G. Moratelli - Memorie Fisico-Chimiche - 1805

Giambatista Moratelli
Memorie Fisico-Chimiche

Professor of Physics at the National Lyceum of Ferrara. Venice, at Antonio Curti q. Giacomo, (1805).

Format: in-8° (20.5 × 14 cm). Pages: (8), 433 pp.

3 folded plates outside the text with scientific figures (electrical and galvanic apparatus, crystallographic and geometric diagrams).

Contemporary binding or from the early 19th century, with signs of wear and scuffing (as described). Overall good condition for a volume of that era, with the typical patina of use.

Work of a scientific nature in the form of “memoirs” (essays), dedicated to themes of experimental physics and chemistry of the era. Includes discussions on:
• Electricity and galvanism (with references to Volta, Galvani and medical applications).
• Light, heat and optical phenomena.
• Crystallization and mineral forms.
• Mineral waters and chemical analyses.
• Stones fallen from the sky (meteors).

Moratelli, Ferrarese lecturer active between the 18th and 19th centuries, compiles and discusses the latest developments in physical-chemical science, with an experimental spirit and attention to contemporary discoveries.

Rare and significant work of early 19th-century Italy, representative of the transition from Enlightenment science to nineteenth-century science. Reflects interest in electricity, gas chemistry and mineralogy in a period of great progress (post-Volta). Few copies cataloged in public libraries (e.g. ETH-Bibliothek Zürich); highly sought after by collectors of Italian scientific texts and the history of science.

The volume is of interest both for its specialist content and for the folded plates, which illustrate the experimental apparatus of the period. Ideal for auctions of ancient scientific books and for collections of historical physics/chemistry.