au XVIII^e siècle”, Bulletin hispanique, xlv (1943) 1–67.