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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466 items
A Dictionary of Chemistry, Vol. I
- 1777
Volume 1 of 3 of the second English edition of Pierre Joseph Macquer's (1718-1784) first edition Dictionniare de chymie (1766), translated by James Keir (1735-1820). Macquer's Dictionnaire was one of the most…
- Author Macquer, Pierre Joseph, 1718-1784
- Contributor Keir, James, 1735-1820
- Publisher Elmsley, Peter, 1736-1802, Cadell, T. (Thomas), 1742-1802
- Subject Gases, Chemistry--Dictionaries, Science--Terminology, Chemistry--Study and teaching
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484 items
A Dictionary of Chemistry, Vol. II
- 1777
Volume 2 of 3 of the second English edition of Pierre Joseph Macquer's (1718-1784) Dictionniare de chymie (1766), translated by James Keir (1735-1820). Macquer's Dictionnaire was one of the most significant chemical…
- Author Macquer, Pierre Joseph, 1718-1784
- Contributor Keir, James, 1735-1820
- Publisher Elmsley, Peter, 1736-1802, Cadell, T. (Thomas), 1742-1802
- Subject Gases, Chemistry--Dictionaries, Science--Terminology, Chemistry--Study and teaching
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488 items
A Dictionary of Chemistry, Vol. III
- 1777
The 3rd and final volume of the second English edition of Pierre Joseph Macquer's (1718-1784) Dictionniare de chymie (1766), translated by James Keir (1735-1820). Macquer's Dictionnaire was one of the most significant…
- Author Macquer, Pierre Joseph, 1718-1784
- Contributor Keir, James, 1735-1820
- Publisher Elmsley, Peter, 1736-1802, Cadell, T. (Thomas), 1742-1802
- Subject Gases, Chemistry--Dictionaries, Science--Terminology, Chemistry--Study and teaching
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A General Map [of] Antoninus Pius's Wall in Scotland
- 1806
Engraving depicting the Antonine Wall, a Roman frontier barrier in Britain extending approximately 36.5 miles across Scotland between the River Clyde and the Firth of Forth. The wall was built in the years after 142 AD…
- Author Camden, William, 1551-1623
- Publisher Stockdale, John, 1749?-1814
- Printer J. Nichols and Son
- Subject Great Britain, Travel, Voyages and travels, Maps, Scotland, Britannia (Camden, William), Scotland--Antonine Wall, Fortification, Roman
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976 items
A New System of Chemical Philosophy
- 1808 – 1827
First edition of a milestone work in the history of chemistry, in which Dalton announced his revolutionary atomic theory and laws of definite and multiple proportions. As outlined by Dalton, these fundamental laws…
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4 items
A Synoptic Scale of Chemical Equivalents
- 1814
English chemist William Hyde Wollaston invented the Scale of Chemical Equivalents which is explained in this publication along with a foldout plate illustrating Dr. Wollaston's Synoptic Scale of Chemical Equivalents.…
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A Table of Chemical Characters
- 1777
- Author Macquer, Pierre Joseph, 1718-1784
- Contributor Keir, James, 1735-1820
- Engraver Westwood
- Publisher Elmsley, Peter, 1736-1802, Cadell, T. (Thomas), 1742-1802
- Subject Chemistry--Nomenclature, Alchemy, Chemistry--Abbreviations, Chemistry--Dictionaries
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A Table of Chymicall & Philosophicall Charecters with their Significations as they are Usually Found in Chymicall Authors both Printed & Manuscript
- A Table of Chemical & Philosophical Characters with their Significations as they are Usually Found in Chemical Authors both Printed and Manuscript
- 1671
Table of alchemical symbols from The last will and testament of Basil Valentine, monke of the Order of St. Bennet. These and other symbols are common throughout alchemical literature and were used to denote some…
- Author Basilius Valentinus
- Subject Chemistry--Nomenclature, Alchemy, Chemistry--Abbreviations
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A Table of the Solutions of Bodies, by Mr. Gellert; A Table of Affinities between several substances, by Mr. Geoffroy
- 1777
- Author Macquer, Pierre Joseph, 1718-1784
- Contributor Keir, James, 1735-1820
- Publisher Elmsley, Peter, 1736-1802, Cadell, T. (Thomas), 1742-1802
- Subject Chemical affinity, Chemistry--Dictionaries
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9 items
A Translation of the Table of Chemical Nomenclature, Proposed by De Guyton, formerly De Morveau, Lavoisier, Berthollet, and De Fourcroy
- With Explanations, Additions, and Alterations : to Which are Subjoined, Tables of Single Elective Attraction, Tables of Chemical Symbols, Tables of the Precise Forces of Chemical Attractions, and Schemes and Explanations of Cases of Single and Double Elective Attractions
- 1799
One of the first English chemists to adopt Antoine Lavoisier’s (1743-1794) new system of chemistry, George Pearson (1751–1828), published a shorter and very incomplete translation of the Nomenclature in 1794. The…
- Publisher Cooper and Wilson
- Author Guyton de Morveau, Louis-Bernard, 1737-1816, Lavoisier, Antoine Laurent, 1743-1794, Berthollet, Claude-Louis, 1748-1822, Fourcroy, Antoine-François de, comte, 1755-1809
- Contributor Pearson, George, 1751-1828
- Subject Chemistry--Nomenclature, Guyton de Morveau, Louis-Bernard, 1737-1816, Lavoisier, Antoine Laurent, 1743-1794, Berthollet, Claude-Louis, 1748-1822, Fourcroy, Antoine-François de, comte, 1755-1809, Hassenfratz, J. H. (Jean-Henri), 1755-1827, Adet, Pierre-Auguste, 1763-1832, Pearson, George, 1751-1828
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3 items
A Treatise on Adulterations of Food, and Culinary Poisons
- 1820
The cover and title page are digitized from the first edition of this seminal work responsible for exposing dangerous adulterations to foods and beverages. Food and drug purity legislation followed later in the…
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241 items
A Voyage to England: Containing Many Things Relating to the State of Learning, Religion, and Other Curiosities of that Kingdom
- Observations on Mons. de Sorbière's Voyage into England
- As Also, Observations on the Same Voyage, by Dr. Thomas Sprat, Lord Bishop of Rochester. With a Letter of Monsieur Sorbière's, Concerning the War Between England and Holland in 1652: to All Which is Prefix'd His Life Writ by M. Graverol. Done into English From the French Original
- 1709
This book is an English translation of the French original, written in 1664. Written after Monsieur Sorbière (1615-1670) spent three months in 1663 in England, this book details his thoughts on several different topics.…
- Author Sorbière, Samuel, 1615-1670, Graverol, M., Sprat, Thomas, 1635- 1713
- Printer Woodard, J.
