This collection consists of roughly 6,000 titles, some of which are digitized here, on chemistry and chemical industries, as well as other landmark books in the history of science and technology collected by Roy G. Neville (1926-2007) between approximately 1950 and 2004, when it was purchased and donated to the Science History Institute. Spanning from the 15th to the 20th century, the collection is especially strong in early modern science, the history of alchemy, chemistry, mining and metallurgy, dyeing and bleaching, gunpowder and fireworks, balneology, and pharmaceutical chemistry.
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20 items
Men of Science from the Keystone State: Address Delivered Before the Franklin Institute
- 1914-May-20
Edgar Fahs Smith (1854-1928) was an American electrochemist known for his interest in the history of chemistry; he founded the American Chemical Society's Division for the History of Chemistry in 1922. Smith's résumé…
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12 items
Musaeum Metallicum in Libros IIII
- 1648
Volume 13 of the monumental Opera omnia (Bologna, 1599–1668) by Ulisse Aldrovandi (1522–1605), professor of natural history at Bologna. Only the first four volumes of the Opera were published in his lifetime, and the…
- Author Aldrovandi, Ulisse, 1522-1605?
- Editor Ambrosini, Bartolommeo, 1588-1657
- Publisher Typis lo. Battista Ferronij
- Subject Geology, Natural history, Mineralogy, Metallurgy, Fossils, Archaeology
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533 items
Metallotheca : Opus Posthumum
- 1717
Although written in the sixteenth century, this first edition printing was edited and published by Giovanni Maria Lancisi (1654–1720) in 1717. By as early as 1574, Mercati (1541–1593), director of the Vatican botanical…
- Author Mercati, Michele, 1541-1593
- Publisher Ex officina Jo: Mariae Salvioni
- Editor Lancisi, Giovanni Maria, 1654-1720
- Subject Minerals, Fossils, Shells, Mineralogy, Paleontology, Sixtus V, Pope, 1520-1590
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422 items
Conversations on Chemistry : in which the elements of that science are familiarly explained and illustrated by experiments and plates
- To which are added, some late discoveries on the subject of the fixed alkalies by H. Davy, Esq., of the Royal Society
- 1809
Conversations on Chemistry is an introductory chemical textbook. To this third American edition (the first and second: Philadelphia, 1806, and 1809), the anonymous editor has added new material on mineral waters and the…
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10 items
Elementa Chemiae : Quae Anniversario Labore Docuit, in Publicis, Privatisque Scholis, Volume 2
- The Elements of Chemistry : Which is Taught in Public and Private Schools
- 1732
Herman Boerhaave (1668-1738) was a Dutch botanist, chemist, and physician. Boerhaave introduced a quantitative approach to medical training and was the first to integrate chemistry into the medical curriculum; he is…
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275 items
Geberis Philosophi Perspicacissimi Summa Perfectionis Magisterii in sua Natura ex Bibliothecae Vaticanae Exemplari Undecunque
- 1542
Work from the "pseudo-Geber" corpus, a group of writings falsely attributed to the Arabic alchemist, Abū Mūsā Jābir ibn Ḥayyān (died c. 806–816, Latinized as “Geber"). These writings are actually from 13th or…
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8 items
Tractatus Quinque Medico-Physici : quorum primus agit de sal-nitro, et spiritu nitro-aereo. Secundus de respiratione. Tertius de respiratione foetus in utero, et ovo. Quartus de motu musculari, et spiritibus animalibus. Ultimus de rhachitide.
- Five Medical-Physical Treatises : the first of which deals with salt-nitro and spirit of nitro-air. The second on respiration. Third on the respiration of the fetus in the womb and the egg. Fourth on muscular motion and animal spirits. The last on rickets.
