Author's dedication copy

DEVILLE, Henri Étienne Sainte-Claire.

De l'Aluminium, ses propriétés, sa fabrication et ses application.

Paris: Mallet-Bachelier, 1859.

1st Edition. Hardcover. Very Good. Item #001896

8vo (210 x 132 mm). ix, (1), 176, 4, 4 pp., folding engraved plate. Bound at the end are two journal extracts by the author, I. From: Journal de Pharmacie et de Chimie, August 1858, and II. From: Annales de Chimie et de Physique, Vol. 53, August 2, 1858. Text somewhat foxed, first and last pages waterstained at outer margins. Ownership stamp (Grandeau) on half title. Contemporary half calf with 4 raised bands, spine gilt. Author's dedication copy to Louis Grandeau, French chemist and professor at Nancy University; inscribed and signed by the author on first flyleaf. Interesting association copy. ----

FIRST EDITION of a fundamental work, considered one of the most important texts of the 19th century. In his book, Deville discusses the physical and chemical properties of this new metal, as well as its preparation and industrial applications. "Both Oersted and Wöhler had attempted to develop a new light metal - possibly aluminum. "Henri Étienne Sainte-Claire Deville, a French chemist, also undertook the task and after many experiments actually produced aluminum by laboratory methods" (Sparrow). Deville produced pure aluminum on an industrial scale for the first time in 1854. He foresaw its potential use in French industry at an early stage. In 1855, Jean-Baptiste Dumas presented the first aluminum ingots produced by Saint-Claire Deville to the Académie des Sciences (see Dumas).
"Deville was one of the most prolific and versatile chemists of the nineteenth century, making major contributions in most areas of his science. [. . .] He worked out a process for producing pure aluminum by reducing its salts with sodium. Deville's methods made both metals readily available and drastically reduced their cost, but he himself did not take much part in their later industrial development. He used the sodium obtained by his method for the preparation of such elements as silicon, boron, and titanium" (DSB).
Bibliography & references: Sparrow, Milestones of Science 173; En français dans le texte, no. 279; Duveen 524; Russo, p. 131; Bolton, I, 795; Poggendorf, II, 737; J.-B. Dumas, Aluminium, in: Comptes rendus de l’Académie des sciences 43, 1856, October, p.712; DSB IV, p.77.

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