WELLS, William Charles.

London: Taylor and Hessey, .1814

8vo, pp. (iii), 146. Contemporary blue half calf, spine gilt, gilt edges, marbled sides and endpapers. Title very slightly foxed and dust-soiled, spotting on endpapers, binding slightly worn at head of spine, but a good copy.

FIRST EDITION. G&M 1604. The first correct theory of dew — a classic work in meteorology and in environmental and industrial medicine. “His researches on the subject were of major importance in the development of the science of ventilation, particularly in its relation to relative humidity and the influence of the latter on the comfort of the occupants of factories, ships, theatres, etc.” (G&M). Wells made a meticulous study of the formation of dew, and correctly interpreted his data, proving for the first time that dew is formed by air coming into contact with objects that have been cooled in a cloudless night sky. “Wells’ Essay was greatly praised by Herschel, and it is indeed one of the few examples of the use of strict inductive logic in science” (Knight, Natural Science Books in English).

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