Abbé Nollet - Lettres sur l’électricité — 2 volumes - 1753-1760

Abbé Nollet — Letters on Electricity — 2 volumes — Illustrated 18th-century edition — Paris, 1760 — Period bindings

Rare and beautiful copy of the famous Letters on Electricity by Abbé Nollet, a leading French physicist of the Enlightenment era and a pioneer of electrical experiments in Europe.

A fundamental work in the history of science, published amid the great scientific controversies surrounding Benjamin Franklin's electrical theories.

Jean-Antoine Nollet
Letters on Electricity
Paris, H. L. Guérin & L. F. Delatour
1760
2 volumes in-12
Full period calf bindings
Spines with raised bands richly ornamented
Title pieces and volume numbers
Illustrated with folding copperplate engravings

Fine overall condition for an 18th-century work:

- sturdy bindings;
- gilt still clearly visible;
- fresh interior;
- all plates present;
- wear and rubbing typical of use on the headpieces and joints;
- a few signs of aging without seriousness.

Abbé Nollet was one of the great popularizers of experimental physics and a key figure in the early days of modern electricity.

This work contains numerous illustrated experiments and is an important item for collectors of: ancient sciences; history of electricity; Enlightenment-era works; scientific bibliophilia.

Very decorative in a library.