.Three volumes of the scarce first edition. Volume 1 (1823) in 2 parts, each with its title page. Octavo: Two parts of volume 1, paginated continuously (xiv, 737, [1] ) then volume 2: xviii, 503, [1] pages, 25 plates (4 bis), with six coloured. The title page wrongly announces 22 plates with seven coloured! Ex-libris Fleury. A few occasional signs of foxing and two plates loose. But a lovely set in a fine binding. Mateu Joseph Bonaventura Orfila i Rotger (1787 – 1853) was a prominent Spanish chemist and scholar of the 19th century whose experimental work has enormously contributed to the progress of toxicology. Being a pioneer with his research on the effects of toxins and antidotes on live animals, he established basic principles of modern medicine and pharmacology. Orfila improved the accuracy of several chemical techniques such as the Marsh test. He served as an expert and well-known scientific investigator in important legal trials involving alleged poisonings with arsenic and other chemical substances. In 1840, he was asked to investigate the notorious case of Charles Lafarge’s death, whose wife had been accused with murder by poisoning his food with arsenic. After four failed chemical analyses, Orfila was finally able to detect arsenic in the victim’s body, leading the court to convict Madame Lafarge. Due to his overall contribution to the field, Orfila is considered the father of modern toxicology. The plates depict poisonous snakes, plants, fungi etc. Orfila's work has been very widely studied: Frédéric Chauvaud, Les experts du crime. La médecine légale en France au XIXè siècle (Paris: Aubier, 2000); Frédéric Chauvaud and Laurence Dumoulin (eds.), Experts et expertise judiciaire: France, XIXè et XXè siècles (Rennes: Presses Universitaires de Rennes, 2003). J. R. Bertomeu-Sánchez, A. Nieto-Galan, Chemistry, medicine and crime: Mateu J B Orfila (1787–1853) and his times (Sagamore Beach, MA 2006) R.O. Myers 'Mathieu Joseph Bonaventure Orfila (1787-1853)', Medicine, Science and the Law. 1961; 1:179–185.