Pott, Johann Heinrich; Lithogéognosie Ou Examen Chymique Des Pierres Et Des Terres En Général, Et du Talc, de la Topaze & de la Stéatite en particulier, Avec une Dissertation sur le Feu & sur la Lumiere. & Continuation de la Lithogéognosie Pyrotechnique...Paris, 1753. Octavo, Vol. 1, pp. viii, 431, 1 plate. vol. 2, pp. 267, 5, 103 pages of tables.
The set is complete and in a contemporary full mottled calf with gilt spine titles and panels, red tinted text block edges and marbled end sheets. The bindings are tight with minor corner rubbing and scuffing. The text is very clean and crisp. In very good condition.
A German chemist, Pott (1692-1777) studied under Friedrich Hoffmann and Georg Ernst Stahl at the University of Halle, receiving his M.D. in 1716. In 1737, he was appointed professor of theoretical chemistry at the Collegium Medico-Chirurgicum in Berlin. Later, he was appointed professor of practical chemistry. He also held the position of Director of the Royal Hofapothecary. His primary research was on the effects of high temperatures on mineral substances. His above rare two volume work is a collection of dissertations by Pott including ones on bismuth, zinc and borax. Through his researches, Pott had extended the knowledge of several metals and earths. Zinc, which had only recently been isolated, is shown by Pott to be a metallic element. For the first time, Pott also fully describes Bismuth. These monographs were often used by the chemist and mineralogist T.O. Bergman in composing his own dissertations on some of the same subjects.