8vo. viii, 114pp. Later brown cloth with gilt title to spine. Armorial bookplate of the Meteorological Office London to FEP, with ink stamp of same to title. Lightly rubbed.

Richard Kirwan (1733-1812) Irish chemist, fellow of the Royal Society, and contemporary and correspondent with such scientific luminaries as Priestley and Joseph Black. Kirwan, though respected for his substantial contribution to the methods of analytical chemistry, often met with controversy given his position as a staunch proponent of the theory of phlogiston - most notably with famed natural philosophers Lavoisier and Cavendish.