Precious Stones: Their History and Mystery

Nine chapters on what people have believed about jewels — the charms and the poisons, the chaplet of pearls, the ecclesiastical treasuries, and the great robberies they invited.

About the Book

1880Published
Charles William KingAuthor
10Chapters
149Pages on this site

This is a Victorian gem book of the discursive kind: less mineralogy than belief. Its nine chapters run through the superstitions attached to stones, their place in romance and poetry, a chaplet of pearls, the philosophy of gems, the ecclesiastical treasuries, famous robberies, the vicissitudes of particular jewels, the Tudors and Stuarts, and decorations of state.

This digital edition presents the complete keyed text, chapter by chapter.

This site reproduces the complete text of the original 1880 edition, digitized page by page from the original printing. The book is in the public domain.

Rights & ReuseThe complete text of Precious Stones: Their History and Mystery (1880) is in the public domain in the United States — like all works published before 1928 — and is free to read, download, quote, teach from, and reuse. This digital edition (its transcription, restored images, and site design) is © 2026 PhotoOpAI, and any editorial commentary we add is clearly marked as ours; the underlying public-domain text carries no such restriction.