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1824 : Karl Caesar von Leonhard, section 89 of Charakteristik der Felsarten, and the early history of Loess.

How very extraordinary that loess is? It has not been half attended to. Leonard Horner 1832

Mladen Jovanovic Physical Geography Section, University of Novi Sad, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia (mladen.jovanovic@dgt.uns.ac.rs.) Tivadar Gaudenyi Geographical Institute Jovan Cvijic Serbian Academy of Sciences & Arts, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia (tiv@neobee.com) Ken OHara-Dhand, Ian Smalley Giotto Loess Research Group, Geography Department, Leicester University, Leicester LE1 7RH, UK (kod2@le.ac.uk / ijs4@le.ac.uk)

Abstract. The term Loess enters the scientific vocabulary in 1824 via section 89 of Charakteristik der Felsarten by Karl Caesar
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von Leonhard (a two page definition and description, plus a few locations). The term had been used before 1824 but Leonhard places it firmly into the literature. There were alternatives; Leonhard made a choice. Interest in loess developed in the early 1820s, perhaps in association with interest in the geology of the Tertiary Rhine volcanoes. Possibly the first fairly detailed study of loess was by H.G.Bronn in 1830. After 1830 Hibbert, Horner and Lyell carried forward the study/appreciation of loess in English. Charles Lyell (in Principles of Geology) listed ten pioneers: Bronn, Leonhard, Boue, Voltz, Noeggerath, Steininger, Merian, Rozet, Von Meyer and Hibbert. Early ideas of loess formation emphasized the role of deposition from water, perhaps influenced by the advocacy of Boue for continent wide inundations. 1. Introduction. Our aim is to explore the background to the naming and defining and the early investigation of loess. It is perforce a European affair. We place the key moment in the naming and definition of loess as the publication of Charakteristic der Felsarten(CdF) by Karl Caesar von Leonhard in 1824. Section 89 was called Loess and it appears that Leonhard chose this name from a selection of possible epithets. CdF is a list, a comprehensive catalogue of rock and mineral types, a description of the varieties of ground material e.g. 64 Grauwacke, 67 Bunter Sandstein, 69 Greensand, 71 Molasse, 77 Trass, 85 Sand, and, in particular, 89 Loess. Another aim is to shine a light on Lyells ten loess people. Charles Lyell is given much of the credit for popularising the idea of loess via the section in vol.3 of Principles of Geology(1834, see Lyell on Loess 1989); he mentions his loessic debt to ten people, all of whom deserve some investigation and illumination. Lyell was quite punctillious about acknowledging his dept to this group of scholars so we might assume that it is a comprehensive list of the key
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people involved in the early days of loess investigation: Bronn, Leonhard, Boue, Voltz, Noeggerath, Steininger, Merian, Rozet, Von Meyer and Hibbert- Lyells Loess Legion, or just possibly the Britz Bloc. 2. Horner Horner(1836) wrote on the geology of the environs of Bonn. Leonard Horner and family lived in Bonn for a few years at the beginning of the 1830s, and he was Charles Lyells father in law. That was why Lyell went to Bonn to get married in 1832, to Mary Horner, and, it could be argued, it led to the Lyells progressing down the Rhine valley to Heidelberg, to the consorting with Leonhard and Bronn, and to the Lyell association with the loess.(Smalley et al 2010). Horner went on field trips with J.J.Noeggerath, who was professor of geology at Bonn University, and one of the people named by Lyell as having scholarly knowledge of loess. The Horner paper on Bonn geology (Horner 1836) contains some interesting observations on loess. He is writing at a time when loess is just making its first appearance on the scientific scene. He read the paper in 1833 but it did not appear in print until 1836. Loess is specially noticed by Leonhard in his Charaktertstik der Felsarten, published in 1824, who has adopted this trivial name, given to it in the neighbourhood of Basle, but a fuller account of it has more recently been given by Professor Bronn[1830] in his description of the environs of Heidelberg. (Horner 1836, p.460). When Horner talks of a trivial name we assume that he means a colloquial or everyday name. Leonhard offered a few synonyms for loess: Loesch, Schneckenhausel-Boden, Mergel, Briz. We assume that these were all everyday, possibly regional, names and that Leonhard made a choice and opted for Loess. After 1824 loess appears to be the accepted term. Steininger (1821) used Britz, but loess quickly becomes accepted into the scientific literature.