- 1674
John Mayow (1643–1679) was an early researcher of respiration and the nature of air. Mayow published tracts on respiration and rickets while studying at Oxford in 1668; in 1674 these were edited and reprinted with three…
- Author Mayow, John, 1641-1679
- Publisher E Theatro Sheldoniano
- Engraver Faithorne, William, 1616-1691
- Subject Physiology, Oxygen--Physiological transport, Oxygen in the body, Respiration, Cardiovascular system, Medicine, Muscles, Fetus--Development, Combustion, Oxygen
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8 items
Tractatus de Corde : item de motu et colore sanguinis, et chyli in eum transitu
- Treatise on the Heart : likewise, on the movement and color of the blood, and the passage of chyle into it
- 1669
Work on the anatomy and physiology of the circulatory system. Explores the structure and function of veins and arteries. Correctly describes the heart as a four-chambered organ and accurately describes the flow of the…
- Author Lower, Richard, 1631-1691
- Publisher Apud Danielem Elzevirium
- Subject Heart, Blood--Circulation, Blood, Cardiovascular system, Veins, Arteries, Medicine, Human anatomy
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89 items
Elementa Chemiae : Quae Anniversario Labore Docuit, in Publicis, Privatisque Scholis, Volume 1
- The Elements of Chemistry : Which is Taught in Public and Private Schools
- 1732
Herman Boerhaave (1668-1738) was a Dutch botanist, chemist, and physician. Boerhaave introduced a quantitative approach to medical training and was the first to integrate chemistry into the medical curriculum; he is…
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72 items
Lectures on Coal Tar Colours and on Recent Improvements and Progress in Dyeing and Calico Printing
- Embodying Copious Notes Taken at the Last London International Exhibition and Illustrated with Numberous Patterns of Fabrics Dyed with Aniline and Other Colours
- 1860s
Frederick Crace Calvert (1819–1873) was a professor of chemistry at the Royal Institution, Manchester. From 1835 to 1846 he lived in France, studying chemistry under the chemist Michel Eugène Chevreul (1786-1889), who…
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73 items
Theatrum Botanicum
- The Theater of Plants, or An Herball of a Large Extent
- 1640
Immense volume, consisting of 1,688 pages and approximately 3,800 plant descriptions. Theatricum Botanicum is the magnum opus of John Parkinson (1567-1650), an early English herbalist, apothecary, and botanist. It is…
- Author Parkinson, John, 1567-1650
- Printer Cotes, Thomas
- Engraver Marshall, William, active 1617-1650
- Subject Botany, Herbals, Medicinal plants, Botany, Medical, Herbs--Therapeutic use, Materia medica
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22 items
An Essay on the Chemical History and Medical Treatment of Calculous Disorders
- 1819
Alexander Marcet (1770-1822) was a Genevan physician who specialized in urinary calculi. Marcet was one of few medical practitioners of the time who used chemistry in their explanation and treatment of disease. He was…
- Author Marcet, Alexander, 1770-1822
- Publisher Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown
- Subject Calculi, Urinary organs--Calculi, Gallstones, Kidneys--Calculi, Bladder--Calculi, Therapeutics, Medicine, Urology
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201 items
An Essay on Combustion : With a View to a New Art of Dying and Painting
- The Phlogistic and Antiphlogistic Hypotheses are Proved Erroneous
- 1794
Elizabeth Fulhame was an early British chemist who invented the concept of catalysis and discovered photoreduction. Fulhame’s interest was in the reduction reaction that led to the deposition of metals. As she notes in…
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64 items
Mundus subterraneus : in XII libros digestus
- quo divinum subterrestris mundi opificium, mira ergasteriorum naturae in eo distributio, verbo pantamorphon protei regnum, universae denique naturae majestas et divitiae summa rerum varietate exponuntur.
- 1665
A first edition work, with two volumes bound in one folio, by Athanasius Kircher (1602–1680), a German Jesuit scholar who published many extensive works on scientific, religious, and other subjects. Dubbed the “Master…
- Author Kircher, Athanasius, 1602-1680
- Publisher Janssonium, Joannem
- Contributor Elizeum, Weyerstraten
- Subject Alchemy, Kircher, Athanasius, 1602-1680, Natural history, Mines and mineral resources, Scientific apparatus and instruments, Hydrography, Earth sciences, Geochemistry, Volcanoes, Earth (Planet)
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34 items
Britannia: or, a Chorographical Description of the Flourishing Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland, and the Islands Adjacent, Vol. 2
- 1806
This book is volume 2 in a series of 4 travel logs originally written by William Camden in 1586. Camden traveled extensively through England and Wales, but likely never set foot in Scotland or Ireland. Camden traveled…
- Author Camden, William, 1551-1623, Gough, Richard, 1735-1809, Nichols, John, 1745-1826
- Publisher Stockdale, John, 1749?-1814
- Printer J. Nichols and Son
- Subject Great Britain, Gough, Richard, 1735-1809, Travel, Nichols, John, 1745-1826, Voyages and travels, Maps, Ruined buildings, England--London, England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, Britannia (Camden, William), Naturalists, Natural history, Islands, Science, Science--Study and teaching, Camden, William, 1551-1623, Coins, Roman, Coins, Botany, Fossils, Rare plants
