chemistry - 15 titles

Author:  Hieronymous Brunschwig (ca.1450-ca.1512)
Title/Imprint: Kleines Distillierbuch
[18], ccix, [3] l. woodcuts: illus. 27 cm.; Johann Grüninger: Strassburg , 8 May 1500

This is one of the earliest books on chemistry and pharmacology. The first part of the book deals with the process of distillation, the second is in the form of an herbal and is a discussion of plants and their attributes, while the last part deals with plant remedies. This work became an important authority and was very influential throughout the sixteenth century.
Provenance: Ludovici Choulant (inscription).
Our copy is imperfect: It lacks many leaves, including the first 16 preliminary leaves and the last 2 leaves at the end, as well as leaves XL, XLII-XLVI, L-LI, LXXV-LXXX, LXXXIV, XCIX, CIX. CIIII misbound after CV. Some severe cropping affects text, especially the numeration.
Some plates are hand-colored in our copy.
References: Hain. Repertorium (with Copinger's Supplement) e4021. Gesamtkat. d. Wiegendr., 5595. Schramm. Bilderschmuck d. Frühdr., v. 20, p. 5, 24, and illus.

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Author:  Vannoccio Biringucci (1480-1539?)
Title/Imprint: De la Pirotechnia (On working with fire)
8 p. l., 168 numb. l. illus. 22 cm.; Venice , 1540

Biringucci's work was the first clear and comprehensive book on the subject of metallurgy. Here can be found the first mention of cobalt blue and manganese as well as the use of common salt to separate gold and silver from baser metals.
Collation: *8, A-X8.
Colophon: Stampata in Venetia per Venturino Roffinello. Ad instantia di Curtio Nauo. & fratelli. Del M.CCCCC.XL.
Full title: De la pirotechnia. Libri .x. dove ampiamente si tratta non solo di ogni sorte & diuersita di miniere, ma anchora quanto si ricerca intorno à la prattica di quelle cose di quel che si appartiene à l'arte de la fusione ouer gitto de metalli come d'ogni altra cosa simile à questa. Composti per il s. Vanoccio Biringuccio Sennese. Con priuilegio apostolico & de la Cesarea Maesta & del illustriss. Senato veneto.

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Author:  Robert Boyle (1627-1691)
Title/Imprint: The Sceptical Chymist or, Chymico-physical Doubts and Paradoxes
[18], 1-34, [2], 35-442 p. ; 17 cm.; J. Cadwell for J. Crooke: London , 1661

Less than 35 copies of this first edition of Boyle's masterpiece are known to exist. Written in the form of a dialogue, Boyle presented a new concept of matter that severly criticized the old Aristotelian theories. He believed that every phenomenon is due to collisions of atoms or groups of atoms.
Our copy has an added variant title page ([2] p.) and with only pages 243-4 (R2) a cancel.

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Author:  Joseph Priestley (1733-1804)
Title/Imprint: Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, vol.62
pp.147-264; London , 1772

This essay was the first of many in which Priestley discovered many new gases, or "airs," which he then incorporated into the phlogiston theory that explained how things burn. The main discovery was that of oxygen, or what he called "depholgisticated air."

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Author:  Carl Wilhelm Scheele (1742-1786)
Title/Imprint: Chemische Abhandlung von der Luft und dem Feuer
[6], 16, 155, [1] p., [1] folded leaf of plates : ill. ; 19 cm. (8vo); Magn. Swederus: Upsala and Leipzig , 1777

Scheele independently discovered oxygen in 1772 and described the new gas in this work. He is rarely given credit for the discovery, however, because he published his results well after Priestley did.
Our copy was formerly owned by the noted book collector, Herbert McLean Evans.
Full title: Carl Wilhelm Scheele's Chemische Abhandlung von der Luft und dem Feuer : nebst einem Vorbericht / / von Torbern Bergman

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Author:  Henry Cavendish (1731-1810)
Title/Imprint: Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, vol.74 and vol.75
vol.74: pp.119-153; vol.75: pp.372-384; London , 1784

Cavendish's two papers described his discovery that water is composed of hydrogen and oxygen and destroyed the Aristotelian notion that water is an element.

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Author:  Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier (1743-1794)
Title/Imprint: Traité Élémentaire de Chimie
2 v., [15] folded leaves of plates : ill. ; 21 cm. (8vo); Cuchet: Paris , 1789

This important work described the discoveries of Lavoisier that caused the overthrow of the old phlogiston theory, replaced by the oxygen theory of combustion. In this book, he describes how the new chemistry should be organized and investigated, essentially laying the groundwork for our modern concepts of chemistry.
Stamped on the title page of each volume: "Library, U.S. National Museum Smithsonian Institution Feb 26 1891 [no. 138573]."
Paged continuously. Plates engraved by Mme. Lavoisier. Title vignettes. Fautes à corriger, & additions: p. [654-655]. Includes index.
Full title: Traité élémentaire de chimie : présenté dans un ordre nouveau et d'après les découvertes modernes : avec figures / / par M. Lavoisier.

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Author:  John Dalton (1766-1844)
Title/Imprint: A New System of Chemical Philosophy
2 v. in 3., 8 leaves of plates : ill. ; 22 cm. v. 1, pt. 1: vi, [2], 220 p.; v. 1, pt. 2: [4], 221- 560 p.; v. 2, pt. 1: xii, 228, 297-357, [3] p.; S. Russell for R. Bickerstaff: Manchester , 1808-1827

Published over a period of 19 years, Dalton's work laid the foundation for our modern atomic theory. His system explained the chemical structure of matter based on the atom and that atoms of different elements differed in size and mass.
Bookplates on v. 1, pt. 1 and 2 are: Mr. T. Scattergood. There is a one page presentation note from Scattergood to a Dr. Thorpe tipped to the recto of the front free endpaper., v. 1, pt. 1.
The imprint varies: v.1, pt. 2: Printed by Russell & Allen ..., 1810; v.2, pt. 1: Printed by the executors of S. Russell for George Wilson, ... London, 1827. There were no more published.
Collation: v. 1, pt. 1: pi4 A-2D4 2E2; v. 1, pt. 2: pi4 A-2T4 2U2; v. 2, pt. 1: pi4 2pi2 A-2X4. Page viii misnumbered vi and page numbers 289-296 omitted in v.2, pt. 1.

