Hereditas Antikvárium

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14. Könyvárverés

Wien, 1786. Christian Friedrich Wappler. (16)+227p.+XXI folding t. With a copper engraved vignette on the title page.
The author was a Saxon geologist from Transylvania. This is his main work, which was published for the first time and brought him world fame. During the pioneering process he developed, mercury was used to extract valuable gold, silver or other metals from the ore. His work, printed in several editions, was also published in French two years later.
Born was born in Gyulafehérvár. He completed his school in Nagyszeben. From 1755 he studied in Vienna. In 1760, he went to Prague to complete his law degree. In 1769, he was appointed mining adviser to Selmecbánya, and later that same year, he got this position in Prague. He founded a scientific society, which today is considered the direct predecessor of the Czech Academy of Sciences. 1776 Maria Theresa invited him to Vienna to organise and describe the imperial natural science collection (Naturalienkabinet). He also entrusted the teaching of his eldest daughter, Princess Mária Anna. Based on the professional advice of Born, the princess acquired a severe collection of natural history. The most significant and most valuable part of the more than ten thousand pieces comprised minerals (the compilation was transferred to the university in Buda in 1781 and is still part of ELTE's collections). During the 1780s, he worked on perfecting the amalgamation of gold- and silver ores. In 1786, the most prominent miners and metallurgists of his time gathered in Szklenó to learn about his process, where, on Born's initiative, the world's first international scientific society was formed under the name "Societät der Bergbaukunde". He joined the Freemason movement (initiated in Prague in 1770). He was also a member and one of the leaders of the Illuminati under the name Furius Camillus. II. During the reign of József II, on 9 March 1782, he became the head of a masonic lodge called „Az igaz egység”. At their gatherings, academic-level presentations were given on literature, philosophy, history, and various natural science topics. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, also a Freemason, also visited these sessions. The composer wrote his cantata "Die Mauererfreude" in honour of Ignác Born, and he served as the model for Sarastro, one of the essential characters in Mozart's opera "The Magic Flute".
His most famous work is linked to his open and critical Masonic thinking. The work was written under the pseudonym Joannes Physiophilus and entitled “Specimen Monachologiae methodo Linnaeana” (Vienna, 1783). The work deals with the classification of monastic orders. His popularity was due to his highly sarcastic, vitriolic style. (Based on Gábor Horányi's description.)
Contemporary hardpaper.