6 Bull. Hist. Chem. 2

6 ll. t. Ch. 2 (88 di scienze naturali ed economiche. Palermo, 86 ( Aprl, , OLD CHEMISTRIES 4. Krnr thn rn n Stnl Cnnzzr lbrtr n lr. I h t thn rfr nll ln f th Mystery Editors of Early American Chemistry Texts Unvrt f lr fr ndn phtp f th Itln rtl. Wll . Wll, rdn Unvrt . G. Krnr, Ueber die Bestimmung des chemischen Ortes bei den aromatischen Substanzen, d. G. rn nd . nztt American chemistry, like its culture and commerce, was (Ostwalds Klassiker der exakten Wissenschaften, . 4, pz, dominated by European influence until the latter half of the 0, p. 19th century. More than half of the chemistry books published 4. r xpl, b A. r, Annalen der Chemie, 80, 155, in America prior to 1850 were American editions of European 282, 2 b C. Shrlr, J. Chem. Soc., 8, 24, 4n. b W. works (1). The most widely used European works included Kn, Ber. Deutsch. Chem. Ges., 8, /2, 4 nd b r, Chaptal's Elnt f Chtr (1796 to 1813), Henry's rl n 86 ( lttr pblhd hr. Svrl nr Ept f Chtr nd Elnt fExprntl Chtr ntprr r rt tht Krnr nt "rv ttthlnn" (1802 to 1831), Marcet's Cnvrtn n Chtr (1806 t frnd rfrn fr ttn. to 1850), Brande's Mnl f Chtr (1821 to 1839), . r, "On th Oxdtn rdt f ln,"r. Roy. Turner's Elnt f Chtr (1830 to 1874) and Fowne's Soc. Edinburgh, 82 (rd n 6 n 80, , 2 bd., Trans. Mnl f Elntr Chtr (1845 to 1878). Even so- Roy. Soc. Edinburgh, 82, 26, 86. th f th rtl r called "American authored" chemistry books were largely frt pblhd n 82, bt rprnt pprd n Chemical News, abstracts or mosaics of European works - chiefly British, 8 (2 nr, 2, 84. Indeed, most early American chemical writers described 6. r xpl, A. dnbr, Ber. Deutsch. Chem. Ges., 88, themselves as "compilers" rather than authors. 16, 206 E. vn Mr, History of Chemistry, Mlln, ndn, Before the time of international copyright agreements, 8, p. E. jlt, Geschichte der Or ganischen Chemie, , American publishers found it cheaper and less risky to reprint rn, 6, pp. 262. a foreign issue than to import it or to use an untried American . h frt rtr tll t t th Itln jrnl G. work. Some of these reprints were unaltered copies, while Shltz, Chemie des Steinkohlentheers, 2nd d., l. , , others had American chemists as editors. The editor was rn, 886, pp. 4228. r thr xpl, rfrn . responsible for proofreading and evaluating the text. He added 8. h prrph rzd n rfrn . footnotes, appendices, or an American preface or frontispiece. I rtfl t rfr K. fnr fr prn t th The editor was usually listed on the title page and signed his lltn n M , nd fr prn t pblh th lttr. additions with "Ed" or the initial of his surname. 0. h Krnr rdn n th rtl prdn ftnt A few of the earliest 19th century American chemists r vdntl hd rvd rprnt r dtld ntn preferred to keep their editorship anonymous. Three such fr Krnr thn x ftr pbltn f th Itln rtl. volumes attributed notes to "an American gentleman", "a . r, "On th Clr ," Rep. Brit. Assoc. Adv. professor of chemistry in this country" and "an American Sci., 868, 38, 6. h "plt fr" "On th Oxdtn professor of chemistry." Another three texts made no mention rdt f ln," rd t th Ednbrh l St n r of an editor, but contained initialed American footnotes or ftr th lttr rttn. other obvious American additions. 2. "rbprdn" d f r prdndrbxl The following describes these x anonymously edited d. I nnt tht th hxnl trtr f prdn vn chemistry books and seeks to identify each "mystery chemist" pld b r ttn fr h 868 ppr. editor. E. Artrn, " r," J. Chem. Soc., 28, 130, 0666, n p. 06 d, James Dewar, Snn, ndn, 24, pp. A St f Chtr (800 6, 17. In 1800, a collection of articles pirated from the Spplnt t th hrd Edtn f th Enlpd rttn was issued by publisher Thomas Dobson in Philadelphia under the title Aln . rtr f th tr f Sn nd A St f Chtr ... (2). The title page did not list hnl rr t Case Wtrn rv Unvrt, author, editor, or source, but American footnotes signed "T.P.S." Clvlnd, O 4406. th thr f th b "Chl were added to the 197 page section on chemistry. The additional At n th ntnth Cntr: r ltn t articles (Mineralogy, Animal and Vegetable Substances, and Cnnzzr" nd prtlrl ntrtd n th rn f th Dyeing Substances) did not contain "T.P.S." footnotes. trtrl thr f rn htr. The date and initials leave little doubt that this American editor was Thomas Peters Smith (1777-1802), a promising Bull. Hist. Chem. 2 (1988) 7 young Philadelphia chemist (3-4). Since Philadelphia was then the center of science in America, it is a testimony to Smith's ability that he was