Geological models

Crystallographers realised that although crystals had different appearances, those made of the same substance always had the same angles between crystal faces. The great French crystallographer Rene-Just Hauy (1743-1822) proposed that the external appearance of the crystal's facets was a reflection of its interior structure, a series of building blocks which he called 'molecules integrantes'.

The photograph shows a tray from a cabinet of beechwood crystal models made in Paris under the direction of Rene-Juste Hauy. Each of the models has a handwritten label to explain which mineral it represents.

Hauy published a book, Traite de mineralogie, which described his theory and illustrated the models. It was first published in 1797.

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