
Transcriber’s Notes
The Curious Lore of Precious Stones
Preface
Illustrations
Superstitions and Their Sources
On the Use of Precious and Semi-Precious Stones as Talismans and Amulets
III On the Talismanic Use of Special Stones36 - Agate
On the Use of Engraved and Carved Gems as Talismans
On Ominous and Luminous Stones
On Crystal Balls and Crystal Gazing
The book opens with a vivid meditation on why humanity has been drawn to the unchanging sparkle of gems—a brilliance that outlasts fleeting colors of flowers or sunsets. It sets the stage by reminding listeners that these stones have been treasured across ages not only for their beauty but for the promise of permanence in a world of constant change.
From there, the author guides us through a richly illustrated tour of folklore, superstition, and symbolism that have grown up around each mineral. Readers discover how ancient physicians, astrologers, and everyday folk assigned powers to diamonds, rubies, sapphires, and pearls—using them as birth‑stones, talismans, and tools of divination. Drawing on decades of research and a personal library of rare references, the narrative weaves scientific insight with the enchanting myths that still make a simple gem feel like a magical charm.
Full title
The Curious Lore of Precious Stones Being a description of their sentiments and folk lore, superstitions, symbolism, mysticism, use in medicine, protection, prevention, religion, and divination. Crystal gazing, birth-stones, lucky stones and talismans, astral, zodiacal, and planetary
Language
en
Duration
~11 hours (662K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Produced by Chris Curnow, Les Galloway and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive)
Release date
2018-09-26
Rights
Public domain in the USA.
Subjects

1856–1932
A leading American gem expert at the turn of the 20th century, he helped shape how rare gemstones were studied, collected, and admired. His work connected science, jewelry, and natural history in a way that still feels surprisingly modern.
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