Dr. Geo. F. Kunz's Gems and Precious Stones of North America, The Sci. Pub. Co., N. Y., 1890, 336 pages, 8 colored plates (excellent ones too), many engravings, is a very complete account of all published finds of precious stones in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, giving a popular description of their value, history, archeology, and of the collections in which they exist, also a chapter on pearls and on remarkable foreign gems owned in the United States. Many rare and little known semi-precious stones are described here. Dr. Kunz is also the author of several more recent gem books notably The Magic of Jewels and Charms and The Curious Lore of Precious Stones, Lippincott, Phila.
Among books on engraved gems is the old Hand Book of Gem Engraving by C. W. King; Bell & Daldy, London, 1866, and one by Duffield Osborne; Henry Holt & Co., N. Y. Another book on this subject is Engraved Gems by Maxwell Somerville; Drexel Biddle, Phila.
For those who wish still further references the following older works will prove interesting.
Precious Stones, by W. R. Cattelle; Lippincott, Phila. Precious Stones, by W. Goodchild; D. Van Nostrand & Co., N. Y.
Julius Wodiska, of New York, has also written an interesting work on precious stones, A Book of Precious Stones, Putnam's, 1907.
Still older works are Precious Stones and Gems by Edwin W. Streeter; Chapman & Hall, London, 1877. This is a book of 264 pages with nine illustrations. It contains much of value and was unsurpassed in its day. Its first-hand accounts of numerous important, even celebrated diamonds and other precious stones will always make it valuable to the student of gems.
Another book by the same author is The Great Diamonds of the World; Geo. Bell & Sons, London, 1882; 321 pages. Not illustrated. Its title adequately describes its contents. It is an excellent work. The author even traveled in India tracing the history of some of the famous diamonds that he describes.
Diamonds and Precious Stones, by Louis Dieulafait published in its English translation by Scribner, Armstrong & Co., N. Y., 1874, is another old but interesting work. It has 292 pages and 126 engravings on wood. It gives a fine account of diamond cutting as practiced at that time. There is also an excellent history of the production of artificial precious stones to that date.
The Natural History of Precious Stones and of the Precious Metals by C. W. King, M.A., Bell & Daldy, London, 1870, is rich in references to classical literature.
One or two interesting monographs on precious stones have been written and The Tourmaline, by Augustus C. Hamlin is one of these. Mr. Hamlin became interested in gems because of his accidental discovery of some of the fine tourmalines of Maine. His Leisure Hours among the Gems is also very readable. Jas. R. Osgood & Co., Boston, 1884. It deals especially with diamond, emerald, opal, and sapphire. He gives a good account of American finds of diamond, and a long account of European regalia. The book is full of interesting comment and contains many references to older authors.