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001 on1502687713;

003 OCoLC;

005 20260609160759.9;

007 ta;

008 250707t20262026iluaf b 001 0 eng c;

010 a| 2025030741;

020 a| 9780226644608q| (hardback);

020 a| 022664460Xq| (hardback);

020 z| 9780226825984q| (electronic book);

035 a| 40033240168;

035 a| (OCoLC)1502687713;

042 a| pcc;

043 a| e------;

050 00 a| QE392b| .B95 2026;

082 04 a| 553.8092| 23/eng/20260226;

100 1 a| Bycroft, Michael,e| author.;

245 10 a| Gems and the new science :b| matter and value in the Scientific Revolution /c| Michael Bycroft.;

264 1 a| Chicago, IL ;a| London :b| The University of Chicago Press,c| 2026.;

300 a| vi, 340 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates :b| illustrations (some color) ;c| 24 cm.;

334 a| single unitb| mono0| http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/issuance/mono;

336 a| textb| txt2| rdacontent0| http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/contentTypes/txt;

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338 a| volumeb| nc2| rdacarrier0| http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/carriers/nc;

353 a| bibliographyb| bibliography0| http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/msupplcont/bibliography;

353 a| indexb| index0| http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/msupplcont/index;

490 1 a| Synthesis;

504 a| Includes bibliographical references (pages 295-328) and index.;

505 0 a| Introduction. Gems ; Matter ; Value ; The scientific revolution ; Matter and value in the scientific revolution ; Seven new sciences ; Alternative histories of gem science -- Gem classification and Renaissance natural history. From luxuries to virtues ; Trade and the orient ; Tools and hardness ; Oriental hardness ; Classification without systematics -- Gems and technical writing in the age of Louis XIV. Manuals ; Inventories ; Travel narratives ; Maps ; Letters ; The mutual influence of the crafts -- Gem collecting and experimental philosophy. A virtual collection ; The jewel house ; Strange proofs ; Trials of goodness -- Gems and the French origins of experimental physics. Material-driven experimentation ; Assaying gems ; Physics as gem collecting ; Electricity as a science of materials ; The varieties of matter -- Precision and preciousness in Enlightenment mineralogy. From lapidaries to mineralogies ; Color and nuance ; Refraction and structure ; Density and variety ; Crystals and correlation ; Gems and the quantifying spirit -- Gems, the crafts, and chemical composition. Metals and porcelain ; Diamond and porcelain ; Drugs and glass ; Gems and metals ; Compositionism about what? -- The end of gems and the origins of gemology. Books ; Collections ; Tests ; Expertise ; Value-free evaluation -- Conclusion. A brief history of garnet ; From materialism to transmaterialism ; From production to evaluation ; Gems beyond the scientific revolution.;

505 0 a| Appendix 1: Diamonds used in the argument of Boyle's gems -- Appendix 2: Gem specimens from the regent's survey, 1714-1719 -- Appendix 3: Gems in Dufay's experiments -- Appendix 4: Comparative table of enlightenment gem taxonomies -- Appendix 5: Refraction data from Buffon and Rochon -- Bibliography -- Index.;

520 a| "The first book-length history of gems in early modern science offers a thought-provoking new take on the Scientific Revolution. In Gems and the New Science, Michael Bycroft argues that gems were connected to major developments in the 'new science' between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries. As he explains, precious and semi-precious stones were at the center of dramatic shifts in natural knowledge in early modern Europe. They were used to investigate luminescence, electricity, combustion, chemical composition, and more. They were collected by naturalists, measured by mathematicians, and rubbed, burned, and dissolved by experimental philosophers. This led to the demise of the traditional way of classifying gems-- which grouped them by transparency, color, and locality-- and a turn to density, refraction, chemistry, and crystallography as more reliable guides for sorting these substances. The science of gems shows that material evaluation was as important as material production in the history of science. It also shows the value of seeing science as the product of the interaction between different material worlds. The book begins by bringing these insights to bear on five themes of the Scientific Revolution. Each of the subsequent chapters deals with a major episode in early modern science, from the expansion of natural history in the sixteenth century to the emergence of applied science early in the nineteenth century. This important work is not only the first book-length history of the science of gems but also a fresh interpretation of the Scientific Revolution and an argument for a new form of materialism to understand the evolution of science."-- Provided by publisher.;

650 0 a| Gemologyx| History.;

650 0 a| Gemsx| Researchz| Europex| History.;

650 0 a| Gemsx| Classificationx| History.;

650 0 a| Sciencez| Europey| 16th century.;

650 0 a| Sciencez| Europey| 17th century.;

650 0 a| Sciencez| Europey| 18th century.;

