Die Entwicklungsgeschichte der Mineralien der Talkglimmer-Familie und ihrer Verwandten, sowie der durch dieselben bedingten petrographischen und geognostischen Verhältnisse.

Zürich, F. Schulthess, 1855. 8vo (18.8 x 12.2 cm). xv, 634 pp. Original half calf over marbled boards. Spine with gilt title. = A rare work on soft minerals related to talc and mica. The author, Georg Heinrich Otto Volger (1822-1897) was a German geologist born in Lüneburg. "He studied natural history at the University of Göttingen, and later taught classes in natural history at the Muri monastery in Aargau. From 1851 to 1856 he was a professor of natural history at the University of Zurich, and afterwards taught geology at the Forschungsinstitut Senckenberg. From 1859 to 1881 he taught geology and mineralogy at the Freie Deutsche Hochstift in Frankfurt-am-Main. Volger made contributions in the fields of mineralogy and crystallography, and was particularly interested in earthquakes. He did extensive study of earthquakes in Switzerland; researching their origins, periodicity, meteorological and environmental factors, as well as the spread and expansion of the quakes. Volger advocated the theory of neptunism. Independent of geologist Robert Mallet (1810-1881), he created his own neptunistic theory of wave propagation of earthquakes. Volger believed that most earthquakes in Switzerland were subsidence quakes caused by collapse of layers of hollow strata in the Earth. In 1863, Volger purchased the birthplace of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832), and meticulously restored the house to the condition left by Goethe's father." (Wikipedia). Boards and spine a bit rubbed. Vague old stamp on front free endpaper recto, title page, and top margin of the preface, that on the title page partly erased and repaired, otherwise a very good, clean copy with no trace of spotting or browning.