Essai Analytique sur l'Air pur, et les différentes Espèces d'Air.
3 p.l., 474, [2] pp. 8vo, cont. sheep-backed boards (several small wormholes in margins of final few leaves), spine ruled in gilt, brown morocco lettering piece on spine. Paris: Rue et Hotel Serpente, 1785.
First edition. La Métherie (1743-1817), an inveterate opponent of Lavoisier’s theories, was chief editor of the famous Journal de Physique from 1785 until the year of his death. He wrote a number of important works on mineralogy and was a friend to many of the leading scientists of his time, especially Cuvier.
In this work, La Métherie stated that “all combustibles (including perhaps diamond) contain inflammable... More