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Author:  Friedrich Wöhler (1800-1882)
Title/Imprint: Annalen der Physik und Chemie, vol.12
p. 253-256 ; 22 cm.; , 1828

This important paper describes Wöhler's synthesis of urea, previously considered an animal product, from ammonium cyanate, an inorganic compound. This was a critical step in the demise of the theory of "vitalism," in which a special life force controls the processes in animate bodies.
The article is bound in Annalen der Physik und Chemie, 2 Folge, Bd. 12 (1828).

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Author:  Justus, Freiherr von Liebig (1803-1873)
Title/Imprint: Anleitung zur Analyse Organischer Körper
[4], 72, [2], 4 p., [4] leaves of plates (3 folded) : ill. ; 21 cm.; Friedrich Vieweg und Sohn: Braunschweig , 1837

This book sums up Liebig's breakthrough work in organic analysis. His combustion method enabled chemists to determine precisely and quickly the carbon content of organic compounds.
Our copy has a printed yellow paper cover with ornamental border. The prospectus for the Handwörterbuch der reinen und angewandten chemie makes up the 4 pages at the end. Publisher's advertisements can be found on pages [2] and [3] of the cover. Our copy was formerly owned by the noted book collector, Herbert McLean Evans.

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Author:  Charles Goodyear (1800-1860)
Title/Imprint: Gum-elastic and Its Varieties, and The Applications and Uses of Vulcanized Gum-elastic
2 v. in 1 : ill. ; 25 cm.; New Haven , 1853

This is Goodyear's own account of his discovery of the process of vulcanization that allowed the commercial use of rubber.
An inscription on page [1] reads: "Austin G. Day, 120 Broadway, New York."
At one point a copy of this work formerly owned by Goodyear and bound in vulcanized rubber was on display at the Smithsonian. It, along with other items formerly owned by the Goodyear family, was lent in 1912 and the Smithsonian tried very hard to have the collection donated, or to raise funds to buy it, but they did not succeed. In 1963 the Goodyear company purchased the collection from the heirs and the Smithsonian shipped everything to the company. So the rubber-bound book is in the possession of the Goodyear Company now.
Full title of vol. 1: Gum-elastic and its varieties : with a detailed account of its applications and uses, and of the discovery of vulcanization; Full title of vol. 2: The applications and uses of vulcanized gum-elastic.

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Author:  Dmitry Ivanovich Mendeleyev (1834-1907)
Title/Imprint: Grundlagen der Chemie (Principles of Chemistry)
[4], 1126, [2] p., [3] leaves of plates (1 folded) : ill. ; 25 cm.; Carl Ricker: St. Petersburg , 1891

From 1868 to 1870, Mendeleyev published his classic work (Osnovy khimii) in St. Petersburg on his principles of chemistry that enabled him to organize the elements into what became known as the periodic table. The arrangement left some gaps which he predicted were for elements that were yet to be discovered (gallium, scandium, and germanium) and predicted their properties. This copy is the first appearance of the work in translation (an English version appeared later in 1891).
Full title: Grundlagen der Chemie / / von D. Mendelejeff ... ; aus dem Russischen übersetzt von L. Jawein ... und A. Thillot.

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Author:  J. Willard (Josiah Willard) Gibbs (1839-1903)
Title/Imprint: On the Equilibrium of Heterogeneous Substances
2 v. : ill. ; 25 cm. Pt. 1: p. [108]-248; pt. 2: p. [343]-524.; New Haven , 1874-78

This offprint from the Transactions of the Connecticut Academy of Sciences is Gibbs' statement of the phase rule, or the law that determines the number of physical states possible to a chemical system in equilibrium. His contribution helped transform physical chemistry from an empirical to a deductive science.
Our copy is the author's presentation copy, inscribed to John Tyndall on front cover. Pt. 2 has pencilled corrections transcribed from the author's copy.
As noted, this work is: "From the Transactions of the Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences, vol. 3, part 1; ... part 2." Errata are on p. 248 at end of pt. 1 and p. 524 of pt. 2.
Our copy is contained in a box with: On the equilibrium of heterogeneous substances / by J. Willard Gibbs. [New Haven : s.n., 1878?].

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Author:  John William Strutt, Baron Rayleigh (1842-1919)
Title/Imprint: Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, vol.186
vol. 186, pp. 187-241; London , 1895

Rayleigh's discovery of argon came about when he noticed that the density of nitrogen depended on how it was obtained. Thinking that the difference was caused by the appearance of an undetected component on the atmosphere, he finally succeeded in isolating the inert gas argon, which he named from the Greek word for "inactive."

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Author:  Ernest Rutherford (1871-1937)
Title/Imprint: Radio-activity
viii, [2], 399, [5] p., [1] leaf of plates : ill. ; 23 cm.; Cambridge University Press: Cambridge , 1904

This remarkable work is Rutherford's summary of his research in which he formulated his model of a nuclear atom. His studies on radioactive elements made him conclude that radioactivity was caused by atoms of one element disintegrating into atoms of a totally different element.
This was published as part of the Cambridge University Press' "Cambridge physical series." On the verso of the titile page is an additional printing note: Cambridge : Printed by J. and C.F. Clay at the University Press.

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