Very rare variant-issue of the original edition of the first major, separately published work by the famous French chemist Antoine Laurent Lavoisier (1743-1794), the father of modern chemistry. The first part is titled: "Précis historique sur les émanations élastiques qui se dégagent des corps pendant la combustion, pendant la fermentation & pendant les effervescences"; the second part: "Nouvelles recherches sur l'existence d'un fluide élastique dans quelques substances, & sur les phénomènes qui résultent de son dégagement ou de sa fixation".
It is a pioneer work in which Lavoisier first gives a historical survey of previous workers' efforts and then describes his own experiments on gases and the conclusions he derived.
The book was intended to be the first of a series of volumes containing the results of his investigations. The later volumes, however, never materialised. A posthumous reissue was published in 1801; the Opuscules was translated with notes and an appendix by Thomas Henry as Essays physical and Chemical (1776); a German translation by C.E. Weigel appeared as volume 1 of his 5 volume collection titled Physikalisch-chemische Schriften (1783-94).
Our copy of Lavoisier's important first scientific work contains the remarkable variant-issue with the 7 corrected leaves ('cancellanses') bound in. which are all marked with an *: after the title there is the corrected dedication leaf (pp. I-II) to Mr. Trudaine de Montigny with a woodcut head piece, before the original dedication (pp. I-II (= leaf a1). The text is very slightly altered. Furthermore, at the end, between pp. 434 and 435, there are six extra corrected leaves bound in: pp. 255-6, 5-6, 283-4, 193-4, 307-8 and 257-8. In our copy the original leaves are still present in their appropriate places, so that we can see the alterations of the text. These are also of very minor importance, but show how very painstakingly indeed Lavoisier's work was revised in proof.
Apparently a number of copies of this variant were issued; the British Museum copy, for example, is identical to our copy.
The binding is very slightly rubbed, very slight marginal browning throughout. Otherwise in very good condition. Cole, W.A., Chemical Literature 1700-1860 769; Duveen, Bibl. alchemica et chemica, p. 339; Duveen & Klickstein 121; DSB VIII, pp. 74-5, 87; Partington, III, pp. 388-94; Poirier 74-6.