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45 - MANUSCRIPT. — ROUELLE (Guillaume François).
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Estimate €1,000 - €1,500
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Description
MANUSCRIPT. — ROUELLE (Guillaume François). Lectures on Chemistry. No place or date [Paris, c. 1750–60]. Large quarto volume, 504 unnumbered handwritten folios; sheepskin, decorated ribbed spine (contemporary binding). A rare manuscript, a copy of Rouelle’s lectures, divided into three parts: the Plant Kingdom, fol. 48 to 194 (essential oils, wine, tartar, vinegar, resins, varnishes, dyes); the Animal Kingdom, fol. 195 to 225 (milk, deer antler, urine); the Mineral Kingdom, fol. 226 to 504 (bitumen, coal, saltpetre, sulphur, lead, tin, iron, copper, gold). It is preceded by an interesting preface, followed by ‘On Principles’, in which the professor’s methods are set out: ‘Chemistry does not seek vain reasoning; it seeks facts. If, for example, it is asked what cinnabar is, it replies that it is a compound of sulphur and mercury, and to prove this, it separates the two substances and shows them apart. It does more than that: using sulphur and mercury, it produces genuine cinnabar”. Rouelle (1703–1770) was a chemistry demonstrator at the Jardin du Roi from 1742 to 1768, and was undoubtedly one of the finest chemistry teachers of the 18th century. Among his impressive list of pupils were Lavoisier, Desmarest, Macquer, Venel, d’Arcet and Bayen, but also non-scientists such as Diderot, d’Holbach, Rousseau, Malesherbes and Turgot. Hoefer, II, 378–383: “Quite calm at the start of his lecture, he would gradually become more animated; if his train of thought became entangled, he would grow impatient, place his hat on a retort, remove his wig, and untie his cravat… In his usual impetuosity and absent-mindedness, he often expressed novel, bold and profound views.” Rouelle published very little: only a few papers were included in the *Mémoires de l’Académie des Sciences*, of which he had been a member since 1744, or in Rozier’s *Journal de Physique* and Roux’s *Journal de Médecine*. A clearly legible manuscript, carefully written. The title page, which may have included the name of the student who copied it, is missing. Corners are worn; there is a loss of leather along the edge of the front cover. SB
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About the sale SALE OF ANTIQUE AND MODERN BOOKS
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Auction time 09/28/2026 at 2:00 PM
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