Priestley, Joseph (1733-1804) et alia. Philosophical Transactions, Giving Some Account of the Present Undertakings, Studies, and Labours, of the Ingenious, in Many Considerable Parts of the World. Vol. LXII.
London: Printed for Lockyer Davis, 1772.
First edition, quarto, consisting of thirty-five short scientific treatises recounting advancements, research, and observations in a wide variety of areas within the sciences; illustrated with fourteen folding engraved plates; bound in original marbled paper boards, rebacked with fresh leather spine; with bookplate of the Janus Foundation inside the front board with the withdrawn stamp; contents very good; 9 x 7 in.
Priestley's essay is singled out here for his Observation on different Kinds of Air, the nineteenth piece in the collection. In the 117 pages, he describes his experiments on air and the observations he subsequently made. It is illustrated with a folding engraving showing various devices of his design created to facilitate his work. Priestly's experiments on air, published in three quarto volumes later in the 1770s, and presaged here, led to discoveries regarding nitric oxide, anhydrous hydrochloric acid, ammonia, nitrous oxide, oxygen, and an understanding of the gas exchange that occurs during photosynthesis.
The other articles are written by a large group of Royal Society members covering a vast range of topics, including new ways to find prime numbers, Native American use of porcupine quills, meteorogical observations, electrical experiments, descriptions of the quality of different spring water, an account of a body found in the ruins of an abbey, eclipses, bird migration, and much more.