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4 items
Unheard-of Curiosities : Concerning the Talismanical Sculpture of the Persians, the Horoscope of the Patriarkes, and the Reading of the Stars
- 1650
1650 English translation of Curiositez inouyes sur la sculpture talismaniquedes Persans (Paris, 1629), by Jacques Gaffarel (1601–1681), a renowned cabalist and Hebrew and Asian studies scholar. Included in the work are…
- Author Gaffarel, Jacques, 1601-1681
- Publisher Moseley, Humphrey, -1661
- Contributor Chilmead, Edmund, 1610-1654
- Subject Talismans, Astrology, Occultism, Magic, Curiosities and wonders, Gaffarel, Jacques, 1601-1681
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3 items
A Voyage to South America, Volume 2
- 1758
Volume two of the first English translation of Relacion Historica del Viaje a la America Meridional (Madrid, 1743) by Antonio de Ulloa (1716 – 1795), containing a description of the greater part of South America, its…
- Author Ulloa, Antonio de, 1716-1795
- Publisher L. Davis and C. Reymers (London, England)
- Engraver Mynde, James
- Subject South America, Spanish colonies, Spain, Peru, Colombia, Chile, Mines and mineral resources, Metallurgy, Platinum
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353 items
De la Pirotechnia
- 1540
A first edition, Italian work considered to be the earliest printed book on metallurgy published in Europe. The work was written in Venice by Vannoccio Biringuccio (c. 1480 – c. 1539), an Italian metallurgist of Siena,…
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44 items
An Introduction to the Study of Chemistry : Explaining its Principles, and their Application to Arts, Manufactures, &c. &c. &c. in a Clear and Familiar Manner : with an Appendix Containing the Modern Theory
- 1802
A treatise on chemistry, written by Richard Stack (-1812), an author and a lecturer, graduate of Trinity College, Dublin, and Vice President of the Royal Irish Academy. Stack dedicated his work to Robert Perceval, M.D.…
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7 items
Elements of chemistry : in a new systematic order, containing all the modern discoveries Volume 1
- 1802
The fifth and final edition of Elements of chemistry translated to English by Scottish translator Robert Kerr (1755–1813), an ardent supporter of Lavoisier’s antiphlogistic chemistry. Kerr dedicated this fifth edition…
- Author Lavoisier, Antoine Laurent, 1743-1794
- Publisher Creech, William, 1745-1815
- Contributor Kerr, Robert, 1755-1813
- Subject Acid-base chemistry, Solubility, Chemistry--Nomenclature, Lavoisier, Antoine Laurent, 1743-1794
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930 items
Magnes, sive de arte magnetica
- The Magnet, or about the magnetic art
- 1643
A second edition volume of Magnes (Cologne, 1643), by Athanasius Kircher (1602–1680), a German Jesuit scholar who published many extensive works on scientific, religious, and other subjects. Dubbed the “Master of a…
- Author Kircher, Athanasius, 1602-1680
- Contributor Martini, Martino, 1614-1661
- Editor Kalckhoven, Jost, -1669
- Publisher Kalcoven, Jodocum
- Subject Magnetism, Electricity, Physics, Kircher, Athanasius, 1602-1680, Electromagnetism, Phosphorescence, Religion and science, Transmutation (Chemistry), Alchemy, Luminescence
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34 items
Utriusque cosmi maioris scilicet et minoris metaphysica, physica atque technica historia in duo volumina secundum cosmi differentiam divisa
- 1617 – 1618
Two, first edition volumes bound together. Written by the English scientist, physician, alchemist, and Rosicrucian, Robert Fludd (1574–1637), this encyclopedic work is broadly themed upon the macrocosm and microcosm,…
- Author Fludd, Robert, 1574-1637
- Printer Galler, Hieronymus
- Engraver Bry, Johann Theodor de, 1561-1623, Merian, Matthaeus, 1593-1650
- Subject Alchemy, Fludd, Robert, 1574-1637, Astrology, Cosmology, Arithmetic, Music theory, Rosicrucians
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17 items
Elements of Chemistry; In a New Systematic Order, Containing all the Modern Discoveries
- 1806
The first American reprint of the two-volume Elements of Chemistry Edinburgh (1802) edition. This work is the third appearance of the English translation by Scottish translator Robert Kerr (1755–1813) in America. It was…
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19 items
Elements of Chemistry: In a New Systematic Order, Containing all the Modern Discoveries, Volume 2
- 1802
The fifth and final edition of Elements of chemistry translated to English by Scottish translator Robert Kerr (1755–1813), an ardent supporter of Lavoisier’s antiphlogistic chemistry. Kerr dedicated this fifth edition…
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16 items
An Elementary Treatise on Chemistry, Comprising the Most Important Facts of the Science with Tables of Decomposition, on a New Plan; To Which is Added an Appendix Giving an Account of the Latest Discoveries
- 1809
The first and only edition of a textbook written by Charles Sylvester (1774–1828), an English chemist and civil engineer who specialized in the study of galvanization. The work contains a system of chemical symbolism…
- Contributor Dalton, John, 1766-1844
- Author Sylvester, Charles
- Printer E. and W. Smith
- Publisher Longman, Hurst, Rees, and Orme
- Subject Dalton, John, 1766-1844, Chemistry--Nomenclature, Signs and symbols, Chemical elements, Sylvester, Charles
