The Eponymous Dr. Kunz

ROBERT REED COLE

In 1912 George Frederick Kunz prepared a bulky sealed enve¬
lope to be opened only afer his death. Born in 1856, Kunz was
then fifty-six and would live another twenty very productive
years. The envelope was entrusted to attorney Edward Hagaman
Hall who duly opened it in 1932. Hall found a summary of Kunz's
career and a six and a half page, closely spaced list of the books and
articles he had written. At the time of his death, Kunz had more
than four hundred publications to his credit that ranged from artic¬
les in the popular press to treatises in the most learned scientific
journals. Reflecting on Kunz's career. Hall concluded, "What a
prolific genius he was."

This "prolific genius" is today remembered chiefly as a gemnolo-
gist, especially by people familiar with a certain pink gem stone, or
by collectors of his increasingly valuable books on gems and jewelry.
The best introduction to the full extent of this remarkable man's
interests and activities is this 1912 biographical note:

In his study of precious stones he found it necessary not only to
devote himself to the study of mineralogy and chemistry, but to geol¬
ogy, archaeology, history, geography, and art features of gem materi¬
als; and in the study of geology and geography and in mining engi¬
neering became interested in the subject of scenic preservation. He
was a member of the first Conservation Congress, appointed by the
President [Theodore Roosevelt], and made up of governors, mem¬
bers of Congress and others, in 1908.

Kunz was also passionately involved in the affairs of New York
City. A member of both the Century Association and the Union
League, his name appeared on the letterheads of many charitable
and commemorative organizations. One of the prime beneficiaries
of his efforts in the city was Central Park which, in his capacity as
president of the American Scenic and Historic Preservation Soci¬
ety, he spared from encroaching monuments and buildings.

It was Kunz's good fonune to turn a boyhood hobby into a suc¬
cessful and profitable professional career. He was ten when he saw
 

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