RUMFORD (Benjamin Thomson, Earl of). Political, economic and - Lot 85

Lot 85
Go to lot
Estimation :
400 - 500 EUR
RUMFORD (Benjamin Thomson, Earl of). Political, economic and - Lot 85
RUMFORD (Benjamin Thomson, Earl of). Political, economic and philosophical essays. Geneva, Manget, An VII, 1799. 2 volumes in-8, green half calf, spine decorated, marbled edges (Binding circa 1840). Coquelin and Guillaumin, t. II, p. 562. - Vicaire, col. 760. - Livres en bouche, n°165. First edition of the French translation, decorated with 8 folding plates. Rumford (1753-1814), an American physicist and philanthropist, is mainly known for his soup and his economic stoves, to which he dedicates several chapters in his Essays. It was in Bavaria, where he was for a time a great chamberlain, that the author perfected an economical method of making soups to relieve the misery of soldiers and the poor: I have found that the cheapest, most agreeable & most substantial food that can be provided for the poor, is a kind of soup composed of pearl barley, peas, potatoes, small slices of white bread, vinegar, salt & water in certain proportions (p. 206) The Essays can be read as an attempt to link technical considerations, related to the consumption of wood or foodstuffs, with moral and political considerations about maintaining social order and integration into civil society. Rumford explained how he had applied this method to integrate into civil society two groups that had been excluded: soldiers and the poor. In both cases, reform began with consumption, which was inseparable from production (Vincent, "Une contre-révolution du consommateur ? Count Rumford in Boston, Munich, London and Paris," in History, Economy & Society, 2013/3, pp. 13-32). Small marginal wetness to the last 3 quires of volume I, some foxing. Minimal rubbing to binding, small peeling of skin with halo at spine of one volume.
My orders
Sale information
Sales conditions
Return to catalogue