A Rudimentary Treatise on the Metallurgy of Silver and Lead

Published in 1861, Dr. Robert H. Lamborn’s (1836-1895) A Rudimentary Treatise on the Metallurgy of Silver and Lead provides descriptions of the characteristics of both silver and lead, and explores 19th-century methods for assaying them. Born near Philadelphia in 1836, Lamborn was educated in Europe—studying at the Royal Saxon Mining Academy of Freiberg, the School of Mines in Paris, and earning his Ph.D. at the University of Giessen. Lamborn was something of a Renaissance man. After completing his education, he returned to the United States, where, after fighting in the Civil War, he worked with railroad companies, traveled extensively, and wrote books on topics ranging from metallurgy to art to pest control.