Bell: "Upon the Electrical Experiments to determine the location of the Bullet in the body of the late President Garfield; and upon a successful form of Induction Balance for the painless detection of Metallic Masses in the Human Body," found in "American Journal of Science and the Arts" (plus numerous other papers by different contributors).

BELL. Alexander Graham. AND J. Willard Gibbs, and S.P. Langley, and A.A. Michelson.

Published by J.D. and E.S. Dana, 1883

About this Item

++BELL. Alexander Graham. AND J. Willard Gibbs, and S.P. Langley, and A.A. Michelson. ++ Bell: "Upon the Electrical Experiments to determine the location of the Bullet in the body of the late President Garfield; and upon a successful form of Induction Balance for the painless detection of Metallic Masses in the Human Body," found in "American Journal of Science and the Arts," New Haven, pp 22-61 (a long article for the AJSA), along with 31 text illustrations, volume 23, 1883. offered in the full volume of 488pp (with 5 folding plates). Newly and very tastefully rebound in calf-backed marbled boards. The text is in VG+ condition. PROVENANCE: there is an interesting collection and rich lineage of ex-libris rubber stamps on the title page, including an ownership stamp of the Carl Zeiss library in Jena (see pic). [++] Also in this volume: A.A. Michelson, "A Method for Determining the Rate of Tuning Forks", pp 61-64. [AND WITH] J. Willard Gibbs, "Notes on the Electromagnetic Theory of Light. No. III, On the General Equations of Monochromatic Light in Media of Every Degree of Transparency", pp 107-114. [AND WITH] S.P. LANGLEY, "The Selective Absorption of Solar Energy", pp 169-196. [++] The first paper here is a long one by Bell on a rather famous attempt/experiment modifying his telephone in attempting to explore for the bullet in the mortally-wounded U.S. President James Garfield (who was shot by an assassin in July 1881). This was a very well-documented and public event that was followed in popular magazines, and yet there are scant references to this paper that I have been able to locate. At the time the paper was submitted, Garfield was still alive, though by the time of publication he would be dead, succumbing 79 days after the assassination attempt. Bell made several attempts to locate the projectile but was unsuccessful. That said, this was a major application of his "telephonic" device to non-invasively locate metal objects in patients in the pre-X-ray period. As a piece of trivia I should note that the device was developed at Bell's Volta Bureau, which was only two blocks away from my store back in my old Georgetown (DC) days. [++] There were earlier treatments on this event, though none that I can find come anywhere close to thorough description (with additions and improvements) that we see here. (For example, there was a one-page summation of the event--"Probing by Electricity"-- that appeared in "Nature, an Illustrated Weekly Journal of Science", London, 10 November 1881, vol 25 no. 628, page 40.).

Seller Inventory # ABE-1685045742791

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Bell: "Upon the Electrical Experiments to determine the location of the Bullet in the body of the late President Garfield; and upon a successful form of Induction Balance for the painless detection of Metallic Masses in the Human Body," found in "American Journal of Science and the Arts" (plus numerous other papers by different contributors).
• Publisher: J.D. and E.S. Dana
• Publication Date: 1883
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: Fine
• Seller catalogs:
  • Medicine
  • Technology