Feliks Wermiński Mineral Specimens Journal — 1893 Polish Natural History Notebook

In 1893, a Polish naturalist named Feliks Wermiński published Historya naturalna w obrazach — Natural History in Pictures — a series of illustrated plates designed for use in Polish schools. Among them, Plates 22 and 23 showed mineral specimens of extraordinary variety and beauty: crystals and aggregates, massive and fibrous forms, specimens ranging from the translucent clarity of quartz to the deep metallic lustre of galena, each one rendered with the precision of a scientific document and the sensitivity of an artist. Wermiński (1860–1917) worked in a Poland under Russian partition, where publishing Polish-language educational materials was not merely a pedagogical act but a cultural one — an assertion of the vitality of Polish intellectual life in the face of political suppression.

This journal carries Plates 22 and 23 across its full wraparound cover. The mineral specimens are shown with the optical fidelity that distinguishes the finest nineteenth-century scientific illustration: the translucent minerals rendered with internal luminosity, the metallic minerals with their characteristic reflectivity, the fibrous minerals with their silky sheen. They are images that reward sustained attention — that reveal more the longer you study them, that repay close looking with an ever-deeper appreciation of the hidden geometry of the Earth.

Product Details

• Format: Hardcover journal
• Pages: 150 lined pages (75 sheets) with perforations for easy removal
• Binding: Casewrap sewn binding — flexible and lay-flat
• Dimensions: 5.75 × 8 inches
• Weight: 100 g
• Cover: Matte laminated full-wrap print
• Illustrations: Feliks Wermiński, mineral specimens — Plates 22 & 23 (1893)
• Source: Historya naturalna w obrazach, Warsaw, 1893

Perfect For

• Geologists and mineral collectors
• Rock hounds and crystal enthusiasts
• Polish heritage admirers and natural history lovers
• Science educators and geology teachers
• Anyone who appreciates 19th-century scientific illustration
• A beautiful gift for those who love minerals and crystals

The Story Behind the Plates

The Polish naturalist who drew these minerals, the cultural context of publishing science under partition, and why mineralogical illustration is also an art form — read the full story on our blog →