Customer Reviews

The Curious Lore of Precious Stones

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4 star:		(3)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

Geoge Frederick Kunz's contribution as a gemmologisy at the beginning of the century earned him universal fame and respect, even to the point that one the most popular stones in modern energy work is named after him: Kunzite. Dover has published a reprint of his 1913 monument to the "hidden" side of gems: The Curious Lore of Precious Stones. This 400 page volume contains a wealth of material based on medieval lapidary tomes, history, folklore,the Bible, the Eddas, archeological findings, and oral traditions still alive at the time of Kunz's writing. The casual or serious reader cannot help but be impressed by the depth of understanding Kunz deplayed in page after page of riches associated with all aspects of gems and their uses. Thank you, Dover, for allowing us access to this remarkable book.

I bought this book because I enjoy buying gemstones and rocks and just for fun I wanted to know more about the traditional properties that were associated with them. This book written in 1912 and was last reprinted in 1971. Author, George Frederick Kunz, was no doubt the leading expert of his time. The book is full of all kinds of information, from every religion and culture, and was very well researched. He quotes literature from ancient times through what was known up to his time. His writing style is also consistent with his times, so modern readers may find it a little stiff. There are newer lapidaries available...this is a good and entertaining reference.

The book itself is excellent, an important reference study and a very amusing book for the lover of gems. The author is a leading American scholar in his time, this one is his best: informative with sound statements and principal references. When you read it, you can touch the atmosphere of the great collections arranged by him and the greatest library on precious and semiprecious stones, which he had.

The only disadventage of this edition is the very poor photo reproducing of the original photos. The book contains many rare photos, but the reproducing is so bad, that they make you furious, if you see them.

So, 5 stars to the book itself and zero for the photo reproduction.

I keep going back to this to research this stone or that one. Mr. Kunz is a bit on the dry side, but his information is superlative. Many of the pagan books of today don't give enough resources... Mr. Kunz does. I realize he is not a pagan author, but this is a useful resource for pagans interested in stone work. Here is where Scott Cunningham got much of his lore!

I bought this book because Kunz's work has been the basis for much of what we know about ancient gemstone lore. Kunz's lifelong passion for rocks and gemstones began in childhood and as a gemologist and geologist, he was able to collect and organize vast amounts of gemstone lore. He was also a collector of stones, amulets and magical charms, many of which were donated to the American Museum of Natural History. His enthusiasm for the subject is evident and even though this book is nearly 100 years old, I found it surprisingly easy to read.

This book ought to be required reading for all studying the occult aspects of gemstones, and even those that are interested in crystal healing. The material presented in this book is very informative, albeit outdated in some respects. Nonetheless, it is necessary to learn what the formative principles are in this field of study, and this book is an excellent look into the earlier work published solely on the topic of gemstones.

This reprinted book is FILLED with typos. It's garbled gobbledygook! The publisher puts a disclaimer on the first page saying that the book was scanned by a robot, that the robot makes mistakes, and that it's too expensive to have the book proofread! The so-called "publisher" of this trash is General Books (General-Books.net).

Good old fashioned stuff by someone who lived for gemstones. Very interesting and informative. Quick delivery.

I enjoy gemstone lore and this is a nice addition to my collection. The language is a little dated, a little dry, and the pictures are not great, but the text is substantial. I enjoy reading it. I would recommend this book.

Interesting book dealing about precious stone and their lore in the past.