The Mineral Collection of Eleanore von Raab

摘要

The rare collection catalog of Eleonore de Raab, published in 1790, is well-known among collectors of antiquarian mineralogical literature. In Wendell Wilson's recent article, "An historical look at women in mineral collecting," he reports the following background: Eleonore de Raab ... became an enthusiastic mineral collector in her youth through the influence of her scholarly mentor, Ignaz von Born. With his help she formed a beautiful mineral collection consisting of about 2,500 small, carefully chosen specimens, many of which were gifts from Born. In 1791 De Raab purchased a suite of 41 mostly Cornish specimens from the English collector Philip Rashleigh. She carefully avoided duplication, and restricted herself to specimens of miniature size. She kept precise information on localities, and arranged her collection according to the systematic mineralogies of her day. In 1793, two years after Born's death, her collection was sold to the banker and art collector Count Moritz von Fries (1777-1826) in Vienna for 3000 ducats.