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Hibbert uses loess in his study of the Rhine volcanoes (Hibbert 1832) and so, more tellingly, does Lyell in vol.3 of the Principles of Geology (1834, see Smalley et al 2010). Horner has an eloquent passage on the fascination of loess: To give a history of the loess in the valley of the Rhine, by a careful examination of its composition, organic remains, its form of deposition and levels, and to trace it, if possible, to its source, would be a most interesting subject of inquiry, and could not fail to prove a valuable contribution to geological science. (Horner 1836, p.470). By 1833, when Horner presented the paper in London, it had been appreciated that loess was an interesting material. Research and study were focussed in the Rhine Valley but there was was interest in the UK, and Lyell was looking at worldwide occurrences. The Horner manifesto sums up the growing interest in loess, and with a few minor changes to the wording could serve in 2012 as a support for the worldwide scholars seeking to make a valuable contribution to geological science. 3. Hibbert Hibbert(1832) wrote on the history of the extinct volcanoes in the basin of Neuwied on the Lower Rhine. He wrote mainly on volcanoes but included interesting sections on loess, obviously influenced by Leonhard, to whom he dedicated the book. [Neuwied is between Bonn and Koblenz; the Laacher See is a short distance to the west, this is the Eifel region]. The latest tertiary deposit which appears to have characterized the valley from Mayence[Mainz] to Basle has been properly considered by M.Boue as the product of a great fresh water sea that filled the whole basin of the Upper Rhine. It has been described under various names, of which the most adopted is that of Loess. According to M.Von
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Leonhard, its synonyms, as they occur along the course of the Rhine are Loesch, Schneckenhausel-Boden, Mergel, (in the upper lands of Boden) and Briz. By M.Steininger and some other writers the deposit has been variously named Britz, Lehm, or it has met with an appellation significant of a yellow marly earth. M.Boue styles it an alluvial fresh water marl. The illustrations in Hibberts book were mostly supplied by Mrs Charlotte Hibbert. They were admired by Lyell; in a letter to Mary Horner from Kinnordy he wrote: Mrs Hibberts drawings of the Eifel are really splendid, most of them worth publishing, yet when she began the tour, she had hardly attempted to sketch from nature. She has caught that style of [Poulett] Scrope which gives you a sort of mappicture of a country, a half panorama taken from high points. A view for example, from a hill looking down upon the Laacher See, and taking in the whole lake, and the hills surrounding it, and part of the adjoining country. Letter from Charles Lyell to Mary Horner, dated 8 September 1831. The title page of Hibberts book is adorned with a sketch of the Laacher See, probably the one referred to by Lyell. In the same letter Lyell mentions Hibberts activity in the volcanic region(which will lead to Hibbert 1832): Never having heard of that beautiful map which Von Oeynhausen lent me, they lost much time in constructing a map, which Hibbert did trigonometrically. They have really collected both rocks and shells, and worked and sketched to great effect. In the loess descending from Kruft to Andernach, they found a vast number of land shells, which seem to indicate a modern date to that formation. Letter from Charles Lyell to Mary Horner dated 8 September 1831. Oeynhausen et al(1825) had made a geognostic survey of the Rhine region in 1823 and it was probably the
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cartographical fruits of this enterprise which Lyell enjoyed (and Hibbert did not). In the summer of 1831 Lyell made a tour of some weeks to the Eifel, the volcanic district between the Rhine and Moselle rivers. Lyell and the Hibberts may have been touring together or possibly visited the district at round about the same time. Lyell and Hibbert were in communication, and they discussed loess. Lyell consulted Hibbert during the last days of the preparation of the Principles: I must send the last chapter of my third volume to press in about six days, so you would much oblige me by an early reply. I have seen much of the loess, since I saw you, both in the Neuwied district and in Wurttenberg and in Bavaria, and you will see that I have greatly modified my views, especially in so far that I now agree with you that some violent eruption occurred during and since the period of the deposit of the loess. Lyell writes to Hibbert from 16 Hart Street, 17 April 1834. 4. Noeggerath J.J. Noeggerath(1788-1877) was professor of geology at the University of Bonn, and author of a considerable tract on the Rhineland mountains (Noeggerath 1822-1826). He was an acquaintance of Horner and they went into the field together. We think that it was Noeggerath who added the synonym Mergel to the von Leonhard list of loess alternatives. Leonhard placed Mergel im Badischen Oberlande which Hibbert translated as the upper lands of Boden(which is roughly around/between Stuttgart and Basel). Gegen Norden wird das Steinkohlengebirge von Mergel einer thonig kalkigen Bildung uberdeckt. Dieser Mergel, von weisslicher, gelblicher und grunlicher Farbe, ist abweichend auf seinen Liegenden gelagert, und fallt mit schwager Neigung von 2 bis 3 Graden gegen Norden..
