This ebook is based on a book entitled the Boy Mineral Collectors published in 1898 some 126 years ago by mining engineer and mineral collector Jay G. Kelley and was originally written for young people in hopes it would spark an interest in mineralogy . It was over 400 pages long and contained only one picture to illustrate its text.
Kelley published his book at age 60 and died 11 years after it came out.
When I discovered this book on archive.org I realized it would be a perfect read for my grandchildren but many of the processes and valuations were out of date and long forgotten. And the book was way too long! Gold was quoted as having a value of 20.67 an ounce back then. It is currently more than 100 times more valuable. The book was written with the idea that only boys would be interested in rocks and minerals but today both girls and twins can enjoy mineral collecting.
I decided to change the names of the characters to those of my twin grandchildren Jethro “Jet” and Lilith “Lilly” Hartill in the hopes that seeing their names in print might encourage them to consider mineral collecting as a fun activity. I split the original Kelley volume into smaller pieces so as to conform with modern day attention spans and am releasing it as an ebook as young people are almost always connected to their devices. I have also endeavored to include as many graphic and photographic elements into each book.
Since 1898 many innovations in mineralogy have occurred. Blowpipes have given way to XRF analyzers and USB and binocular microscopes have become a more economic and commonplace way to examine specimens. The bibliography of mineralogy has exploded in the 20th century and Kelley would be amazed at the advances therein. Still, we need to be grateful for Kelley’s pioneering volume and I have endeavored to keep as much of the original text as possible. As you read the series It will feel like a combination of time travel and the mixing of past with present which is only befitting and in step with the imagination and serendipity of the minds of young people today.
I sincerely hope this series encourages and impassions young people (and the young at heart) to explore research and preserve the wonderful world of minerals and mineral collecting.
Russ Hartill aka Rockhound Russ
August 2025
Magna, Utah
The Hartill Twins series:
discover mineral collecting (this ebook)
discover the life cycle of innovation Jan 2025
go mineral collecting in Utah Feb 2025
discover diamonds Mar 2025
go gold mining April 2025
go ghosttowning May 2025
discover Hubert Howe Bancroft Jun 2025
discover Herbert Hoover Jul 2025
discover family history Aug 2025
A visit with Uncle Doug Sep 2025
A visit with Grandpa Russ Oct 2025
go to an Airshow Nov 2025
go on a cruise Dec 2025
Original PREFACE:
While it is hoped that the following story will not lack interest in itself, the primary object has been to suggest the endless fund of entertainment and information open to the boy who chooses to pursue the study of mineralogy as it invites him in the rocks, ores, etc., about his own home, supplemented by the collection easily gathered through the occasional investment of pocket money in specimens obtainable from nearby dealers. Technical terms have been avoided, but the mineralogical facts incorporated in the narrative are thoroughly accurate and reliable. If this volume shall prove an incentive to its readers to observe and investigate the mineral world about them, to possess their own cabinets of specimens, and to read the fascinating stories which the common stones of the field as well as the priceless gems have to tell, the earnest desire of the author will be realized.