“Rose Quartz is supposed to derive its colour from a minute admixture with manganeese, and is found in Bavaria and the United States. The best are brought from India, Siberia, Ceylon, and Persia. The finest I ever saw are from North Carolina and C

“Ferruginous Quartz is opaque of several shades of yellow and red, occurs massive and crystalized. It consists chiefly of Silica and 5% of Iron.” [READ THE FULL QUARTZ ENTRY]

“Milk Quartz occurs massive, and is only distinguished by its colour. As its name denotes, it presents a milky aspect.” [READ THE FULL QUARTZ ENTRY]

“Amethyst yields 97.50% Silica with a trace of oxide of Iron, Alumina & manganeese. Amethyst chiefly differs from Common Quartz in its colour, which is purplish violet, supposed to be derived from a minute proportion of Iron and Manganeese whi

“Flint consists of about 98% of Silica, with minute portions of oxide of Iron, lime, alumina, and Water. Specific Gravity: 2.59. It is of various shades, grey & black. It is rather harder than common Quartz, which it scratches. It can be broke

“Chalcedony receives its name from the town of Cacedon in Asia, where it was collected by the ancients. It presents various shades of white, grey, yellow, & blue. It occurs massive, in veins, in nodules, botroidal & stalactetic, but never

“Chrysoprase is [a variety of chalcedony] of an apple green colour, translucent & massive. It loses its colour before the B.P. and infusable without addition, it contains of silica 96.16, nickle 1, Lime, alumine & Iron 3. It is the nickle

“Agate Moss is chalcedony containing what has formerly been thought to be delicate vegetable ramifications, of different shades as all agates are found in volcanic regeons, or igneous formations, and must have been in a moulten state a great lengt

“In a chemical point of view, [ Common Jasper] only differs from agate in containing a larger portion of Iron. It is readily distinguished by its opacity; its prevailing colours are yellow, red, and brown. It has often a resinous lustre, but it is

“Opal , like quartz, consists chiefly of Silica and water, but analysis generally indicates a greater quantity of the latter than in quartz, none of its varieties give fire with the steel. Specific G 2.09. This beautiful mineral is of a white blu

“Fire Opal is found with the noble opal, in Hungary, but is much scarcer. It differs from the precious, in possessing only hyacinth red and yellow tints, when turned towards the light. It occurs in Mexico, and Honduras. Humbold first made known th

$“Wood Opal is remarkable for its ligneous appearance. It presents a variety of grey, brown, and black, and in fracture, translucency, and lustre, does not materially differ from semi-opal, altho’ somewhat harder. It occurs occasionally, forming la$

“Menelite is a variety of semiopal occuring in compact reniform masses of a brown colour, structure slaty, found in beds of adhesive state at Menil-montant near Paris. It contains 85 silica, 1 alumina, and 11 water.”

“Hyalite occurs in white and transparent boytroidal masses, or in Stalactites. It has a vitrious lustre, is brittle, but is as hard as quartz. Specific gravity about 2.410. Before the blow-pipe it is infusable by itself, consists of Silica 92, wat

“Under this term [Garnet] are included several substances consisting principally of the same elements, but united, in variable proportions as the silicates of Lime, Iron, and Manganeese. Almandine (Precious Garnet) consists of 36 silica, 22 alumi

“Uvarovite (Chrome Garnet) is a rare variety of Garnet, made known by one of the industrious mineralogists of Russia, and which should be classed with Green Garnet, to which it bears a very strong resemblance. It has a lively Green colour, and cry

“Melanite is generally quite black, a beautiful black Garnet has been found at Franklin N Jersey exactly resembling that from Norway. It occurs in rhombic dodecahedrons, BB it fuses alone, into a brilliant black globule.”