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Noeggerath (1822, p.7) Noeggerath promotes a rather poorly defined colour for Mergel/Loess; his whitish, yellowish greenish material might be compared to Von Leonhards unrein gelblichgraues roughly yellow-grey. He was a famous mineralogist; in fact he is the only one of the Lyell loess group to feature in the Wikipedia list of famous German mineralogists(no Von Leonhard and no Bronn- which is surprising, or rather incredible for the founders of the Jahrbuch fur Mineralogie). 5. Steininger J.Steininger wrote on the Rhineland volcanoes (Steininger 1821) and he appears to be responsible for the term Britz as a loess synonym. There is some confusion over the Briz/Britz term; Briz oder Britz? Britz or Briz? Von Leonhard used Briz but this appears to be a misreading of Steiningers text. The Steininger book was printed in Old German text in which tz is printed as a joint letter, which looks very like a single z. Hibbert lists Briz but he is simply following Von Leonhard; the original text definitely gives Britz. Lyell mentions Steininger in Principles (Lyell 1834, 1986 p.5): On revisting the sections near Andernach, which have been appealed to by MM. Steininger, Hibbert and others, as proving that some of the last eruptions of the Lower Eifel took place both during and since the deposition of the loess, I found it impossible not to reach the same conclusion. 6. Leonhard Karl Caesar von Leonhard (1779-1862). Famous as a mineralogist and founder of the Jahrbuch fur Mineralogie.. in 1830, in association with H.G.Bronn. Always associated with Heidelberg(see Kirchheimer 1969) and demarcated as the person who defined loess and established it as a subject for scientic study. Loess, he wrote is:
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Ein lehmiges, unrein gelblichgraues, im Bruche erdiges Gemenge aus Thon-, Kalk- und Kieseltheilen und aus sehr Kleinen Glimmer-Blattchen. Die feinstaubigen Theile sind zu einer losen zerreiblichen Masse verbunden. (Leonhard 1824, p.722). So- a muddy, dirty yellowish-gray, earthy mixture of clay, limestone and gravel and a small amount of mica; a friable mass, a comminuted granular system. The initial description/definition emphasized the textural aspects of the material. He puts it in high places and low places; a wide altitudinal range. It usually appears just below the topsoil, into which it blends by gradual transition. 7. Bronn We place H.G.Bronn with Von Leonhard, not only located at Heidelberg, but also involved in the long-term production of mineralogical journals. Horner ascribed to him the best early description of loess in his study of the region around Heidelberg: Der Loess ist eine, erst neuerlich aufgestellte und wie es scheint, dem Rheinthale eigenthum liche Gegirtsart von sehr allegeimer, aber unzusammenhangender Verbreitung. Bronn (1830 p.168). Bronn had a major role to play in the development of science. He translated Charles Darwins Origin of Species into German, and launched, in Germany, the study of natural selection and all topics related to evolution. He has a mention in the Principles (Lyell 1833, 1986 p.4): [Loess] rises to a considerable height at Zeuten and Odenau, east of the Rhine, at a short distance from the Bergstrasse, between Wiesloch and Bruchsal, a locality first pointed out to me by Professor Bronn, where it is several hundred feet thick, and contains, both in the soft loam and

in solid calcareous concretions, many shells, some of which retain occasionally their colour. .. Professor Bronn informs me, that the calcareous concretions of the loess are sometimes arranged in horizontal layers, marking a difference in the carbonate of lime with which the sediment must have been charged at different periods. 8. Voltz Lyell met Professor Voltz at Stuttgardt(sic) while viewing Dr.Hahls mineral collection, in August 1833 (K.M.Lyell 1881,p.401)) and mentioned the meeting in a letter to his father. Voltz(1828) had written of the geology of the region but does not seem to have had great influence on the early history of loess. He appears to be a minor figure among the loess legion, along with Lozet, Von Meyer and Merian. His work was cited by Horner (Voltz 1828) as making significant statements about loess. 9. Boue The ideas of Boue were mentioned by Hibbert(see above), and he was undoubtedly a major scholar. Boue favoured large scale inundations of the continent, and interpreted observed features relative to that proposition. So he was definitely in favour of loess being an aqueous sediment. He was involved in the early days of loess; in 1823 he was in the Rhine Valley region, discovering human bones in the loess; activity which he reported many years later (Boue 1852). Also he was much influenced by Von Leonhard(as a system maker) as various writings attest (Boue 1835-1836). It is possible to speculate that his influence might have been quite considerable. In the early days there was no definitive theory for the formation of the loess, just a general association of loess deposition with fluvial activity. It may have been Boues promotion of the ideas of widespread inundation that subtly influenced thinking on modes of loess deposition. Later in the nineteenth century, when the
