Experiments and observations on the atomic theory, and electrical phenomena. (bound after) Observations on ventilation . . . lectures delivered on the subject at the request of the Dublin Society. . . .
Dublin; London: Graisberry and Campbell; Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme and Brown, 1814; [1822]. Two works in one. 8vo. [vi], 208; [iv], 180 pp. FIRST EDITION OF HIGGINS; SECOND EDITION OF MEYLER. Both works lack half-titles. Text diagrams. Contemporary calf over marbled boards, hinges a bit rubbed. From the library of John Lort Stokes (1812-1885), British admiral who served on the Beagle with Darwin. Bookplate of the British chemist Franz Sondheimer (1926-1981). Item #14170
First edition of Higgins’ book, which is “an attack on Dalton, whom the author claimed to have anticipated” (Duveen, p. 294). “Published six years after the first volume of John Dalton’s New system of chemical philosophy (Manchester, 1808), in this work Higgins claimed to have anticipated the chemical atomic theory in his Comparative view of the phlogistic and antiphlogistic theories (London, 1789). He states (p. 10): “I cannot with propriety or delicacy say that Mr. Dalton is a plagiarist, although appearances are against him. Probably he never read my book . . . Partington . . . allows that Higgins deserve credit for his ingenious views of forces between particles, for his implicit recognition of multiple proportions, and for his rudimentary foreshadowing of some aspects of modern views on reaction mechanism” (Neville).
Second edition of Meyler’s work on ventilation. His first lecture to the Royal Dublin Society was given as early as 1811.
Stokes served in various capacities on board the Beagle, including Mate & Assistant Surveyor, 1831 to 1836, during which period Darwin served as Naturalist. He ultimately became the commanding officer on the Beagle during the period 1841-1843, during which time the ship surveyed Timor and New Zealand.
Price: $1,500.00