GLAUBER, Johann Rudolph.

Furni Novi Philosophici, sive descriptio artis destillatoriae novae, nec non spirituum, oleorum, florum, aliorumque medicamentorum illius beneficio, facilima quadam & peculiari via e vegetabilius, animalibus & mineralibus, conficiendorum & quidem magno cum lucro; agens quoque de illorum usu tam chymico quam medico, edita & publicata ...

Amsterdam, J. Jansson, 1651.Five parts + Appendix pp. 67, [3], [1 blank]; 148 [4]; 55; 83 [3], [1 blank]; 54, [1 blank]; 72, with three folding woodcut plates, one each to the first three parts, full-page woodcut on verso of title of fourth part, and 7 Together 3 works in 10 parts, bound in one vol., 8vo, with three folding woodcut plates, a full-page woodcut on verso of the title of the fourth part and seven woodcuts (three full-page) in the fifth part of the Furni novi; the Operis mineralis slightly browned; contemporary vellum; early inscription of the Viennese Carmelites on first title. A FINE SAMMELBAND, IN CONTEMPORARY VELLUM OVER BOARDS, OF GLAUBER'S PRINCIPAL WORKS.I & II. FIRST LATIN EDITIONS (first edition, in German, 1646-49) OF A FUNDAMENTAL TEXT FOR PRACTICAL CHEMISTRY, and 'certainly one of the most remarkable books on chemistry of the seventeenth century' (Ferguson). Most copies of this work are mixed editions, and it is rarely found with all the parts in first editions, and together with the first Latin edition of De Auri tinctura, which was issued together with the main work, as here. 'Glauber gave the best account of his practical work in the Furni novi philosophici, a book written with a clarity and an honesty almost unprecedented in early chemistry. With it he established his reputation as a master of laboratory skills. He carefully described the materials and dimensions for the construction of the furnaces and gave instructions for the necessary accessory equipment: vitrified earthen vessels to withstand the increased temperatures, a large quantity of cupels and crucibles, improved condensing apparatus, and jars with mercury seals or ground glass stoppers to store corrosive and volatile liquids.'The range of distillable substances was increased tremendously with these furnaces, and Glauber put into them almost anything he could lay hands on. From the mineral kingdom he prepared the mineral acids (hydrochloric, nitric, and sulfuric) in concentrated form and with them made chlorides, nitrates, and sulfates. He was probably the first to distill coal and obtain (with the help of hydrochloric acid) benzene and phenol ... He extracted the aromatic oils of plants by first soaking their parts in salt water or hydrochloric acid, and he obtained acroleins by distilling burned clay balls presoaked in the fatty oils. The dry distillation of wood yielded wood vinegar, with which he produced metal acetates and acetone. The distillation of salt of tartar (potassium carbonate), effected by adding powdered flints, particularly intrigued him. Liquor of flints (potassium silicate) was obtained as a by-product, and the metallic BOTANY that he grew by adding metal salts were a source of great delight to him.'Glauber's efficient production of such important chemical reactants as the mineral acids is particularly noteworthy since they are essential for other processes. He described several ways in which each can be prepared, realizing that the products are similar, although the methods by which they are prepared are different. He recognized, for example, that the spirit of sulfur produced by burning sulfur under a bell jar is of similar nature to the oil of vitriol distilled from green vitriol and that the vitriol used in his recommended recipe for hydrochloric acid functions as a catalyst. His preparation of nitric and hydrochloric acids by applying sulfuric acid to saltpeter and common salt, respectively, was long kept secret because of the purity obtainable' (DSB).III. The Operis mineralis, here in the scarce first German edition, contains among descriptions of mineralogical and metallurgical processes in its third part a courageous defense of Paracelsus' transmutation theories. In the first part Glauber describes the extraction of gold from pebbles, and the medical use of its by-product tinctura antimonii, and the preparation of the Glauber salt. The second part deals with deposits of ores and theories of their qualities and generation.'Glauber was an expert metallurgist and essayer ... In his theoretical speculations he compromised between Paracelsus and Helmont by accepting three principles or elements but substituting water for mercury in the list of Paracelsus. It is interesting to point out that Glauber subsequently improved the process [of preparing the 'spirit of salt'] by heating the mixture in a glass vessel, and was thus the first to prepare 'spirits of salt' in a high degree of purity' (Wolf, A History of Science, Technology, and Philosophy in the 16th & 17th centuries, pp. 329-1).'Glauber has justly been called the best practical chemist of his day and the first industrial chemist. His instructions for the improvement of laboratory technique were instrumental in preparing the way for the chemical revolution of the next century. In his own estimation, however, the final goal of his labours was the perfection of the material world, capped by the preparation of the philosopher's stone. Glauber attempted to renew the hermetic art by tying it to specific aspects of laboratory practice, but in so doing he interpreted the symbols of alchemy so concretely as to destroy their esoteric appeal. Later alchemists understandably found him too mundane, while chemists failed to appreciate his hermetic conception of the world' (DSB).Ferguson I p. 323-4 (De auri and Furni novi) and 326 (Operis mineralis); Krivatsy 4784 (De auri), 4784 ((Furni novi and De auri) and 4800 (mixed edition of Operis mineralis); Hoover Collection 362 (mixed edition of Furni novi), 360 (De auri) and 364 (later edition of Operis mineralis); Parkinson and Lumb 1022 (De auri) and 1025 (Furni novi); Wellcome III pp. 122 (De auri and Operis mineralis) and 125 ((Furni novi).

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