Purification du mierai d'argent par le feu - Gravure extraite de Description des minerais et...

Purification du mierai d'argent par le feu - Gravure extraite de Description des minerais et des principales methodes d'exploitation miniere, de Lazarus Ecker, 1580 - Raw Materials Processing, Metallurgy Purifying silver using fire, 1580. Woodcut showing craftsmen in their workshop, with a furnace and tools. Illustration from 'Beschreibung aller furnemisten mineralischen Ertzt vnnd Bergtwercks arten' ('Description of the Principle Mineral Ores and Methods of Mining') by Lazarus Ercker (d 1594) published in Frankfurt-am-Main in 1580. In 1554 Ercker was appointed assayer at Dresden and later became a control tester of coins. This book is a mine of information concerning sixteenth century metallurgy and assaying. It can be regarded as the first manual of analytical and metallurgical chemistry. ©SSPL/Science Museum