The First Book.

The first book tells of the

Silver ores, how they are to be recognized by their appearance; furthermore, the assay scales, assay shards, muffles, cupels, Clar clarified ash/cupel material, lead glass, flux powder, scales and weights, and how a correct lead bead is made, and then how each one in particular is to be assayed most certainly for its content, together with the slags, slag-stone, Hartwerg hard metal/scum, Lach a specific furnace waste or slag, speiss, black copper, alloy, granulated [metal], likewise the brightness and burnt silver, along with a thorough report on silver refining in the common way, and under the muffle, also on the preparation of the test, and on how to make silver that is brittle, malleable for casting.
Item, how one should assay tin, iron, and steel for silver, also minted money for its content, and how to make touchstones.

For what reason it is not written about the assaying of gold ore in the first book.

A large decorative woodcut initial letter 'D' features interlaced strapwork and foliage motifs. Since I have taken it upon myself to describe the silver ores, together with their probation, first of all, someone might wonder why I could not have given the honor and precedence to gold (of which will follow in the second book), since that is the highest and noblest metal on earth, for which reason it would have been proper to place it at the front. May the reader be graciously informed that I did not do this without a moving cause. For since most depends on the silver assays, and all other assays and preparations of the instruments follow upon these just as upon a fountain and origin, I have deemed it necessary to report on them first of all and to place them in the first book. Secondly, because in the laudable Crown of Bohemia and surrounding...