The Edinburgh Philosophical Journal, Exhibiting a View of the Progress of Discovery in Natural Philosophy, Chemistry, Natural History, Practical Mechanics, Geography, Navigation, Statistics, and the Fine and Useful Arts, from April 1 to October 1 1823 - Vol. IX

1823. First edition. Title-page, iv (contents), 420pp. and 9 engraved plates (the list of plates only describes 8 but there is an additional plate facing page 332 showing Perkins's improvements on steam engines and Ronald's pendulum doubler). The Edinburgh Philosophical Journal was founded in 1819 by its editors as a scientific journal to publish articles on the latest science of the day. The initial editors were Robert Jameson (1774-1854), a Scottish naturalist and mineralogist, and David Brewster (1781-1868), a Scottish scientist, inventor, author, and academic administrator. The Journal covered emerging scientific developments in chemistry, optics, electricity, magnetism, and natural history, as well as related topics including practical mechanics, inventions, and scientific instruments. The present volume contains issues 17 and 18, and includes the following articles: On Petrifactions, or Fossil Organic Remains by Alexander Humboldt; On the Existence of Two New Fluids in the Cavities of Minerals by David Brewster; An account of some Electro-Magnetic Experiments made in the University of Utrecht by Dr Van Beek, Baron Van Zuylen Van Nyvevelt, and Professor G. Moll; Mr Babbage's Calculating Machine; Account of a Map Drawn by a Native of Dawae or Tavay by Francis Hamilton (with a plate); and Abstract of Mr Faraday's Experiments on the Condensation of Several Gasses into Liquids. The book is bound in contemporary marbled paper covered boards with leather corners and spine edges of the boards (the original leather spine is missing but the backing paper to the spine is present and a previous owner has roughly coloured it black or dark green and applied a new title label). There is damage and some loss to the leather around the corner tips and the front spine edge has an unusual repair using some type of thin material (Japanese paper?) either to reinforce or reattach the board. The rear board has an unrepaired split down the spine edge. The marbled paper on both boards is noticeably shelf worn with some loss on the edges of the boards. The contents are tight and the pages are clean apart from a few expected scattered small marks and stains. Some of the plates show light foxing and offsetting and the plate facing page 55 has a 1 1/2" tear on the fore edge that has an old paper tape repair on the reverse. There is no inscription.…