Mineralogy Journal — Swebach-Desfontaines 1789 Histoire Naturelle Gemstones & Crystals

In 1789, a self-taught artist in Paris set out to make the mineral kingdom visible, legible, and beautiful all at once. François Louis Swebach-Desfontaines arranged the earth's stones on the page as a collector arranges them on a shelf — each specimen labeled, each crystal face rendered with precision, each colour given its full chromatic depth.

The front cover reproduces Plate No. 3 from Swebach-Desfontaines' Histoire Naturelle ou Minéralogie Complète (1789), Paris — a cabinet-style arrangement of precious stones and crystals: quartz radiating like frozen light, rubies and sapphires with deep chromatic fire, emeralds in verdant luminosity, aquamarine and diamond, each specimen labeled in elegant French script in the Enlightenment natural history tradition. The back cover presents Plate No. 2, devoted to spar and zeolite minerals — pearly, heavy, sedative, and fusible varieties rendered with the same meticulous care, documenting the crystalline structures that fascinated 18th-century chemists and mineralogists.

Product Details

• Format: 5.75 × 8 in (14.6 × 20.3 cm)
• Pages: 150 lined pages (75 sheets)
• Perforated pages — tear out cleanly without damaging the binding
• Paper weight: 100 gsm, suitable for fountain pens and pencils
• Hardcover with matte finish, casewrap sewn binding
• Weight: 400 g (14.1 oz)

Perfect For

• Mineral collectors, rockhounds, and geology enthusiasts
• Natural history lovers and cabinet-of-curiosities aficionados
• Geologists, earth scientists, and field researchers
• Enlightenment history and 18th-century science enthusiasts
• Everyday writing, field notes, and daily planning
• Thoughtful gifts for anyone captivated by crystals, gemstones, and earth's treasures

Read more: Swebach-Desfontaines and the Art of Illustrated Mineralogy