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LEMERY S ATOMISTIC CHEMICAL TEXTBOOK VERY RARE (NEVILLE) . First edition, very rare, of the author s famous chemical textbook. "Lemery s highly successful Cours de chymie, which served as the textbook to his popular courses on chemistry, brought French chemical teaching out of the quasi-mystical Paracelsian tradition into the mainstream of Cartesian and atomistic natural philosophy. The significance of this work lies not in its originality or its thoroughness Lemery followed very closely the works of his predecessors Le Febvre and Glaser, and did not develop any rigorous theories of matter but rather in its attractive presentation of chemical ideas in corpuscular-mechanist terms, which contributed to the book s overwhelming popularity. Cours de chymie sold like a work of romance or satire (Fontenelle, quoted in Partington); it went through numerous editions and was translated into Latin and all the major European languages" (Norman). "One of the most influential chemists of his time, Lemery (1645-1715) condemned the obscure alchemical mysticism of contemporary authors. He gave lectures on the principles of chemistry in a clear and simple way, including experimental demonstrations, from his manufacturing laboratory in Paris. The lectures were attended by crowds of people from Paris, other parts of France, and abroad. The Cours de chymie, the textbook of his course of lectures, enjoyed unprecedented success for a work of its kind. Although based on the Traité de la chymie (Paris, 1663) of Christophle Glaser and the Pratique de chymie (Montpellier, 1671) of Sebastien Matte le Faveur, both of whom were former teachers of Lemery, he nowhere acknowledges their works. The first and earlier editions of the Cours were sold by Lemery from his house in Paris and are now very rare. He was careful to revise, correct, and update at least eleven editions himself, the last appearing in 1716. Posthumous editions were published until 1756, each keeping current with new material" (Neville Historical Chemical Library II, p. 39). ABPC/RBH list only two copies. The Haskell F. Norman copy (bought from Quaritch in 1988), is now in the Neville Historical Chemical Library. Provenance: ownership inscription to lower endpaper. "In the summer of 1670 [Lemery] was registered as a student of pharmacy in Montpellier and was permitted to attend the courses on simples and anatomy given at the Faculty of Medicine for such students. According to Fontenelle, he also taught chemistry courses to Verchant s students that attracted members of the medical faculty and other notables of the town. In 1672 Lemery returned to Paris, where he associated with members of the household of Louis, prince of Condé (le Grand Condé). He attended the conferences of the Abbé Bourdelot, the prince s physician, and worked in the laboratory of the prince s apothecary Bernadin Martin. This connection no doubt introduced Lemery to the fashionable intellectual circles of Paris. In 1674 [Lemery] secured his professional status by purchasing the office of apothecary to the king and grand prévôt of France, thus circumventing the legal obstacles in the path of a Protestant seeking admission to the guild of apothecaries of Paris. During the next seven years he established a highly successful pharmaceutical business, specializing in patent medicines. In addition, he gained a considerable reputation as a teacher of chemistry by his private courses. These courses not only catered to the professional needs of pharmacy apprentices but also attracted a large audience from fashionable Parisian society interested in semi-popular scientific expositions. The textbook of his course, the Cours de chymie (1675), enjoyed unprecedented success for such a work. "Lemery s teaching and textbook on chemistry, the Cours de chymie, owed their success to his clear and entertaining presentation of chemistry in corpuscular-mechanist terms. His adoption of mechanical modes of explanation brought the French.
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