The Story of Chemistry

The Story of Chemistry is an accessible and inviting book peppered with delightful illustrations that detail the historical development of modern chemistry. Picton divides the history of chemistry into 9 periods and leads readers to the advancing conceptualizations and understanding of chemistry through foundational experiments and influential thinkers. Starting with Alchemical Mysticism and tracing the development to Atomic Theory, Picton’s work is a treasure for anyone interested in the history of science and supports the libraries’ interests in acquiring historical materials of a popular nature that relate to the sciences.

Condition and treatment: This is a decorative late 19th century publisher’s binding with a handwritten black ink inscription on the flyleaf that reads, “WJ Smith.” The cloth covered boards are detaching from the textblock along the inner hinges. The textblock is difficult to open due to the brittle spine linings that are failing. Conservation staff will fully detach the original cover, remove brittle spine linings, reline the textblock and reattach the cover. The book will be housed in a cloth covered clamshell enclosure.