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32 2 GEMS AND PRECIOUS STONES IN THE
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Collections.—One of the first collections of precious stones formed in the United States was that begun early in the century by J. R. Cox of
the University of Pennsylvania, whose cabinet in 1860 passed into the
possession of Prof. Joseph Leidy, of Philadelphia, who continued
adding to it until 1880. At that time it comprised 221 lots, and was
then considered the finest collection in the United States, the
specimens all having been chosen with great care and scientific
accuracy. The cabinet was offered for sale, but failed to find a
purchaser and was disposed of to a dealer, who soon scattered the
fruits of over half a century's patient gathering among his customers.
Dr. Lewis Feuchtwanger, of New York, was, in 1838, an authority on precious stones, and his bookl
was one of the first to be written on the subject in the United Stktes.
During his long residence in this country, he made an interesting and
valuable collection of minerals, fossils, and gems, many of the latter
being fine specimens, but it has not been sold, and is in the
possession of his daughters. Moving has greatly damaged this
collection, which originally included nearly 900 specimens; it was
placed on sale in 1874, and for a time was deposited in the American
Museum of Natural History, New York.
A
remarkable and most interesting collection was made by Dr. Isaac Lea,
of Philadelphia, who died in December, 1886. This eminent scientist for
the last thirty years of his long life devoted much time to the study
of microscopic inclusions in gems and minerals. The cabinet bequeathed
by him to his daughter contains thousands of specimens of rubies,
sapphires chrysoberyls, tourmalines, garnets, quartz, and other stones,
each specimen labelled, and generally accompanied by a drawing,
showing the interesting inclusions. His extensive bibliography
includes several papers on inclusions in precious stones.'
The
finest known collection of precious stones, and the finest collection
of those found in the United States, is the one,
1
A Treatise on Gems, in Reference to their Practical and Scientific
Value. A useful guide for the jeweler, lapidary, artist, amateur,
mineralogist, and chemist. Accompanied by a description of the most
interesting American gems and ornamental and architectural materials.
(New York, 1838. Subsequent enlarged editions appeared in 1859 and in
1872.
!Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. of Philadelphia, vol. 21 pp. 4 and 119, 1869, and vol. 28, p. 98, 1876.
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