chosen editor when men like James Woodhouse, John Redman Coxe and Robert Hare were locally available. As a member of the Chemical Society of Philadel- phia, Smith had already distinguished himself with work on committees of the society and by presenting the annual address in 1798. This address, A Sth f th vltn n Chtr, is the earliest known publication of an American chemical society (5). From May 1800 to August 1802, Smith toured Europe, visiting scientists and observing industrial methods. On the voyage home, he was killed at the untimely age of 25 by an explosion of the ship's cannon. American chemistry and technology suffered the loss of a tremendous potential. The editing of A St was one of Smith's last projects before he left for Europe. The sailing date probably caused him to be rushed in the task, because the first footnote States (6): njn Slln ( 864 th nn dtr f vrl Arn dtn f rl th ntr rth htr txt. h rtr f th nt nd b ..S. ndr hlf rpnbl fr n thr rrr ntnd n th t f htr thn th The latter contained the same notes as the earlier, but in this ntnd n h n nt. r nbr f rtn, h edition, the title page listed the editor as "Benjamin Silliman, ndr th nt f rdn th r rrl, tht prbbl professor of chemistry at Yale College" (9). n ddtn hh n r tr ndrtn h ht Benjamin Silliman, Sr. (1779-1864) taught chemistry at hv bjtd t, hv pd nntd. Yale from 1804 to 1853. He used Henry as a text until 1830, when he bought out his own two volume Elnt f Chtr. The unnamed British author of the original Enlpd Silliman enjoyed a wide reputation as a public lecturer and as rttn article presents another "mystery chemist". He was founder and editor of h Arn rnl f Sn nd identified in the second American edition of A St Art. There were clues in the 1808 edition that would have f Chtr in 1803. It contained identical contents and identified S illiman as the editor, even without the 1810 edition. pagination (including the notes by T.P.S.), but this time the title A note on "Gazometer and Air-Holders" ends with a mention page included "By Thomas Thomson" (7). Another brilliant of "Mr. Hare's compound blowpipe ... which was suggested to youth, Thomson had become editor of the supplement of the the writer while in Philadelphia ..." The association of Silliman Enlpd while attending medical school at Edinburgh. and Hare, while they studied chemistry underJames Woodhouse The article on chemistry was the preliminary experience for his at the University of Pennsylvania, is well documented. four-volume treatise, A St f Chtr, published in Some references, including one by Benjamin Silliman, Jr., Edinburgh in 1802. A comparison of the shorter Enlpd regard John Maclean as "associated with ... Prof. Silliman in article with the later large work reveals many identical passages. editing the first American edition of Henry's Chemistry in At the time Thomas P. Smith edited the Enlpd 1808" (10). This appears, however, to be an incorrect conclusion article, Thomson was not yet an established authority and it is from a letter of recommendation in that volume. This letter, doubtful that Smith knew whom he was editing. At any rate, signed by both Maclean and Silliman, stated that "we have Smith did not hesitate to disagree with the author, insert his adopted it (Henry's Ept for our respective classes," but own definitions, or make alternative explanations. At the age goes on to specify, "A revised and corrected edition has, at the of 23, Smith exhibited considerable chemical self-confidence. request of one* of us, been printed ..." The footnote stated: "*B. Silliman" (11). In his autobiographical reminiscences, Ept f Chtr (808 the senior S illiman wrote of the 1808 "republication of Henry's chemistry with my additions" (12). The 1808 edition of William Henry's Ept f Chtr had "notes by a professor of chemistry in this country" (8). The Cnvrtn n Chtr (80 British text was unaltered and a 20-page American appendix of notes was added. This "professor of chemistry" is readily The 1809, the 1813 and the 1814 editions of Jane Marcet's identified by comparing the 1810 edition of the same work. "Cnvrtn n Chtr, did not list an American editor, 8 ll. t. Ch. 2 (88 was also in the 1810, Silliman edited, Henry's Epitome.) The appendix in the 1809 and 1813 Conversations concluded: "The manufacture of mineral waters upon correct chemical principles was undertaken in New Haven [1806] ..

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