* * * * * G. P. Putnam's Sons New York London A Book of Precious Stones The Identification of Gems and Gem Minerals and an Account of Their Scientific, Commercial, Artistic, and Historical Aspects By Julius Wodiska _8vo. With 33 Full-page Illustrations and 4 Colored Plates_ A description, in altogether a new fashion, of gems and gem minerals, their nature and history, comprehensible to every reader, and of prime value to students and to jewelers. The general reader will enjoy the simple descriptions of the origin, development, and treatment of the diamond, sapphire, and other precious stones, as well as of the beautiful semi-precious stones. Just enough of the technical has been provided to make the new gem book a _vade mecum_ for students of gem minerals and for the army of jewelers in the United States, as well as their fellow-craftsmen and merchants in all English-speaking places. The art and industry of mounting gems is somewhat elaborately covered, especially as exemplified in the work of students at technical schools and the many unattached workers in jewelry designing and making who form a part of the Arts and Crafts movement. Some of the quaint superstitions about gems in the chapter on folklore have a curious interest. The author takes cognizance of the public desire nowadays for the novel and uncommon in gems, and shows that prospectors, gem miners, mineralogists, and jewelers are co-operating to greatly lengthen the lists of popular semi-precious stones. A chapter is devoted to collections of gems in museums. * * * * * G. P. Putnam's Sons New York London * * * * * Transcriber's Note: Inconsistent hyphenation and spellings have been standardised, although consistent variants remain as printed. Minor typographical errors have been corrected without note, whilst significant changes are listed below. p. 13, 'indentity' amended to _identity_: '... of unknown identity comes along ...'; p. 20, 'dischroism' amended to _dichroism_: '... but shows hardly any dichroism.'; p. 67, 'quart' amended to _quartz_: '... (quartz topaz) ...'; p. 118, 'Saphire d'eau' amended to _Saphir d'eau_; pp. 140, 143, 'berylium' amended to _beryllium_; pp. 148, 318, 'Varicite' amended to _Variscite_; p. 157, 'Csar' amended to _Czar_: '... Czar Alexander II., in whose ...'; p. 167, 'rubelite' amended to _rubellite_: '... sometimes called "_rubellite_," and white ...'; p. 190, 'Minas Garaes' amended to _Minas Geraes_;