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Lassaigne's Abrégé Élémentaire de Chimie (Elementary Compendium of Chemistry), published in two volumes, is a textbook that reflects the state of chemistry during the early nineteenth century. 

The author, Jean Louis Lassaigne, was a prominent French chemist known for his contributions to organic analysis, especially the development of the sodium fusion test for nitrogen detection. Lassaigne's Abrégé Élémentaire de Chimie stands alongside other seminal 19th-century chemistry texts that sought to standardize chemical knowledge and make it accessible to a wider audience. It reflects the post-Lavoisier era's emphasis on rigorous experimentation, systematic classification, and practical applications of chemistry.

BOOK DESCRIPTION AND CONDITION:

Abrégé Élementaire de Chimie, 2 Vols. Paris/Bruxelles: Bechet Jeune Librairie, 1829. 8vo, original boards rebacked in cloth, morocco labels, some foxing throughout; 2 folding tables plus Atlas w/6 folding plates; 15 folding hand-colored plates. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jean Louis Lassaigne was a notable French chemist born in Paris on September 22, 1800. A student of the eminent chemist Louis-Nicolas Vauquelin, Lassaigne became best known for his work on sodium and sodium compounds, particularly the sodium fusion test—still called the “Lassaigne test”—used to detect nitrogen, sulfur, and halogens in organic compounds. In 1828, he became professor of chemistry at the École Royale Vétérinaire d'Alfort, near Paris, where he taught until 1854. He also published a widely used Dictionnaire des réactifs chimiques in 1839, a key reference for chemists engaged in laboratory work, forensic science, and analytical chemistry. His pedagogical and theoretical contributions, especially his defense of atomism and graphical representation of chemical phenomena, played a formative role in the development of modern chemical education in France.

BOOK CONTENTS

Volume 1: “Inorganic and Mineral Chemistry – First Part.”
XI pages of Title and Preface, 722 pages. Contains an Introduction, preliminary concepts, and two books of XVIII and XXI chapters primarily dedicated to the description of simple bodies and mineral compounds.

Book One covers metalloids:

I. Simple bodies or elements, nomenclature.
II. Proportions, equivalents, atomic theory (Lassaigne supported Berzelius's theory and symbolism, favoring atomism over Dumas's official French ideology based on equivalents), symbolic signs...
III–XVIII. Air, oxygen, water, hydrogen, carbon (including combustion), chlorine, bromine, iodine, fluorine, phosphorus, nitrogen, arsenic, sulfur, selenium, boron, silicon.

Book Two covers metals:

I. General remarks.
II–XXXI. Potassium, sodium, lithium, calcium, barium, strontium, aluminum, yttrium, glucinium (beryllium), zirconium, magnesium, manganese, iron, zinc, cadmium, tin, nickel, antimony, bismuth, copper, lead, chromium (sic), vanadium, tungsten, tantalum, titanium, tellurium, cerium, uranium, lanthanum, mercury, osmium, silver, gold, platinum, palladium.

Volume 2: “Inorganic and Mineral Chemistry – Second Part. Organic Chemistry.”

819 pages, one unnumbered page of errata at the end, and four folded pages of analytical characterization tables after page 786. Contains two books of IV and XXIV chapters.

Book One deals with salts:

I. Salts (of various acids).
II. Metallic salts examined by species, chemical properties, preparation, and physical/chemical characteristics (XXVI sections describe salts of metals covered in vol. 1, with practical applications).
III. Ammonium-based salts.
IV. Interaction of oxides, their natural and artificial combinations (clays, glass, enamels, faience, mortars...).

Book Two deals with organic chemistry:

I. Plant substances.
II. Plant acids.
III. Alkaloids.
IV. Neutral immediate principles (sugars).
V. Hydrogenated immediate principles (fats, oils, resins...).
VI. Colorants (indigo, hematin, alizarin... chlorophyll).
VII. Vegeto-animal substances (proteins: albumin, gluten...).
VIII. Various types of fermentation and products (ferments still unknown, assumed to be mycoderm-like globules with composition C48 H82 Az12 O20), including wine, alcohol, bread...
IX. Animal chemistry.
X–XIV. Immediate principles: neutral (albumin, casein, creatine, urea...), colored (blood, bile), highly hydrogenated, acidic (uric, rosacic, lactic...), artificial products (gelatin, margarine...).
XV–XVII. Animal fluids: chyle, blood, lymph; secretions: bile, saliva, etc.; fluids acidified by air (sweat, milk, urine...).
XVIII. Hydrogen-rich animal substances (animal fats).
XIX. Solid components of animal tissue (bones, teeth).
XX. Invertebrate animals (e.g., cochineal dye).
XXI. Physiological and chemical processes of animal digestion.
XXII. Chemical processes of respiration in various animal classes.
XXIII. Putrid fermentation or putrefaction (with preservation methods).
XXIV. Glossary of utensils and vessels used in laboratories, and principles of qualitative analysis.

Chemistry, Medicine, Science - Quantity: 2 - Book

J. L. Lassaigne - Abrégé élémentaire de chimie - 1839

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