650 0 a| Sciencez| Europey| 19th century.;

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758 4| http://id.loc.gov/ontologies/bibframe/instanceOf1| http://id.loc.gov/resources/works/in00024276920;

830 0 a| Synthesis (University of Chicago. Press)1| http://id.loc.gov/resources/hubs/b23d5eb2-0832-2fd6-158d-3673285bc814;

884 a| DLC bibframe2marc v2.10-devg| 20250714q| DLCu| https://github.com/lcnetdev/bibframe2marc/releases/tag/v2.10-dev;

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999 a| QE392 .B95 2026w| LCc| 1i| 30372017688711d| 6/26/2026e| 6/26/2026k| JNEWBOOKSl| JGESm| JOYNERr| Ms| Yt| JGESBKu| 6/26/2026x| BOOKz| JSTACKSo| .STAFF. jjlm;

Gems and the new science : matter and value in the Scientific Revolution / Michael Bycroft.

Author/creator	Bycroft, Michael author.
Format	Book
Publication	Chicago, IL ; London : The University of Chicago Press, 2026.
Copyright Date	©2026
Description	vi, 340 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (some color) ; 24 cm.
Subjects	Gemology--History. Gems--Research. --Europe. --History. Gems--Classification. --History. Science--Europe. --16th century. Science--Europe. --17th century. Science--Europe. --18th century. Science--Europe. --19th century.

Series	Synthesis Synthesis (University of Chicago. Press) http://id.loc.gov/resources/hubs/b23d5eb2-0832-2fd6-158d-3673285bc814
Contents	Introduction. Gems ; Matter ; Value ; The scientific revolution ; Matter and value in the scientific revolution ; Seven new sciences ; Alternative histories of gem science -- Gem classification and Renaissance natural history. From luxuries to virtues ; Trade and the orient ; Tools and hardness ; Oriental hardness ; Classification without systematics -- Gems and technical writing in the age of Louis XIV. Manuals ; Inventories ; Travel narratives ; Maps ; Letters ; The mutual influence of the crafts -- Gem collecting and experimental philosophy. A virtual collection ; The jewel house ; Strange proofs ; Trials of goodness -- Gems and the French origins of experimental physics. Material-driven experimentation ; Assaying gems ; Physics as gem collecting ; Electricity as a science of materials ; The varieties of matter -- Precision and preciousness in Enlightenment mineralogy. From lapidaries to mineralogies ; Color and nuance ; Refraction and structure ; Density and variety ; Crystals and correlation ; Gems and the quantifying spirit -- Gems, the crafts, and chemical composition. Metals and porcelain ; Diamond and porcelain ; Drugs and glass ; Gems and metals ; Compositionism about what? -- The end of gems and the origins of gemology. Books ; Collections ; Tests ; Expertise ; Value-free evaluation -- Conclusion. A brief history of garnet ; From materialism to transmaterialism ; From production to evaluation ; Gems beyond the scientific revolution.
Contents	Appendix 1: Diamonds used in the argument of Boyle's gems -- Appendix 2: Gem specimens from the regent's survey, 1714-1719 -- Appendix 3: Gems in Dufay's experiments -- Appendix 4: Comparative table of enlightenment gem taxonomies -- Appendix 5: Refraction data from Buffon and Rochon -- Bibliography -- Index.
Abstract	"The first book-length history of gems in early modern science offers a thought-provoking new take on the Scientific Revolution. In Gems and the New Science, Michael Bycroft argues that gems were connected to major developments in the 'new science' between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries. As he explains, precious and semi-precious stones were at the center of dramatic shifts in natural knowledge in early modern Europe. They were used to investigate luminescence, electricity, combustion, chemical composition, and more. They were collected by naturalists, measured by mathematicians, and rubbed, burned, and dissolved by experimental philosophers. This led to the demise of the traditional way of classifying gems-- which grouped them by transparency, color, and locality-- and a turn to density, refraction, chemistry, and crystallography as more reliable guides for sorting these substances. The science of gems shows that material evaluation was as important as material production in the history of science. It also shows the value of seeing science as the product of the interaction between different material worlds. The book begins by bringing these insights to bear on five themes of the Scientific Revolution. Each of the subsequent chapters deals with a major episode in early modern science, from the expansion of natural history in the sixteenth century to the emergence of applied science early in the nineteenth century. This important work is not only the first book-length history of the science of gems but also a fresh interpretation of the Scientific Revolution and an argument for a new form of materialism to understand the evolution of science."-- Provided by publisher.
Bibliography note	Includes bibliographical references (pages 295-328) and index.
LCCN	2025030741
ISBN	9780226644608 (hardback)
ISBN	022664460X (hardback)
ISBN	(electronic book)

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