LAVOISIER Antoine-Laurent de Oeuvres de Lavoisier publiées par les soins De Son Excellence Le Ministre de l’Instruction publique et des Cultes.

Duveen & Klickstein, 338.

First edition of the Collected Works. Illustrated with a portrait, 54 plates and a fold-out table.

The decision to publish this important work had been taken as early as 1843, but it was not until 1861 that the Minister of Education officially entrusted Dumas with the task.

When Dumas died, Grimaux took over the publication. The second volume appeared in 1862, quickly followed by the first (1864).

A rare large paper copy of the first four volumes, the only ones to have been printed on strong paper.

A letter from the Ministry of Education, inserted at the beginning of volume I, explains that, for reasons of economy, volumes 5 and 6 are printed on ordinary paper.

Some occasional foxing but a good copy.