THE LAVOISIERIAN REVOLUTION IN CHEMISTRY

LAVOISIER, ANTOINE-LAURENT, ET AL.

Mémoire Sur la Combustion du Fer. (Etc. etc. etc.).

Paris, Rue et Hotel Serpente, 1789.

8vo. Contemporary half calf. Gilt spine, slightly rubbed, light wear to spine ends. "Annales de Chimie: ou Recueil de Mémoires Concernant la Chimie et les Arts qui en Dépendent. Par MM. de Morveau, Lavoisier, Monge, Berthollet, De Fourcroy, le Baron de Dietrich, Hassenfratz & Adet." Tome Premier. (2),312,(2) pp. The entire volume offered. Some scattered brownspots. A small wormtract to upper margin of ab. 20 leaves, no loss of letters.

First edition of the first volume of this very important journal, founded by Lavoisier and his friends, collaborating in establishing THE NEW SCIENCE of Anti-Phlogistic theory in chemistry. Crosland (in "The two French Revolutions" and "The Imperial Despotism of Oxygen") claims that for a clear understanding of the CHEMICAL REVOLUTION, THE NEW JOURNAL of ANNALES DE CHIMIE can be rightly considered as FUNDAMENTAL as the "Traite élementaire de Chimie".

"A third and most important instrument was the establishment of a new scientific journal, edited - and dominated - by the votaries of the "new chemistry". The first number of this journal of the Annales de chimie appeared in 1789, the year of the Revolution. Its editors were besides Lavoisier, his early disciples - Guyton, Berthollet, Fourcroy, and Monge - with the addition of three new recruits: the Strassbourf metallurgist the Baron de Dietrich, Jean-henri Hssenfratz and Pierre Auguste Adet."(DSB VIII, p.81).

LAVOISIER'S paper on COMBUSTION (pp. 19-30) contains his important interpretation of the phenomena of combustion in air, making the fundamental distinction between burning and combustion. By this "Lavoisier gave to the study of chemistry a new life, a new direction and a wider outlook." (Alexander Findley).

"The Lavoisierian memoir on combustion of iron stood out among the large number of interesting papers discussed in the first volume of the "Annales". In his account Lavoisier sustained that in nature, combustion without flames did occur. Thus, he clarified the distinction between ordinary burning and combustion: an issue on which the majority of traditional chemists were confused. The need for accuracy and precision in laboratory practices was emphasised in his study, as it was a means to determine quantities rather than assuming them."(Angela Bandinelli in "Scientific Communication During a Major Change ...Empirical Research: Annales de chimie vs Obs. sur la physique/ Journal de physique (1789-1803)).

The volume furthermore contains important papers by: Adet, Fourcroy (3 papers), Berthollet (3 papers), Chaptal, Hassenfratz (5 papers), Baron de Dietrich (2 papers), Klaproth (2 papers), Girtanner, Dollfuss, Bonz de Ettingen, Crell, De Morveau.

Order-nr.: 43634