The American Dictionary of Commerce, Manufactures, Commercial Law, and Finance, Volume I (1880)

Volume I (A to Ivory) of a commercial dictionary edited by L. de Colange and published in Boston in 1880, with about 600 engravings. It covers commodities, manufacturing processes, customs duties, commercial law, banking, railroads, insurance and countries of the world. Its 'Asbestos' entry (also 'Amianthus' or 'Mountain Flax') describes the fibrous mineral, its fireproof cloth, lace and paper, and its varieties. It lists sources in Europe, the Cape of Good Hope and the United States, including Staten Island, and gives the import duty. The entry says H. W. Johns of New York 'is the original inventor of nearly all the practical applications' of asbestos. It adds that asbestos is used for roofing, steam-pipe and boiler coverings, sheathings, cements and paints. Other entries mention asbestos in gas fires, filtration, cat's-eye, and Cyprus and Italy.