15th Mar, 2019 10:30 GMT/BST

Books, Maps & Ephemera

 
Lot 182
 

182

Dalton, John A New System of Chemical Philosophy. Manchester: Printed by S. Russell for R....

Dalton, John
A New System of Chemical Philosophy. Manchester: Printed by S. Russell for R. Bickerstaff, 1808-10; and George Wilson, 1827. 8vo (3 vols). I Part I in paper-backed marbled boards with paper label, other two in later buckram-backed boards; pp: I Part I: vi, [2 (contents, verso blank)], 220; I Part II: [8], 221-560; II: [2 (half-title, verso blank)], xii, 357, [3 (advertisements)];; I Part I: add. eng. port. laid down on dedication, four plates, I Part II: four plates. First edition.
Dalton's major contribution to the study of science was an insistence on the significance of relative atomic weights. Dalton believed that all matter was composed of indestructible and indivisible atoms of various weights, each weight corresponding to one of the chemical elements, and that these atoms remained unchanged during chemical processes. This led to his creation of the first periodic table and created the first scientific theory of the atom, based on experimentation. Dalton's work was not without flaws, in part owing to the quality of this tools, but it shaped scientific thinking and laid the groundwork for Mendelev's table.

Sold for £2,700
Estimated at £3,000 - £5,000


 

. Condition variable across the three volumes, with the second and third with frequent mould spotting throughout, still a good set of a hugely important work.

 


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Auction: Books, Maps & Ephemera, 15th Mar, 2019

Books, Maps & Ephemera

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