SIGAUD DE LA FOND, Joseph-Aignan. Essay on Various Types of - Lot 288

SIGAUD DE LA FOND, Joseph-Aignan. Essay on Various Types of Air Known as “Fixed Air.” First edition of this pioneering work in the study of gases, published at a pivotal moment in the history of pneumatic chemistry. Paris, P.-Fr. Gueffier, 1779. In-8 (200 x 133 mm). Marbled full calf, ribbed spine decorated with a medallion and panels with gilt metal, red edges (contemporary binding). 4 unnumbered folios, XVI and 400 pp. A tear with a small fragment missing from the lower corner, one corner worn. First edition, illustrated with 5 fold-out plates. A student and later successor to Abbé Nollet, Sigaud de La Fond (1730–1810) recounts in this work his own experiments—particularly on hydrogen—and clearly and critically compiles the works of the greatest physicists and chemists of his time (Priestley, Fontana, Lavoisier, Parker, Falconer, etc.). This treatise stands out for its aim to systematize the still-emerging knowledge of “fixed air,” thereby helping to lay the foundations of modern gas chemistry. A fine copy with all the plates intact.