Books about stone

[Stephen Rowley <srowley@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Classic book on sculpture which has good practical advice about stone
and stone carving is...

    The Materials and Methods of Sculpture by Jack C Rich

Originally published in 1974 it is now available as a Dover Reprint
ISBN 0-486-25742-8

This is a book I really value.  I go back to it time and again.  Not
only does it have a good section on stone, the sections on Wax and
Bronze are excellent.

One book I would recommend to all sculptors is a childrens' book...

    Sculpture  by Mary-Jane Opie

This is published by Dorling Kindersly in their 'Eyewitness Art' series
ISBN 0-7513-1049-2

Having trained and worked as a geologist I ought to be able to suggest a
book on 'Geology for non-scientific dummies'.  The famous text is the
massive 'Priniciples of Physical Geology' by Arthur Holmes.  Which is
big, but very readable and absolutely fascinating.

Rich (above) devotes a whole chapter to different types of stone and its
classification and value as a carving material.

However, Holmes was written a good few years ago and may be a little out
of date, but the basics are the same.

I think I have seen a Dorling Kindersly book on geology.  I am going
into the bookshop today, I'll check it out.

Steve