- Subject Travel, Voyages and travels, Travelers, Great Britain, England--London, Netherlands--Holland (Province), England, Religion and science, Religion, Curiosities and wonders, Sorbière, Samuel, 1615-1670, Sprat, Thomas, 1635-1713, Anglo-Dutch War (1652-1654), Science--Study and teaching, Louis XIV, King of France, 1638-1715, Letter
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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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Alchemical laboratory
- Part of Theatrum Chemicum Britannicum
- 1652 (MDCLII)
This 17th-century engraving is from Thomas Norton's The Ordinall of Alchimy and was made after a 15th-century illuminated manuscript (now preserved in the British Library). Norton, a practicing alchemist, depicts an…
- Author Norton, Thomas, active 1477
- Creator Of Work Ashmole, Elias, 1617-1692
- Engraver Vaughan, Robert, 1597-1663
- Printer Grismond, John
- Subject Alchemy
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Alchemical master and disciple
- Part of Theatrum Chemicum Britannicum
- 1652 (MDCLII)
This 17th-century engraving is from Thomas Norton's The Ordinall of Alchimy and was made after a 15th-century illuminated manuscript (now preserved in the British Library). Norton, a practicing alchemist, depicts the…
- Author Norton, Thomas, active 1477
- Creator Of Work Ashmole, Elias, 1617-1692
- Engraver Vaughan, Robert, 1597-1663
- Printer Grismond, John
- Subject Alchemy
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10 items
Amphitheatrum Sapientiae Aeternae Solius Verae
- Amphitheatre of the Only True Eternal Wisdom
- 1609
Khunrath Heinrich's (1560-1605) Amphitheatrum Sapientiae, purportedly one of the most significant books of theosophical alchemy and the occult sciences. Though the title page reads 1602, the book was not published until…
- Author Khunrath, Heinrich, 1560-1605
- Publisher Antonius, G.
- Subject Alchemy, Alchemy in art, Alchemy--Religious aspects, Christian art and symbolism, Occultism, Theosophy
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90 items
An Account of the First Aërial Voyage in England
- 1784
The book consists of a compilation of letters, newspaper reports, and illustrations detailing the first aerial voyage in England: Italian Vincenzo Lunardi's 24-mile flight in a hydrogen balloon from the Artillery Ground…
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An Archimedean Screw
- Part of Vier Bücher der Ritterschafft
- 1529 (M.D.XXIX)
A device for raising water, the Archimedean screw consists of an external cylinder surrounding a screw. The bottom of the cylinder and screw must be immersed in water, which is not correctly depicted here. If the…
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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
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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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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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An Exacter Figure of the Plantaine Fruit
- 1633
Mus a fruitus exactior Icon. An exacter figure of the Plantaine fruit.
Illustration for The Herball, or, Generall Historie of Plantes compiled by John Gerard (1545-1612) from works by Turner, Rembert Dodoens, Iacobus…
- Author Gerard, John, 1545-1612, Dodoens, Rembert, 1517-1585, Theodorus, Iacobus, -1590
- Engraver Payne, John
- Printer Islip, Adam, -1639, Norton, Joice, Whitaker, Richard, -1648
- Publisher Johnson, Thomas, -1644
- Subject Islip, Adam, -1639, Norton, Joice, Gerard, John, 1545-1612, Payne, John, Botany, Medical, Botanical chemistry, Theodorus, Iacobus, -1590, Botany, Whitaker, Richard, -1648, Materia medica, Herbals, Dodoens, Rembert, 1517-1585, Johnson, Thomas, -1644, Plantaginaceae, Plantain banana, Plants
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25 items
An Explanation of Terms Used in Chemistry
- 1804
John Sadler (1779-1838) was a British chemist and metallurgist. Sadler worked as a chemical assistant at the Royal Institution, London, assisting chemist Humphry Davy (1778-1829) until 1804, when he published An…
- Author Sadler, John
- Printer Savage, William, 1770-1843
- Publisher Press of the Royal Institution of Great Britain
- Subject Chemistry--Dictionaries, Science--Terminology, Science--Study and teaching, Royal Institution of Great Britain, Chemistry, Encyclopedias and dictionaries, Science--Encyclopedias, Chemistry, Technical
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17 items
An Explanatory Dictionary of the Apparatus and Instruments Employed in the Various Operations of Philosophical and Experimental Chemistry
- 1824
Friedrich Christian Accum or Frederick Accum (1769-1838) was a German chemist whose most important achievements included advances in the field of gas lighting, efforts to keep processed foods free from dangerous…
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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.…