“Pyrope differs from other varieties [of Garnet], in containing 7.68 &ct of chromic acid. And by part of its Iron, replaced, by Magnesia. It is found only in rounded, or angular grains, of red colour, it is transparent, and scratches glass. It

“Topazolite variety of Garnet occurs in well-defined dodecahedrons of a topaz yellow colour. It consists of Silica 35, magnesia 2, Lime 29, Glucina 4, Iron 25, Manganese 2.”

“Egeran occurs in diverging groups of translucent crystals, of a liver brown colour. B.B. it inturmesces. It occurs at Haslan near Eger in Bohemia, hence the name Egeran.”

Gehlenite is a combination of Silica 29, Alumina 24, Lime 35, Iron 6. It occurs in right square prisms and massive. It is usually grey, but frequently, has a greenish or yellowish tinge. Surface commonly rough and dull, it is found in the valley o

“Zoisite is composed of Silica 45. Alumina 29. Lime 21. Iron 3. Sp. Gr. 3.2. It occurs in oblique rhombic prisms, of a grey, greyish, yellow, or brown colour, but are rarely perfect, owing to deep longitudinal stria, the terminations are often inc

The combination of [ Epedote] is Silica 37. Alumina 27. Lime 14 Iron 17. Sp Gr 3.42. This mineral is found granular, massive. and in prismatic crystals, variously terminated and longitudinally striated. Colour different shades of green, occasionall

“ Axinite contains Silica 50, Alumina 16, Lime 17, Iron 9 Manganeese 5. Sp. Gr. 3.27. This mineral rarely occurs massive, more frequently in flat, oblique rhomboidal prisms, whose edges are remarkable sharp. Common colour violet, or clove brown, al

Chlorophillite differs from [Diachoite] in hardness, Sp. Gr. and other physical properties, besides being a hydrated mineral. It has lately been found in the U.S. at Unity, New Hampshire, very plentifully crystallized. It consists of Silica 45, Al

“Dr. Thompson has seperated this from Tabular Spar by the name Wollastonite . It nearly resembles it in some of her characters, but which has a different composition being composed of Silica 53. Lime 31. Soda 9. Magnesia 1. And water 2. It thus se

“Augite is from the Greek meaning splendour, in allusion to the brilliancy of its crystals. It contains Silica 53. Lime 22. Iron 17. Magnesia 5. It is therefore a bisilicate of Lime, magnesia & Iron. Dr Thompson has seperated the white from th

“Jeffersonite was discovered by Msrs Keating, and Vanuxem of Phil”a from its chemical composition and other characters, they came to the conclusion it was a new species. Dr. Troost instituted a careful comparison between this mineral, and pyroxene

“Diopside occurs in prismatic crystals, which are colourless or various shades of green, the primary is an oblique rhombic prism of the same form, and measurement, as that of augite. It is found traversing veins of Serpentine in Piedmont, latterly

“Hedenbergite is a variety of cocolite from Zuneburg in Sweeden, its chemical contents vary but little from the former species. it is named in honor of the Chemist Hedenburg, the French Mineralogist Beudant places several varieties under that name

“Babingtonite is another variety of Augite, the lustre is vitrious, surface brilliant, B.B. it fuses into a black enamel. It resembles some of the dark varieties of augite from which it was first distinguished by Levy. It is composed of Silica Iro

“Actinolite is green, of different hues, it may be divided into 3 varieties of crystallized, asbestiform, and glassy. It is composed of Silica Magnesia, Iron and Lime. Crystallized actinolite generally occurs in acicular hexahedral prisms, it has

Andalusite is essentially composed of Silica and Alumina, but contains several other accidental ingredients. Sp. Gr. 3.16. This mineral occurs massive, and in the primary form, a right rhombic prism. It has a lamellar structure with joints paralel

Chiastolite or Macle, formerly discribed as a distinct species, is now to be regarded as a variety of Andalusite, both having the same crystalline form and general physical characters, and agreeing also in chemical characters. Its only peculiarity

“There are several varieties [of Asbestous ] which generally present a fibrous texture, but vary in respect of flexibility. The fibres have not been seen in any determinate form, the name is derived from the greek signifying imperishable, this mine

