Transactions of the American Philosophical Society,
Item #81091
[AMERICAN PHILSOPHICAL SOCIETY]. Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, , Held at Philadelphia, for Promoting Useful Knowledge. Volume I. The Second Edition Corrected. Phila.: Printed by R. Aitken & Son, 1789. xxiv,407pp. plus 7 plates (6 folding, including folding map). [with] Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, Held at Philadelphia, for Promoting Useful Knowledge. Volume II. Phila.: Herbert Aitken, 1786. 1st ed. xxxii,397,[1],[10, donations]. 3 folding plates. Orig. tree calf, gilt-ruled spines, red and black morocco spine labels, gilt-chamfered edges. Small library stamp on verso of title pages, else very good. $10,000.00[a] Evans 21651. NAIP w015743. Rink 5 of the Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, the oldest learned institution in the United States. This first edition was partially destroyed during the Revolution, when publication of the TRANSACTIONS was suspended during the years 1772-85. This second edition of Volume I was issued in 1789, to assist in completing extant sets. "The TRANSACTIONS were the first indication that the Society was more than a name. In America it sold well and became a source of pride for to its members. The European reception greatly surpassed the hopes of its most sanguine promoters. The chorus of praise swelled on every hand" - Hindle. This volume is notable for containing papers by Moses Bartram on American silkworms, Dr. Lorimer on the climate of West Florida, and John Ellis on foreign plants that might be usefully grown in America. Also with contributions by John Morgan on sunflower seed oil and an "Essay on the Cultivation of the Vine, and the making and preserving of Wine, suited to the different Climates in North America," by Edward Antill. The folding map shows the area from Baltimore in the south and Philadelphia in the east to Harrisburg in the north and west. Pages v-xiii print the Society's regulations and list of members.. Meisel, American Natural History II, pp.9-17. Hindle, The Pursuit of Science in Revolutionary America, passim. The revised and expanded second edition of the first volume Evans 19465. Vol.2 includes Benjamin Franklin's groundbreaking chart showing the Gulf Stream, at which, to the left of the same sheet, is printed his "Remarks on the Navigation from Newfoundland to New-York, in order to avoid the Gulph Stream" and his work on.
Price: $10,000.00