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an old document with writing on it and a picture of a horsean old manuscript with writing on it and a pen in it
Ader

185 - Jean-Antoine CHAPTAL (1756–1822) and Casimir de PUYMAURIN (1…
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Estimate €400 - €500
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Description
Jean-Antoine CHAPTAL (1756–1822) and Casimir de PUYMAURIN (1757–1841), chemists. A letter from Chaptal, and an autograph manuscript by Puymaurin; 1 page in-4, address (small tear repaired with some loss of line endings), and 5 pages in-fol. Concerning the extraction of pastels in Albi. 16 February 1811. Chaptal thanks his dear Casimir for the ‘excellent pâté’ he sent him: ‘Our friend Raynouard draws inspiration from its enormous volume and finds it more substantial than any poem ever written or yet to be written’. He has not replied to him regarding the pastels, “because the timid prefect wrote to me that the Minister had already taken offence at the fact that he had set up a commission without his spe[cial] authorisation. In view of these minor disputes, I did not [wish] to press ahead’. He asks Puymaurin to pay for the postage of the ‘pastel shells’, which he will reimburse him for. Notes and observations on the Alby plant for the extraction of indigo starch from pastel. Draft of a letter from Puymaurin to Chaptal, with marginal notes in another hand. In it, Puymaurin describes in detail the various operations involved in extracting indigo, following heat treatment in several vats and in accordance with precise chemical processes… ‘The experiments to be carried out on the various species of plants require a skilled man, and Mr Limousin Lamothe will be of the greatest assistance to me in these operations, the minutest details of which must be recorded […]. In the batches intended for the experiments, it will be necessary to vary the methods of indigo production; we shall test various methods of extracting it, whether by maceration, in cold water, in hot water, or by fermentation, with the pastel reduced to a paste in the mill, half-dried, the leaves lightly crushed by beating with sticks, etc.”… This is followed by the results of these experiments on the art of extracting indigo, the chemical composition of the starches, observations on yields, etc. Puymaurin indicates that he has left a margin so that Chaptal may enter his ‘notes and observations’. Enclosed is a printed circular issued by Chaptal in his capacity as Minister of the Interior (3 Brumaire, Year XII).
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About the sale Letters and Autograph Manuscripts – Part I
Auction location
Auction time 10/13/2026 at 2:00 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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