Handbook of Mineralogy (PDFs)Work on the Handbook of Mineralogy book series began in 1980 with the goal to gather in convenient form the data crucial to identification of all mineral species and to provide relatively up-to-date references containing information central to the definition of each species. The intent was to provide data sufficient to distinguish a species from all others. If additional information seemed desirable, primary or secondary references were given for that mineral. The Handbook presents data, not the background necessary to understand it.
The Handbook of Mineralogy series is a Five Volume set authored by John W. Anthony, Richard A. Bideaux, Kenneth W. Bladh, and Monte C. Nichols, and published by Mineral Data Publishing. Each mineral known at the time of publication occupies one page of the handbook.
In 2001 the copyright for the Handbook of Mineralogy was given to the Mineralogical Society of America by Kenneth W. Bladh, Richard A. Bideaux, Elizabeth Anthony-Morton and Barbara G. Nichols and the remaining volumes were shipped to the MSA warehouse in Chantilly, VA.
Along with the copyright, MSA was given pdf files of each page of the handbook. These are freely distributed to the public on this website.