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William Otis Crosby
CROSBY, William Otis.

CROSBY, William Otis.
(1850 - 1925)

(Born: Decatur, Ohio, 14 January 1850; Died: Boston, Massachusetts, 31 December 1925) American geologist.

Crosby was from 1883 assistant professor of mineralogy and lithology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He was involved in mining activities in North Carolina and Colorado.

Biographical references: ABA: I 376, 302-308. Adams, Dictionary of American Authors, 1904. Appleton Cyclopedia of American Biography. Bulletin of the Geological Society of America: 38 (1927), p. 34-45, portrait. DAB. Herringshaw's National Library of American Biography. Poggendorff: 3, p. 314 & 4, p. 282-283. WBI. Who Was Who in America.

1. English, 1881 [First edition].
Common Minerals and Rocks. Boston Society Natural History, Guides for Science Teaching, No. XII. Boston, Heath & Co., 1881.

16°: 205, [4] p., 40 illus.

Very scarce. An elementary teaching guide to be used by the youngsters interested in learning about minerals and rocks. A list of mineral and rock specimens for sale by the author appears at the end of the text.

Bibliographical references: NUC. USGS Library Catalog.

Tables, 1887

2. English, 1887 [First edition].
Tables | For The | Determination | of Common Minerals | Chiefly By Their | Physical Properties | With Confirmatory Chemical Tests. | By | W.O. Crosby, | [...2 lines of titles and memberships...] | [ornate rule] | Boston: | J. Allen Crosby, | 1887.

8°: [2], [1]-74 p., tables.

Contents: [2 pgs], Title page, verso "Copyright, 1887, | By W.O. Crosby."; [1]-2, "Preface."-dated 1 November 1886.; [3]-24, Text.; [25], "General Classification."; 26-71, Tables.; [72], "How To Use The Tables."; [73]-74, "Index" (lists the names of the mineral species).

Very scarce. An introductory laboratory manual with an initial text and a series of tables listing the physical properties for determining the more common minerals. Discussions include the crystallography of the systems, internal and external structure, and descriptions of the physical properties and their chemistry, especially with respect to their action before the blowpipe and chemical analysis. Information about the apparatus and reagents used in testing the common minerals is also presented. The Tables were apparently popular with many issues and the final edition of the text appearing in 1922.

Bibliographical references: NUC. USGS Library Catalog.

3. English, 1894 [2nd edition].
Tables for the determination of Common Minerals, Chiefly By Their Physical Properties with Confirmatory Chemical Tests by W.O. Crosby ... Boston, 1894.

8°: 84 p. Very scarce.

Bibliographical references: NUC. USGS Library Catalog.

4. English, 1895 [3rd edition].
Tables | For The | Determination of Common Minerals | Chiefly By Their | Physical Properties | With Confirmatory Chemical Tests | By | W.O. Crosby | [...2 lines of titles and memberships...] | [rule] | Third Edition | Rewritten And Enlarged | Boston | Published By The Author | 1895.

8°: [2], [1]-106, [2] p., tables. Very scarce.

Contents: [2 pgs], Title page, verso "Copyright, 1895, | By W.O. Crosby."; [1]-2, "Preface."; [3]-24, "Introduction."; [25], "General Classification."; 26-97, Tables.; 98-101, "Synopsis Of The Classification Of Minerals."; [102], "Synopsis of the Classification of Minerals by the Basic Element."; [103]-106, "Index."; [2 pgs], Advertisements.

Bibliographical references: NUC. USGS Library Catalog.

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