THE WORKS OF GEBER, ENGLISHED BY RICHARD RUSSELL, 1678
Book Details + Condition: J.M. Dent and Sons Ltd. and E.P. Dutton and Co. Inc. (London, Toronto and New York). First Edition, 1928. Hardcover with red boards and black titling to front and spine. 261 pages with Glossary. Illustrated. The book is a modern reprint of a well known 1678 English translation by Richard Russell, and is a "New Edition with Introduction by E.J. Holmyard". It details the life and work of the famous Arabian prince and philosopher of foundational alchemical and chemical texts attributed to the 8th-century scholar Jābir ibn Ḥayyān. Jābir ibn Ḥayyān, known in the Western world as Geber, was an 8th-century polymath, physician, and alchemist widely recognized as the "Father of Chemistry". Practicing primarily in Kufa (modern-day Iraq), his systematic introduction of experimental methodology transformed speculative alchemy into an empirical science. He pioneered methods for reproducibility and precise measurement, foreshadowing the law of constant proportions. He perfected foundational processes like distillation, crystallization, sublimation, and evaporation. Using his invention, the alembic (Anbique), he was the first to prepare mineral and carboxylic acids, including nitric, hydrochloric, citric, and tartaric acids, and developed aqua regia to dissolve gold. He organized substances into spirits (volatile substances like camphor and arsenic), metals (gold, silver, copper), and compounds that could be powdered. The book details and outlines his above achievements.
Firm binding; light shelf wear to boards; sunning to spine and rear board margins (with small spots of discoloration); chafed spine ends; inked name & address to ffep; one page edge with a repaired tear; interior is clean and free of markings. There are several pages that remain uncut. All books are carefully packed, and shipped in boxes.
