DOSSIE, Robert.

London: Printed for J. Nourse…1758

8vo, 1 leaf, pp. xi, (iii), 375, (9). Contemporary speckled calf, double gilt fillet on sides, double gilt rules on spine, spine unlettered. Joints cracked but firmly held by the cords, foot of spine chipped, tips of corners slightly worn. Signature on front pastedown of G.C. Jenner 1790 (Rev. George Jenner, Edward Jenner’s nephew and an active participant in the vaccination debate).

FIRST EDITION. “A practical work on chemical preparations written in a clear and understandable manner. The Introduction contains descriptions of apparatus and operations. Parts II and III give the preparations, each of which is followed by a ‘Note’ commenting on details of the process, purity of product, etc… Part IV gives methods for the detection of substitutions and adulterations” (Cole). In this work Dossie paints a good picture of industrial chemistry in mid-eighteenth century England, and describes the manufacture of concentrated sulphuric acid on a commercial scale for the first time. Cole 379. Duveen p. 179. Neville I, p. 379. Partington II, pp. 761–762.

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