HAÜY abbé René-Just Traité élémentaire de physique. Ouvrage destiné pour l’enseignement dans les lycées nationaux.

Gartrell, 242 ; Wheatland, 111 ; Neville, I, 603. See Wheeler-Gift, 684 (only the English translation, London 1807).

First edition of this important handbook, written on request by Napoleon.

“Napoléon ordered [Haüy] to write a textbook of physics for the newly instituted lycées. This book was outstanding for its clear, methodical exposition of physics, although mathematical treatment of problems was again lacking. Like most of his contemporaries, Haüy adhered to Newton’s corpuscular theory of light and to the theory that heat was caused by a ‘caloric matter’. His own contribution to physics consisted in his researches on double refraction on crystals, on pyrolectricity in crystals (especially tourmaline and boracite), and on piezoelectricity. Haüy’s Traité de physique brought him appointment to the Legion of Honor in 1803” (DSB). “There are large sections on electricity and magnetism, and this work is also of some chemical interest. The book is divided into 905 paragraphs, each covering a specific topic” (Neville).

The 24 engraved and numbered plates show a variety of experiments.

Light waterstain to volume I, else fine and broadmargined with the deckle edges preserved.