“Topaz consists of Silica 44, Alumina 47, Fluoric acid 7, Sp. Gr. 3.49. Topaz occurs massive, in rounded pieces and crystalized; general form prismatic, variously terminated, the prisms are generally striated longitudinally. It is sometimes limpid

“Pycnite is a variety of Topaz, contains Alumina 51. Silica 38. Fluoric 8. Sp. Gr. 3.51. Pycnite occurs in long 6 sided prisms, deeply striated longitudinally. It has a dull yellowish, or redish white color. BB it does not fuse alone. It is found

“Massive hornblende has a crystalline structure, consisting of minute, and often of long crystals, intersecting each other, sometimes confusedly radiating. It is very tough, and difficult to break.”

“Polyadelphite is composed of Silica 36, Lime 24, Iron 23, manganeese 4, Alumina 3., Sp. Gr. 3.76. It is of different shades of yellow. The colors are not bright, some specemens bear a close resemblance to Blende. The mineral is composed of transl

“ Tremolite is a combination of Silica, magnesia, & Lime, Sp. Gr. 2.9. Its colour is white occasionally with a tinge of grey yellow blue, & red. It occurs in masses, composed of delicate crystalline fibres, which sometimes radiates, it is v

“ Chrysolite (anhidrous silicate of Magnesia) consists of Magnesia 50, Silica 40, Iron 9, Sp. Gr. 3.3, and occurs in somewhat rounded crystalline masses. Their form is a right rectangular prism, color is bright yellow tinged with green. BB it is in

“Hyalosiderite derives of 2 Greek words signifying Glass & Iron. this mineral was found in amygdaloid rock. It is composed of Silica 32, Iron 30, Magnesia 32, Potash 3. Some mineralogists have considered this species a variety of Chrysolite. C

“Deweylite [ is a variety of Serpentine] found in seams and irregular veins in Middlefield, Massachusetts. It contains Magnesia 40, Silica 40, Water 20, Sp Gr 2.3. It is yellowish and greenish white, lustre is vitrious, inclining to resenous, easil

“Picrolite must also be classed as a variety of [Serpentine]. It is massive or fibrous, with a radiated structure it is leek green, passing into yellow. It occurs in irregular veins in Sweeden, traversing veins of Iron ore, and associated with Cal

“Ladies & Gentlemen,
Permit me to welcome you at the opening of this new course on mineralogy. [...] We shall travel the paths of science together, we shall study together some of the greatest works of God, and shall we not be friends?”

— William Wagner, Introductory No. 1

In 1852, a wealthy and public-spirited scientist by the name of William Wagner began giving lectures from his home in Philadelphia. The philosophy behind these lectures was simple: an understanding of science is valuable to each person in every trade, and should therefore be attainable to all who seek it. These lectures became the focus of Wagner's energy, and in 1855, the Wagner Free Institute of Science was formally incorporated. Following Wagner's death in 1885, the well-reputed biologist Joseph Leidy took over the museum and expanded its collections into a full-blown natural history museum. For over a century since, Wagner’s mission of free science education has been carried out by like-minded educators, researchers, and historians at the still-operating Wagner museum.

This website is a collection of edited transcriptions from some of William Wagner’s earliest lectures on the study of mineralogy, delivered during the 1850s and 1860s. His descriptions of minerals have been paired with images of the Wagner museum’s own mineral collection: many of these specimens are from the personal collection of Wagner himself.

View The Collection

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“...the heights of Science are steep and rugged, and to ascend them, we must like the mountaineer be strong and steady. Already has science controlled the elements, overcome nature, and looked down upon Conquered improbabilities. In reviewing the parturient centuries that have borne these truths, we cannot but be struck with the fact that the divinity of the truths of Science is proven by the immortality of its triumphs. Through all time, all revolutions that have shaken the earth, the truth of Science lived on.”

— William Wagner, Introductory No. 1

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