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. , 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 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 " (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 waters upon correct chemical principles was undertaken in New Haven [1806] ... and ... a public establishment for this purpose was opened under the direction of Professor Silliman. An establishment of the same kind, and under the same direction, was effected in New York in 1809 ..." (15).

Conversations on Chemistry (1818)

In the 1818 and 1820 editions of Marcet's Conversations on Chemistry, notes and observations were added "by an American gentleman" (16). The only alterations of the British text were three brief notes in an appendix. The library catalog card for the 1818 edition in the Edgar F. Smith Memorial Collection has the notation: "additions by J. L. Comstock" (17). A librarian's comment on the Library of Congress card for this work and on the title page of the volume in the Boston Public Library also attribute the work to John L. Comstock. Eleven editions of Conversations from 1822 to 1850 did indeed have Comstock's name printed as editor on the title page. Evidence, however, does not support the conclusion that he also edited the 1818 and 1820 editions. A comparison of the anonymous notes in the 1818 edition, with those known to be Comstock's in the 1822 edition, shows no similarity whatsoever. The 1818 edition had only three brief, rather elementary notes by the American editor in an appendix. Comstock's 1822 edition, however, had voluminous footnotes containing sophisticated additions, corrections, and explanations. h 88 Arn dtn f Mrt Cnvrtn n Comstock exhibited a chemical knowledge and experience far Chtr th "t nd Obrvtn b n Arn beyond that of the 1818 editor (18). Gntln" Another early chemistry writer, John Ruggles Coning, taught about this time in an academy in Greenfield, but had a frontispiece engraving of the "Pneumatic Cistern of Massachusetts, where the 1818 and 1820 Conversations were Yale College" and appendices giving "a description of the published. A comparison of the Conversations appendix notes pneumatic cistern" and "the manufacture of artificial mineral with Cotting's 1822 text, An Introduction to Chemistry, waters in the " (13). The British contents were shows no similarity, however (19), and the identity of the unaltered. "American gentleman" remains a mystery. These volumes were apparently also edited by Benjamin Conversations on Chemistry was a popular elementary Silliman, Sr. Publication in New Haven and the mention of chemistry text in the format of a classroom discussion between Yale would suggest Silliman. The frontispiece drawing and a lady teacher and two girl students. Published anonymously the appendix description of the pneumatic cistern of Yale for almost 30 years in England and America, it eventually bore College were the same as those in the 1810 edition of Henry's the author's name, Mrs. Jane Haldimand Marcet. The wife of Epitome of Experimental Chemistry, which did list Silliman a London physician and chemist, she also authored other as its editor. The last line of the appendix description of the children's books. Michael Faraday credited Marcet's pneumatic cistern at Yale ended with: "... executed by the Conversations with influencing his scientific career (20). writer, B. Silliman" (14). Marcet attended the lectures of Sir Humphry Davy and was Silliman was involved in a commercial venture to market quick to add his new ideas to her text - a practice that was artificial mineral waters. This enterprise must have been the sometimes criticized by her American editors. The book incentive for the three-page, state-of-the-art appendix in enjoyed wide circulation in America and had at least seven Conversations. (A similar appendix on artificial mineral water different American editors from 1806 to 1850. In addition to ll. t. Ch. 2 (88 the "American gentleman," Comstock and Silliman, other editors were William H. Keating, Joseph Cloud, Thomas Cooper, and Thomas P. Jones.

A Chemical Catechism (1821)

The 1821 edition of Samuel Parkes' Chemical Catechism did not list an American editor, but several footnotes were inserted in brackets and initialed "G" (21). These bracketed notes were not present in 1816 and 1818 editions. They are concluded to be American because the obvious British notes are not bracketed and because one of the bracketed notes boasted of Robert Hare as the inventor of the oxygen-hydrogen compound blowpipe. Such a comment was common in American chemistry books of that era because European scientists had failed to give Hare credit for the invention. The only prominent American chemists active in 1821 with surnames beginning with "G" were John Gorham, who taught chemistry at Harvard; Jacob Green, who taught at Princeton; and John Griscom, who taught at Rutgers Medical School and Monitorial High School in and gave public lectures in chemistry. Of these three, John Griscom is the most likely editor. Gorham was too busy with a medical practice and his own two-volume text, The Elements of Chemical Science, brought out in 1819-20. Although Green did publish anonymous works on chemistry and electricity, he had just begun his chemical career in 1818. Griscom was not only well experienced with secondary level science, for which the

h 88 Arn dtn f l n Chtr th "Addtnl t b n Arn rfr f Chtr"

Catechism was designed, but also lived in New York where it was published. No confirmation of Griscom serving as editor has been found.