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Noahs Flood discussion was at its height (Howorth 1882) it was in the interest of some of the parties to support the idea that loess was deposited from water. 10. Discussion I Loess has been deposited throughout the Quaternary, and probably before that. There are impressive loess deposits in many parts of the World, particularly in China, but the study of loess begins in Europe. We propose that it begins early in the nineteenth century, in the Rhine valley, in the region of the Rhine volcanoes, and that the study of loess is essentially a spin-off from the study of the volcanic materials of the region. The local geologists, mapping their regions, were aware of significant amounts of loess, often found in close association with the volcanic deposits which were their primary concern. Heidelberg and the University of Heidelberg play a major part in early loess history(Kirchheimer 1969). K.C.von Leonhard and H.G.Bronn, two of the chief protagonists were associated with the University of Heidelberg; and von Leonards publication of CdF in 1824 serves as a marker for the initiation of serious loess study. It quickly became apparent that Loess was the accepted term, others disappeared; Horner(1836) and Hibbert(1832) mentioned alternative names but gave them merely a nod in passing. The Heidelberg connection needs to be fully explored and to do this it is necessary to quote at length from Kirchheimer(1969). The text reproduced here is Kirchheimer material but it is taken from the English translation in Smalley(1980,p.44-45). Kirchheimer reported that one of the leading Heidelberg commercial enterprises in the first half of the nineteenth century, founded in 1804 by the then tax inspector (Steuerassessor) Karl Caesar von Leonhard and later to be known as Freidrich Moldenauers Heidelberger Mineralien
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Comptoir (at Schiffgasse no.211), began to sell, from 1825, a large number of Geognostic Collections after Leonhards Analysis of Rock Types. These suites, which were bought by many Earth Science Institutes and museums, each included a perishable sample of loess from Haarlass (by Heidelberg) as described in 1824[in CdF]. Also, in the Gebirgsarten Sammlung von der Umgegend von Heidelberg (Collection of rocks from the area around Heidelberg) there was offered at the same time (as no.46 in the collection) an earthy sample of loess (of four square inches format[5 x 5 cm]) of the same provenance, but similarly unsuited for preservation over a longer period of time. Kirchheimer proposed that this was the way in which loess became known in the wider world. He claims that the name undoubtedly originated in Heidelberg. He suggested that loess cannot have become internationally known through the third volume of the Principles of Geology and the subsequent eleven editions of that famous work by the English[Scottish] scientist Charles Lyell (1797-1875) but almost a decade earlier through trade. He is right, and he is wrong. The word was undoubtedly out in 1825; loess becomes known in Heidelberg and Stuttgart and Basel; but samples bought in Heidelberg do not carry the word to New York and Chicago and Sydney and Melbourne and Wellington. Lyells book really was a worldwide phenomenon and its long publishing history indicates its popularity- this was the all-important secondary source of information about loess. Assigning Lyell some points for popularization does nothing to diminish the credit due to von Leonard. Kirchheimer considered that it was important in that context (spreading the word) that notice be taken of the fact that von Leonard used to give two one-hour lectures a week on the Analysis of Rock Types starting in the summer semester of 1823. Loess was included. A record of a typical lecture has been left by Lyell (K.M.Lyell 1881, p.400); this is Lyell in a letter to his father dated 8 August 1833:
