First Edition. 8vo. in fours. 106 leaves; woodcut diagram on page (35).
Quérard II, page 94.
Poggendorff I, 409.
Bound for Jefferson in tree calf. Not initialled by him. With the Library of Congress 1815 bookplate.
Presentation copy from the author, with an inscription on the verso of the title leaf:
Presented at the request of the Author, to Thomas Jefferson Esqre by J. F.
Jean-André Cazalet, 1750-1821, French chemist.
[852]
J.30
Not in the Manuscript Catalogue.
1815 Catalogue, page 35. no. 28, Cooper’s introductory lecture in Chemistry, 8vo.
COOPER,
Thomas.
The Introductory Lecture, of Thomas Cooper, Esq. Professor of Chemistry at Carlisle College Pennsylvania. Published at the Request of the Trustees. With Notes and References.
Carlisle: Printed by
Archibald Loudon [for
Patrick Byrne],
1812.
QD14 .C8
First Edition. 8vo. in fours. 122 leaves: [ ]
4, A-Z, Aa-Ff
4, Gg
2;
Patrick Byrne’s advertisement on the back of the title.
Not in Sabin.
Not in Ferguson.
Original tree calf; corrections and notes in ink by the author occur, that on the last page (a quotation from Von Humboldt’s
New Spain
), cut into by the binder.
Presentation copy from the author who has written on the title-page:
The author to T. Jefferson Esq.
On the 26th of June, 1812, John E. Hall wrote to Jefferson from Baltimore: “In a parcel of books which I have just received from my friend Judge Cooper, I find a copy of his Lecture on Chemistry, which
I presume was intended to be forwarded to you by me. I shall therefore transmit it by the same post with this letter . . .”
On July 10, 1812, Jefferson wrote from Monticello to Cooper: “
I recieved by our last post, through m(
~
r)
Hall of Baltimore, a copy of your introductory lecture to a course of chemistry for which accept my thanks. I have just entered
on the reading of it and percieve that I have a feast before me. I discover, from an error of the binder, that my copy has
duplicates of pages 122. 123. 126. 127. and wants altogether pages 121. 124. 125. 128. and foreseeing that every page will
be a real loss, and that the book has been printed at Carlisle, I will request your directions to the printer to inclose those
4. pages under cover to me at this place
near Milton
. . . altho there are typographical errors in your lecture, I wonder to see so difficult a work so well done at Carlisle
. . .
”
On January 16, 1814 Jefferson wrote to Cooper: “
Your favor of Nov. 8. if it was rightly dated, did not come to hand till Dec. 13. and being absent on a long journey it has
remained unanswered till now. the copy of your introductory lecture was recieved & acknoleged in my letter of July 12. 1812.
with which I sent you Tracy’s 1
st. vol. on Logic . . .
”
Thomas Cooper, M.D. 1759-1840, natural philosopher, lawyer and politician, was born in London. He emigrated to America in 1793, to join
his friend Priestley and brought with him a letter of introduction to Jefferson from Joseph Barnes. He occupied the chair
of chemistry at Dickinson College at Carlisle, in the University of Pennsylvania, and at South Carolina College. Later he
was offered the chair of chemistry at the University of Virginia by Jefferson. In a letter to Joseph Cabell, written on June
27, 1810, Jefferson described Cooper as “
a political refugee with D
r. Priestley from the fires & mobs of Birmingham. he is one of the ablest men in America, & that in several branches of science
. . .
”
[853]
