Journal of Petrology | Volume 41 | Number 3 | Pages 475 | 2000
© Oxford University Press 2000
Glossary of Mineral Synonyms
Universitetet i Oslo
Glossary of Mineral Synonyms by Jeffrey de Fourestier. Canadian Mineralogist Special Publication 2. Mineralogical Association of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, 1999. 445 pp. ISBN 0921294441. US$50 (US$40 to MAC members)
Back in 1997, The Canadian Mineralogist came out with its first Special Publication, Encyclopedia of Mineral Names by Blackburn & Dennen, ed. R. Martin (US$40 or US$32 to MAC members), which contained a comprehensive listing of 3800 mineral species, each given their chemical formula, first discovery, and a summary of various points of interest to the reader. However, as Jeffrey de Fourestier so aptly says in his introduction to the second Special Publication, Glossary of Mineral Synonyms: ‘Over many years of collecting, one is bound to accumulate a number of specimens associated with old, discarded, discredited or uncommonly used names (not to mention names created for purposes of trade or simply to befuddle the collector).’ How true. And it is with these befuddlements in mind that de Fourestier has carefully put together 432 pages of mineral synonyms, in alphabetical order, each entry accompanied by its IMA-approved terminology in bold type, along with reference to any other synonym that may provide further enlightenment to the reader. Many vagaries are accounted for, including misspellings (does mellilite = mellite or melilite?), odiferous terminology (stinkfluss = fluorite), and unnamed or poorly defined minerals, which are listed at the back of the book. The volume is tastefully illustrated, at the start of each section, with a black-and-white drawing by Gregory Ivanyuk, and the overall typesetting is clear, if a little unimaginative. The lack of mineral formulae and other details means that, as its name would suggest, this volume cannot easily stand alone as a comprehensive mineral reference text, but should be used in conjunction with Special Publication 1 for many applications. The price for Volume 2 (US$50/40) is extremely reasonable, given the quality and quantity of material contained therein, and the book should be considered an essential text for libraries, mineralogical museums, and all serious mineral collectors.
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