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I attended a lecture of Von Leonard on mineralogy, and was much interested. He has been the first to introduce a modified Lancastrian system of instruction into his lectures. When he has given a general history of a particular mineral, he describes a certain number of specimens to four or five of the more advanced of his class, who have already followed one or two courses. He then passes to one end of the room He only got through two minerals in the hour. A number of priviledged students learned about loess by this method. Kirchheimer suggested that the most important locus classicus et typicus of the rock, as far as its history is concerned must surely be Haarlass, one of its most notable places of discovery (as quoted in 1824[in CdF]). 11.Discussion II Locus typicus Haarlass, the place selected as the locus typicus for loess is located on the right bank of the River Neckar upstream from Heidelberg, about 1500m east of the Old Bridge near km 27 of the river. According to Von Leonhards Guidebook for Heidelberg and Surroundings published in 1834 by Karl Groos ,an inn belonging to the nearby Convent Neuberg had been there in the olden days. Covering the granite on the steep hillside above the modern Park Hotel Haarlass, which started off as a coffee house in 1911, is a layer of light yellow loess where generations of playing children have hollowed out deep cavities. The unstructured and vertically steeply descending light limey rock contains both shells and root stocks dating from the time of its origin. This characteristic corresponds to that of a true loess Von Leonhard(claims Kirchheimer) probably coined the word Loess by borrowing one of the local names (Loesch) used by country folk from the Upper Rhine region to denote the yellow lime soil (Lischen) or the so-called snail-shell soil which is easily loosened by plough or spade.
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12. Commentary I Karl Caesar von Leonard is seen as a remarkable scholar. He was, first and foremost, a mineralogist, interested in ground materials- all types of ground material. And he was an organiser, a classifier, a lister, a tabulator, a cataloguer, an indexer, a codifier. He was also an educator, a spreader of the word, and with his obvious talents he quickly gained authority so that in 1824, when he was 45 years old, he could publish a definitive book [CdF] and expect to have the namings and listings accepted. His books demonstrate his great ability, and now of course are again available thanks to online publication, once difficult-to-locate nineteenth century books are at the fingertips. Von Leonhard was a recorder; he kept a journal which was published in Stuttgart in 1854-1856. He records carefully the visit to Heidelberg of the composer/pianist Franz Liszt, and his visit to the von Leonhard house on 28 November 1843. He does not appear to record the visit of the newly married Mr and Mrs Charles Lyell to Heidelberg in 1832. Liszt was a famous musician; Lyell was about to invent modern geology and become its leading exponent- but von Leonhard did not know that. Commentary II Horner again Von Leonhard is the definer and places loess firmly within the framework of scientific discourse. Horners role was more as commentator and enthusiast. An important role since the material has to be discussed if scientific progress is to be made. Horner shows the concept of loess being discussed soon after its definition. His paper of 1836 is a valuable document, and it can be enhanced with a few excerpts from his letters:
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I am quite bit with the idea of going to study under Leonhard and Bronn at Heidelberg for a week or ten days, and if I can make up my mind to the expense, there is nothing to prevent me. It would do me much good. How very extraordinary the loess is? It has not been half attended to. I saw it today in great abundance, and at a considerable elevation between Muffendorf and the Bothenberg, and I found a bone in it about three inches long.. Horner, letter to daughter Mary (Mrs Charles Lyell) from Bonn 24 July 1832. The Loess covers the basalt columns of Unkel, at an elevation of at least three hundred feet above the Rhine.. I found loess again at Ovsberg, on the right bank of the Rhine, exactly opposite to Unkel covering the brown coal beds.. Horner, letter to Charles Lyell, from Bonn 28 August 1832. At Obercassel, I found regular blue and yellow clay of the brown coal formation, containing peaty matter, inclosing the same shells as the loess- thus one part of the brown coal is younger than Noeggerath supposes I have seen the grauwacke covering trachyte, and loess over both, a most capital section. Horner, letter to Charles Lyell, from Bonn 28 August 1832. References Boue, A. 1835-1836. Guide du geologue-voyageur, sur le modele de lAgenda geognostica de M.Leonhard. F.G.Levrault Paris 2v. Boue, A. 1852. Erlauterungen uber die von mir im Loess des Rheinthales, im Jahre 1823 ausgefunden Menschenknochen. Sitzungberichte der Kaiserliche Akad. Wiss., Math-Naturwissenschaftliche Klasse Wien 8, 88-90.
