Supplement to a Bibliography of the Works of Antoine Laurent Lavoisier 1743-1794 by DennisI. DuveenReview by: Robert SiegfriedIsis, Vol. 57, No. 1 (Spring, 1966), pp. 143-144Published by: The University of Chicago Press on behalf of The History of Science SocietyStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/228717 .

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BOOK REVIEWS - ISIS, 57*1-187 (1966) BOOK REVIEWS - ISIS, 57*1-187 (1966)

ward-looking-representative of the age that was passing.

This important study is the expan- sion of the 1962 Ford Lectures given at Oxford by Mr. Hill, a Balliol fellow since 1938 and tutor in modern history. In book form they are difficult reading for they need a tighter organization and they are overloaded with names and quotations, the fruit of the author's wide-ranging research and his great erudition. Footnotes, fortunately on the pages concerned, occupy from a quarter to a third of most pages and provide a wealth of bibliographical material for other scholars. The book may be of more value to historians of ideas than to historians of science but the latter cannot afford to ignore it, not only for its richness of quotation and its sug- gestions for needed studies but also for some of its interpretations.

The book has no listed bibliography. All bibliographical information must be gleaned from the footnotes, a tire- some task if the reader happens not to remember on which page the author first quoted that particular reference. Incidentally, to the list of errata tipped into the English edition should be added a seventeenth misprint. Dr. San- ford V. Larkey's name is consistently misspelled in the footnotes on pp. 16, 17, and 20.

DOROTHY STIMSON

Stonington, Connecticut

ward-looking-representative of the age that was passing.

This important study is the expan- sion of the 1962 Ford Lectures given at Oxford by Mr. Hill, a Balliol fellow since 1938 and tutor in modern history. In book form they are difficult reading for they need a tighter organization and they are overloaded with names and quotations, the fruit of the author's wide-ranging research and his great erudition. Footnotes, fortunately on the pages concerned, occupy from a quarter to a third of most pages and provide a wealth of bibliographical material for other scholars. The book may be of more value to historians of ideas than to historians of science but the latter cannot afford to ignore it, not only for its richness of quotation and its sug- gestions for needed studies but also for some of its interpretations.

The book has no listed bibliography. All bibliographical information must be gleaned from the footnotes, a tire- some task if the reader happens not to remember on which page the author first quoted that particular reference. Incidentally, to the list of errata tipped into the English edition should be added a seventeenth misprint. Dr. San- ford V. Larkey's name is consistently misspelled in the footnotes on pp. 16, 17, and 20.

DOROTHY STIMSON

Stonington, Connecticut

SEVENTTEETH & EIGHTEENTH CENTURIES

Dennis I. Duveen. Supplement to a Bibliography of the Works of Antoine Laurent Lavoisier 1743-1794. xvi + 179 pp., pits., indices, notes. London: Dawsons of Pall Mall, 1965. ?8.8.0.

The appearance in 1954 of Duveen and Klickstein's A Bibliography of the Works of Antoine Laurent Lavoisier filled a need long felt by students of eighteenth-century science. That useful work stimulated even greater efforts to understand the labors of this great eighteenth-century chemist and public servant. Now the senior editor of the Bibliography has brought that earlier

SEVENTTEETH & EIGHTEENTH CENTURIES

Dennis I. Duveen. Supplement to a Bibliography of the Works of Antoine Laurent Lavoisier 1743-1794. xvi + 179 pp., pits., indices, notes. London: Dawsons of Pall Mall, 1965. ?8.8.0.

The appearance in 1954 of Duveen and Klickstein's A Bibliography of the Works of Antoine Laurent Lavoisier filled a need long felt by students of eighteenth-century science. That useful work stimulated even greater efforts to understand the labors of this great eighteenth-century chemist and public servant. Now the senior editor of the Bibliography has brought that earlier

work up to date by preparing this Supplement, made necessary by the fruits of Lavoisier scholarship of the last ten years. Because this journal carried an extensive review of the Bib- liography at the time of its publication (by Henry Guerlac, Isis, 1956, 47:85- 88) the present review will be con- cerned only with what is new in the Supplement.

The chief aim of the Bibliography, to provide a complete listing of Lavoisier's printed writings, is continued in "the Supplement. Each entry includes full bibliographic information and a brief description of the contents of the origi- nal document. Duveen's frequently added comments on the historical sig- nificance of the documents are most helpful.

