LAVOISIER Antoine-Laurent de Traité élémentaire de Chimie, présenté dans un ordre nouveau, et d’après les découvertes modernes.

Duveen et Klickstein, 154; PMM, 238; Horblit, 64; Dibner, 43.

First edition, second issue. This is the so-called second issue of the first edition in two volumes.

The first “trial” issue is in one volume, arranges material slightly differently and is known in only two or three copies. This second issue contains ten tables and several extracts from the registers of the Académie des Sciences and other learned societies, not included in the single volume issue – making this in fact the first complete edition.

Lavoisier’s revolutionary work outlined in this book had as much impact on chemistry as the French upheaval of the same year had on politics. This is a fundamental work in the history of modern chemistry containing a number of foundational ideas necessary to the progress of chemistry. Several critical ideas that appear in this book laid the firm foundation for Lavoisier’s claim to the title as “the father of modern chemistry”: (1) his use of accurate measurement for chemical research by using a balance with weight determinations being made at every possible stage of chemical change, (2) his experimental research on combustion which established that oxygen was the component in air that combined with metals during combustion and his naming of the resulting substances “oxides”, (3) his exposition of the law of the conservation of mass, proving that matter remains constant thoughout all chemical change and (4) his definitive reform of chemical nomenclature, whereby every substance was named by an aggregate of its component elements.

In addition, Lavoisier finally established the modern conception of elements as substances which cannot be further decomposed. In this work, he identified twenty three such elements – all of which are still recognized as such today. The broadest and most significant effect of Lavoisier’s treatise was that it once and for all put to rest the phlogiston theory (that had mislead scientists for over a century) and destroyed any residual belief in alchemy.

A fine copy in  good condition.