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Bronn, H.G. 1830. Gaea Heidelbergensis, oder Mineralogische Beschriebung der Gegend von Heidelberg. Karl Gross Heidelberg 228p.[Loess section pp.167-176 reprinted in Loess Letter 67, April 2012 pp.6-15] Hibbert, S. 1832. History of the Extinct Volcanos of the Basin of Neuwied on the Lower Rhine. W.& D. Laing, Edinburgh; Treuttel & Wurtz & Richter, London. 262p.[Loess discussion reprinted in Loess Letter 67 April 2012 pp.16-23] Horner, L. 1836. On the geology of the environs of Bonn. Transactions of the Geological Society of London 4 (2nd series) 433-481 (presented 1833, published 1836). Howorth, H.H. 1882. Traces of a great post-glacial flood. Geological Magazine[2] 9, 9-18, 69-80(loess), 224-231(loam 7 brickearth), 266-272, 305-311, 416-424, 433-440, 509518, 553-559. 1883: 10, 9-16, 71-78, 113-120, 356-368, 413-423. Kirchheimer,F. 1969. Heidelberg und der Loess. RupertoCarola Zeitschrift der Vereinigung der Freunde der Studentschaft der Universitat Heidelberg e.V. XXI Jahrgang 46, 3-7. Leonhard, K.C.von. 1824. Charakteristik der Felsarten. Joseph Engelmann Verlag Heidelberg, 3 vols. Loess in vol.3. [Section 89 Loess reprinted in Loess Letter 67 April 2012 pp.3-5]. Leonhard, K.C.von. 1854. Aus unserer Zeit in meinem Leben. 2bd. Stuttgart Lyell, Ch. 1830-1834. Principles of Geology 3 vols. John Murray London

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Lyell, Ch. 1986. Lyell on loess (edited by I.J.Smalley) Loess Letter Supplement LLS8 May 1986. [reprints the loess section from vol.3/4 of Principles] Lyell, K.M. ed. 1881. Life, Letters and Journals of Sir Charles Lyell. John Murray London (reprint Elibron Classics 2007). Lyell, K.M. ed. 1890. Leonard Horner; A Memoir. Womens Printing Society London 2 vols.; latterly Cambridge University Press. Noeggerath, J.J. 1822-1826. Das Gebirge in RheinlandWestfalen, nach mineralogischen und chemischen Bezuge 4Bd. Weber Bonn. Oeynhausen, C.von, Dechen, H.von, LaRoche, H.von. 1825. Geognostiche Umrisse der Rheinlander zwischen Basel und Mainz mit besonder Ruecksicht auf das Verkommen des Steinsalzes. G.D.Baedeker, Essen 2vols. 442p. Smalley, I.J. 1980. Loess: A Partial Bibliography. Geobooks/Elsevier Norwich 103p. Smalley, I.J., Markovic, S.B., OHara-Dhand, K. 2010. Charles Lyell from 1832 to 1835: marriage, Principles, 2 trips to Heidelberg, snails and loess. Central European Journal of Geosciences 2, 15-18. Steininger, J. 1821. Neue Beitrage zur Geschichte der Rheinischen Vulkane. F.Kupferberg Mainz 116p. electronic edition Koblenz-Landesbibliothekszentrum Rheinland-Pfalz 2010. Voltz, P-L. 1828. Topographische Uebersicht der Mineralogie der beiden Rhein-Departmente. C.Heitz Strassburg Possible figures
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1. The region of the Rhine. Sketch map of the Rhine basin showing some important places: LS Laacher See, N Neuwied, KS Kaiserstuhl. 2. Karl Caesar von Leonhard in 1823. This is Leonhard at 44 years old, the year before the appearance of CdF. 3. Karl Caesar von Leonhard as the frontispiece for the Festband of the Neues Jahnbuch fur Mineralogie 1907. Compare closely to fig. 1 note same pose and same features and same medals. 4. Karl Caesar von Leonhard in 1857. This is the famous Rudolf Hoffmann portrait, taken a few years before his death in 1862.

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