The most extensive additions to the works of Lavoisier published since the original Bibliography have been the first two fascicles of his correspondence, appearing as Volume 7 of the (Euvres, now under the editorship of Rend Fric. These letters, both to and from La- voisier, cover the years 1763 to 1775. Duveen's descriptions of the contents of each letter provide a most useful entry to the use of the correspondence itself. Among these items is the origi- nal version of the famous sealed note of 1 November 1772, on which scholars have lavished so much attention. Du- veen in his comments fails to mention the fact pointed out by Guerlac that the wording in the original manuscript note, only recently discovered and now printed in the correspondance, is dif- ferent from that previously printed in various sources (Henry Guerlac, "A Curious Lavoisier Episode," Chymia, 1961, 7:103-108). Duveen does list Guerlac's article in the bibliography of writings about Lavoisier, however.

As scholars continue to discover new letters and manuscripts these docu- ments appear in print for the first time. Duveen lists approximately thirty of these in the section of the Supplement devoted to periodical publication. Nine are letters to Benjamin Franklin, dating about 1780. Perhaps the most important of the newly discovered manuscripts are the three discovered by Ren6 Fric,

work up to date by preparing this Supplement, made necessary by the fruits of Lavoisier scholarship of the last ten years. Because this journal carried an extensive review of the Bib- liography at the time of its publication (by Henry Guerlac, Isis, 1956, 47:85- 88) the present review will be con- cerned only with what is new in the Supplement.

The chief aim of the Bibliography, to provide a complete listing of Lavoisier's printed writings, is continued in "the Supplement. Each entry includes full bibliographic information and a brief description of the contents of the origi- nal document. Duveen's frequently added comments on the historical sig- nificance of the documents are most helpful.

The most extensive additions to the works of Lavoisier published since the original Bibliography have been the first two fascicles of his correspondence, appearing as Volume 7 of the (Euvres, now under the editorship of Rend Fric. These letters, both to and from La- voisier, cover the years 1763 to 1775. Duveen's descriptions of the contents of each letter provide a most useful entry to the use of the correspondence itself. Among these items is the origi- nal version of the famous sealed note of 1 November 1772, on which scholars have lavished so much attention. Du- veen in his comments fails to mention the fact pointed out by Guerlac that the wording in the original manuscript note, only recently discovered and now printed in the correspondance, is dif- ferent from that previously printed in various sources (Henry Guerlac, "A Curious Lavoisier Episode," Chymia, 1961, 7:103-108). Duveen does list Guerlac's article in the bibliography of writings about Lavoisier, however.

As scholars continue to discover new letters and manuscripts these docu- ments appear in print for the first time. Duveen lists approximately thirty of these in the section of the Supplement devoted to periodical publication. Nine are letters to Benjamin Franklin, dating about 1780. Perhaps the most important of the newly discovered manuscripts are the three discovered by Ren6 Fric,

143 143

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BOOK REVIEWS- ISIS, 57 1*187 (1966) BOOK REVIEWS- ISIS, 57 1*187 (1966)

dating from 1772 to 1773 and recording Lavoisier's early ideas on the nature of fire and air.

Duveen records two recently dis- covered Italian editions of the Traite and an Italian edition of the Nomen- clature.

Duveen has included in the Supple- ment an extended list of notes and minor text additions which should be consulted by anyone using the original Bibliography. There is also a four- page list of typographical corrections relating to the earlier work. But in neither place does Duveen correct a rather serious bibliographic error re- lating to Lavoisier's famous " Memoir on the Nature of the Principle which Combines with Metals During Calcina- tion." This paper appeared in two versions, the first in 1775, Item 29, and a seriously revised one in 1778, Item 30. In the Bibliography it is stated that the English version published by Thomas Henry in his translation of the Opus- cules (London, 1776), is the revised version. But the dates are wrong for this, and a brief examination of the text shows the English version to have been drawn from the original paper of 1775, and it should be listed under Item 29.

Continuing the practice of the Bibli- ography, there is an index of the names found in the Supplement, along with separate indices for publishers and printers, and for artists and engravers.

In response to critics of the Bibli- ography, Duveen has included in the Supplement an index of topics, with reference given to the item number as listed in either volume. Headings are large and indicate maior emphasis rather than detailed reference, e.g., acids, calorique, social problems and reforms.

Another new feature of the Supple- ment is a selected list, containing about two hundred entries, of books and papers dealing with Lavoisier's life and work. Thus the Suptlement not only brings the Bibliography up to date, but greatly enhances its usefulness.

This reviewer, who has just spent a summer reading in the literature of Lavoisier, is most grateful to Mr.

dating from 1772 to 1773 and recording Lavoisier's early ideas on the nature of fire and air.

Duveen records two recently dis- covered Italian editions of the Traite and an Italian edition of the Nomen- clature.