Dialogues in Chemistry (1818)

Dialogues in Chemistry by Jerimiah Joyce was a small two volume British text for juveniles. The format was similar to Marcet's Conversations on Chemistry except that the discus- sion took place between a male tutor and two boy students. The science content of Dialogues was more elementary than that of Conversations. The single American edition contained "additional notes by an American Professor of Chemistry" (22). The only alteration from the British edition was eight pages of brief notes in appendices at the end of the two n Mrt (6 88, h xtrl pplr b Cnvr volumes. tn n Chtr pblhd fr nrl 0 r tht hr n n th ttl p. Athrhp f th b frntl Editorship of this American edition is not definite, but it ttrbtd t hr n Arn dtr nd vn t t t Mr. may also have been the work of Benjamin Silliman, Sr. The rnt, th ftnl thr h ld th nvrtn n th b. phrase "American Professor of Chemistry" is very similar to 0 ll. t. Ch. 2 (88

"A professor of chemistry in this country" that Silliman used . W. nr, An Ept f Exprntl Chtr, Wll in his 1808 edition of Henry's Epitome discussed above. A Andr, tn, 80, ttl p. comparison of the notes of Dialogues with those in Epitome 0. . Slln, r., Arn Cntrbtn t Chtr, does not reveal any identical passages, but each work located Clln, hldlph, 84, p. 0. hn Mln (84 tht notes in an appendix and each exhibited a similar third person htr t rntn nd n rl prpnnt f vr n writing style. Although different topics are considered in the ntphlt htr nt th Untd Stt. two sets of notes, several similar topics and wordings can be . frn 8, p. . found. Silliman made a very personal comment about the 2. G. . hr, f f njn Slln, Chrl Srbnr nd preparation of nitrous oxide in his 1810 Epitome: "If the gas C., Yr, 866, l. I, p. 22. be skillfully prepared, the precaution of letting it stand several . [. Mrt], Cnvrtn n Chtr, Sdn r fr hours over water seems to be unnecessary... The writer has not Inr & C C., vn, 8, frntp nd ttl p. hesitated to administer it for respiration within half an hour ..." 4. Ibd., p. . (23). A shorter note about this same topic in Dialogues reads: . Ibd., p. 8. "If proper care be taken in preparing this gas, it need not stand 6. [. Mrt], Cnvrtn n Chtr, n nd hlp, so long over water. It may be used with safety in one hour" (24). Grnfld, M., 88, ttl p. Several other notes give similar advice without using identical . Ctl f th Edr . Sth Mrl Clltn n th wording. tr f Chtr, G. K. ll & C., tn, 60, pp. nd No mention of an editorship of Dialogues can be found in . biographies of Silliman, but neither did he acknowledge the 8. [. Mrt], Cnvrtn n Chtr, Olvr . C, editorship of Conversations. Perhaps Silliman did not want his rtfrd, 822. hn Ct, M.. (888 name associated with such elementary chemistry. rtfrd, Cnntt phn h bndnd th prt f If Silliman wasn't the editor, the list of American professors dn t b rtr f n txtb tht r dl of chemistry in 1818 would not be large: John Gorham at d vr 40 r prd hn Arn ndr dtn Harvard; Parker Cleaveland at Bowdin; Thomas Cooper and n th frtv t. In ddtn t dtn lvn dtn f Robert Hare in Philadelphia; James F. Dana at Dartmouth; Cnvrtn, h rt Grr f Chtr (t dtn, John Griscom in New York; Thomas P. Jones at William and Elnt f Chtr (vr 00 dtn fr 8 t 8, A Mary. A study of the writings and biographies of these men St f trl hlph (22 dtn fr 80 t 86, nd fails to give any hint of the editorship of Dialogues. bt 20 thr txt n l, nrl, bl, btn, phl nd htr. Elnt f Chtr rvd frn nd t d rv n . . lr, J. Ch. Ed., , 2, . . . . Cttn, An Intrdtn t Chtr..., Chrl Er, . W. Ml, b, Chrn., 2, 18, . tn, 822. Cttn t dffrnt t ntr, ht, 2. [. hn], A New St f Chtr Cprn th ltrr, ndr n thr, nd lt fr th Stt f t t vr nd Iprvnt f th Sn, h bn, Gr. htr txt, hh hd nl n dtn, drbd hldlph, 800, ttl p. n . . Mnr, J. Ch. Ed., 2, 6, 44. . W. Ml, Ch, 0, 3, 00. 20. n Mrt nd hr Cnvrtn n Chtr hv bn 4. W. Ml, . Ch. Ed., , 30, 84. th bjt f vrl ppr. S: Ev . Artrn, J. Ch. Ed., . Wrtn f . . Sth hv bn rprdd n th r f 8, , . K. Crlln, J. Ch. Ed., , 6, 4 M. E. th hl htrn, Edr . Sth. S E. . Sth, Chtr rr, . Ch. Ed., 8, 62, 4 G. W. nrCnh, n Ar, . Appltn nd C., Yr, 4, pp. 246, nd E. Edtn n Chtr, 8, 20, 40. . Sth, Chtr n Old hldlph, . . ppntt C., 2. S. r, h Chl Cth, Clln nd C., hldlph, , pp. 42. Yr, 82, p. 8. 6. frn 2, p. 2. 22. . , l n Chtr, Etb nd C., . . hn, A St f Chtr, Inldn Mnrl Yr, 88, ttl p. nd tbl, Anl nd n Sbtn, Cprhndn th 2. frn , t, p. xv. tt vr nd Iprvnt f th Sn, h bn, 24. frn 22, l. I, p. 26. hldlph, 80, ttl p. r ddtnl nfrtn n hn rltnhp t th Enlpd, : . S. Kltn, Ch, 48, , 8 n I. vn nd . S. Kltn, I, 4, William D. Williams is Professor of Chemistry at Harding 4, 6 nd . . rtntn, A tr f Chtr, Mlln nd University, Searcy, AR 72143. He collects and studies early C., ndn, 64, l. , p. 6. American chemistry texts. The author would welcome additional 8. W. nr, An Ept f Chtr, Clln, Yr, 808, clues or confirmations in these literary detective cases. ttl p.