Alessandro Volta (1745-1827)

Lettere del sig. Alessandro Volta patrizio comasco ... sull'aria infiammabile nativa delle paludi In Milano, nella stamperia di Giuseppe Marelli, 1777

Large 8°, (190 x 120) , 147,(1) pp, nicely engraved vignette at title page, engraved head and tail pieces, an excellent and crisp copy almost uncut, in original wrappers.

First complete edition, an edition containing only the first two letters was published few weeks earlier and it is overlooked by most bibliographers. The present work includes seven letters by Alessandro Volta to Father Carlo Giuseppe Campi (1732-1799), who was the first to draw Volta's attention to the phenomenon of the "inflammable airs": "Precisely a report from Father Campi to his friend and disciple was an opportunity to attract Volta's attention to the "arie infiammabili native". He (Campi) reported to have observed (1776) a source of "arie infiammabili native" (Magatti, p. 156). Volta's observations brought him to the discovery of the marsh gas, later called methane, previously confused with hydrogen; he collected it by stirring the mud with a stick and letting the bubbles pass into an inverted bottle filled with water. "The discovery of marsh gas... is described by Volta in some letters to Campi, dated from Como (November 1776 to January 1777)... He distinguished it from the inflammable air from metals (hydrogen) by its azure-blue flame and slower combustion, and by its requiring 10-12 vols. Of air for detonation. A much larger electric spark was necessary to ignite marsh gas than to ignite hydrogen. Volta, who invented the electric pistol, thought detonating gas could be used as a propellant..." (Partington). Volta discovery of methane led to its application to the eudiometer, meant to determine the quality of the air, and provided the groundwork to the discovery of the composition of water. A milestone in the history of science.

& Bruno Magatti Le arie infiammabili e la scoperta del metano pp. 151-158 In: A. Volta, Lettere ... sull'aria infiammabile, Reprint, Como, Attilio Sampietro di Menaggio, 2008, pp. 149-211; Partington, History of Chemistry, III, p. 814; Duveen, p. 606; Poggendorff II, 1231; DSB XV, pp. 74-76; Honeyman, 3072; Neville p. 593; Cole 1321; Guareschi La chimica in Italia dal 1750 al 1800 In: Suppl. ann. Enc. Chim., 1912, pp. 395- 403; Mariano Galliano P. Campi Carlo Giuseppe: chierico regolare somasco amico e collaboratore di Alessandro Volta Genova: Editrice Studio e Vita, no date (about 1960)