Duveen has included in the Supple- ment an extended list of notes and minor text additions which should be consulted by anyone using the original Bibliography. There is also a four- page list of typographical corrections relating to the earlier work. But in neither place does Duveen correct a rather serious bibliographic error re- lating to Lavoisier's famous " Memoir on the Nature of the Principle which Combines with Metals During Calcina- tion." This paper appeared in two versions, the first in 1775, Item 29, and a seriously revised one in 1778, Item 30. In the Bibliography it is stated that the English version published by Thomas Henry in his translation of the Opus- cules (London, 1776), is the revised version. But the dates are wrong for this, and a brief examination of the text shows the English version to have been drawn from the original paper of 1775, and it should be listed under Item 29.

Continuing the practice of the Bibli- ography, there is an index of the names found in the Supplement, along with separate indices for publishers and printers, and for artists and engravers.

In response to critics of the Bibli- ography, Duveen has included in the Supplement an index of topics, with reference given to the item number as listed in either volume. Headings are large and indicate maior emphasis rather than detailed reference, e.g., acids, calorique, social problems and reforms.

Another new feature of the Supple- ment is a selected list, containing about two hundred entries, of books and papers dealing with Lavoisier's life and work. Thus the Suptlement not only brings the Bibliography up to date, but greatly enhances its usefulness.

This reviewer, who has just spent a summer reading in the literature of Lavoisier, is most grateful to Mr.

Duveen for preparing this very useful volume.

ROBERT SIEGFRIED

University of Wisconsin

Duveen for preparing this very useful volume.

ROBERT SIEGFRIED

University of Wisconsin

I NINETEENTH & TWENTIETH CENTURIES

Alan Trachtenberg. Brooklyn Bridge: Fact and Symbol. xii + 182 pp., pits., index, notes. New York: Oxford Univ. Press, 1965. $5.75.

Rhetoric is a tricky subject for study because it is necessary, in the end, to rise above it if one is to explain it. In his preface, Professor Trachtenberg writes that "one purpose of this study is to establish the importance of Brook- lyn Bridge as a cultural symbol in America. Another is to examine the process whereby the bridge, an artifact, became a symbol...." The author, however, is so successful in his first purpose that his second falls short of the mark. There can be no doubt that the Brooklyn Bridge (1883), an undis- puted fact, has also had symbolic im- portance for many Americans, among them a number of notable artists and writers. The cause of this effect is not so easily established. Trachtenberg takes two approaches: first to show that it was a symbol before it was a fact and, second, to demonstrate that as a phe- nomenon of urban technology, the bridge came to stand, for some, for the advent in America of an over- whelmingly urban and industrial so- ciety.

This study is divided into three parts: an opening argument concerning the central importance of the road as a symbol of American promise and ac- complishment (" roads create history, not abolish it; they inevitably lead to cities, not to the land"); a middle sec- tion on the engineers John A. and Washington A. Roebling (" a fusion of these [theoretical, physical, economic, and historicall dimensions was neces- sary in Roebling's mind, if the bridge was to possess the Hegelian trait of actuality or Wirklichkeit "); and a con- cluding section on the use of the bridge

I NINETEENTH & TWENTIETH CENTURIES

Alan Trachtenberg. Brooklyn Bridge: Fact and Symbol. xii + 182 pp., pits., index, notes. New York: Oxford Univ. Press, 1965. $5.75.

Rhetoric is a tricky subject for study because it is necessary, in the end, to rise above it if one is to explain it. In his preface, Professor Trachtenberg writes that "one purpose of this study is to establish the importance of Brook- lyn Bridge as a cultural symbol in America. Another is to examine the process whereby the bridge, an artifact, became a symbol...." The author, however, is so successful in his first purpose that his second falls short of the mark. There can be no doubt that the Brooklyn Bridge (1883), an undis- puted fact, has also had symbolic im- portance for many Americans, among them a number of notable artists and writers. The cause of this effect is not so easily established. Trachtenberg takes two approaches: first to show that it was a symbol before it was a fact and, second, to demonstrate that as a phe- nomenon of urban technology, the bridge came to stand, for some, for the advent in America of an over- whelmingly urban and industrial so- ciety.

This study is divided into three parts: an opening argument concerning the central importance of the road as a symbol of American promise and ac- complishment (" roads create history, not abolish it; they inevitably lead to cities, not to the land"); a middle sec- tion on the engineers John A. and Washington A. Roebling (" a fusion of these [theoretical, physical, economic, and historicall dimensions was neces- sary in Roebling's mind, if the bridge was to possess the Hegelian trait of actuality or Wirklichkeit "); and a con- cluding section on the use of the bridge

144 144

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