PAPIN Denis La Maniere d’amolir les os, et de faire cuire toutes sortes de viandes en fort peu de temps, & à peu de frais ; avec une description de la Machine dont il se faut servir pour cet effet

Rahir, Bibliotheque de l’amateur, p. 570 ; Livres en bouche, 91 ; Notaker, 630 ; Cagle, 369 ; Bitting, 355 ; Oberle Fastes, 89 ; Vicaire, col. 651-652.

First edition in French : copy of the rare first issue.

Originally published in English in two parts (London, 1681 and 1687), the treatise was dedicated to the Royal Society, of which Denis Papin was one of the first members. Papin describes his process in this book: by means of a cast-iron pot, the lid of which is kept under pressure by screws and a safety valve, the device raises the pressure and temperature above 100°C, resulting in faster cooking of food and the possibility of reducing bones and meat to pulp, or even liquid:  “Par le moyen de la machine dont il s’agit icy, la vache la plus vieille et la plus dure se peut rendre aussi tendre et d’aussi bon goust que la viande la mieux choisie” [By means of the machine we are talking about here, the oldest and toughest cow can be made as tender and as tasty as the best chosen meat].

His digester could also be used to process vegetables or make jam. He noticed that not only was the taste of the food preserved, but that the products kept longer. Papin describes the digester and provides technical details with the help of 2 beautiful copper plates. He explains how to use it for cooks, dyers and sea voyages, and even calculates its cost price. This remarkable cooking pot in terms of culinary economy would not be superseded until the early 19th century by the food preservation process devised by Nicolas Appert.

In his preface Papin mentions that the experiments of Robert Boyle had inspired him to write his new book 

“Dédié aux membres de la Royal Society de Londres, le livre de Papin, initialement paru en anglais sous le titre A New digester for sotting bones (Londres, 1681), est un livre de science, écrit par un physicien s’adressant à d’autres physiciens et ayant pour premier objet ‘la continuation des expériences physico-mécaniques de monsieur Boyle’, lequel avait publié en 1680 Quelques expériences de bain marie fermé à vis” (Livres en bouche).

Copy of the extremely rare first edition, ending with the word ‘fin’. Pages 159-164 further notices were published later.

Very good copy.