BLACK, Joseph.

Lectures on the Elements of Chemistry, delivered in the University of Edinburgh...Now published from his Manuscripts by John Robison.

Engraved frontis. port. of Black & 3 engraved plates. lxvi [i.e., lxxvi], 556 pp.; 1 p.l., 762, [4] pp. Two vols. Large 4to, marbled boards (minor foxing at beginning & end of each vol.), attractive modern red calf spines & corners, flat spines gilt. Edinburgh: Mundell & Son, 1803.

First edition and a very handsome set. These two monumental volumes are the only substantial account of the work of the founder of modern quantitative chemistry and discoverer of latent and specific heats. Black (1728-99), began to lecture upon his appointment as professor of medicine and chemistry at the University of Edinburgh in 1766. “His career thenceforward was exclusively that of a teacher…His success was conspicuous. During above thirty years he inculcated the elements of chemistry upon enthusiastic and continually growing audiences…His lectures thus had a powerful effect in popularizing chemistry.”–D.N.B., II, pp. 572-73.

Black’s lectures were not printed during his lifetime; they were circulated only in manuscript amongst his students. The present edition was prepared by his pupil, friend, and colleague, John Robison, who has added a long introduction and enriched each volume with notes.

A fine and large set. This copy lacks, as is often the case, the 19-page index (but a photocopy is laid-in). The 4-page “Explanation of the Plates,” which is very often missing, is present.

❧ Cole 158. Duveen, pp. 81-82–(lacking the Index). Partington, III, pp. 130-43.

Price: $5,000.00

Item ID: 2887