Joseph E. Pogue's Turquois remains the single most ambitious study ever devoted to the stone, first published in 1915 as a Memoir of the National Academy of Sciences. Pogue, a mineralogist, ranged far beyond geology, weaving together the history, mineralogy, ethnology, archaeology, mythology, folklore, and technology of turquoise, with particular attention to the Southwest's ancient mines and the Pueblo and Navajo peoples for whom the stone carries deep meaning. It is the kind of comprehensive treatment later writers have leaned on for more than a century.
This copy is the sixth printing, issued in 1974 by The Rio Grande Press of Glorieta, New Mexico, as one of its well-regarded Rio Grande Classics reprints, which returned out-of-print Southwestern scholarship to circulation. The gray boards, with a red rule and green medallion, echo the original Academy design.
Sixth printing (1974), a Rio Grande Classic reprint of the 1915 first
Marked 'A Rio Grande Classic / first published in 1915' with 'Sixth Printing 1974'; this is a documented reprint, not the 1915 first.
| Author | Joseph E. Pogue |
| Publisher | The Rio Grande Press |
| Year | 1974 |
| ISBN | 87380-056-7 |
| Edition | Sixth printing (1974), a Rio Grande Classic reprint of the 1915 first |
| Condition | Hardcover, decorative printed boards, light wear. |
| Topic | Southwest mineralogy & material culture |
Photographs © New Mexico Literacy Project. Licensed under CC BY 4.0; reuse with attribution. This is an identification and provenance record of a real donation; no appraisal or valuation is offered.
Keep identifying
Donating books in Albuquerque?
Use the free 24/7 drop box, a covered box outside the gate at 5445 Edith Blvd NE, open any time. For loads too big for a car, free pickup across the Albuquerque metro is scheduled by route. Call or text 505-250-3804. No readable book goes to the landfill.
24/7 drop box directions → or schedule a free pickup