Alchemy.- Price (James) An account of some experiments on mercury, silver and gold, made at Guildford in May, 1782. in the laboratory of James Price M.D. F.R.S. To which is prefixed an abridgment of Boyle's account of a degradation of gold, title a little soiled, hole to title with loss to 3 letters of title supplied in an old hand, scattered spotting, 19th century cloth, [Duveen p. 484 "Very rare pamphlet, unknown to the bibliographers"], small 4to, Oxford, at the Clarendon Press, 1782. ⁂ Rare pamphlet claiming the successful transmutation of metals into gold and silver, we can trace no other copy at auction. James Price (1752-83) had a successful career as an Oxford student, becoming a Doctor of Medicine in 1778 and member of the Royal Society in 1781. In 1782 he held a series of public experiments during which he appeared to demonstrate the successful transmutation of metals into gold and silver and published a pamphlet claiming the same to some acclaim. When asked by Fellows of the Royal Society to repeat the feat in front of them, Price claimed that he had run out of the necessary powders and that the costs required to create them far outstripped the value of the metals created. He was however eventually forced to acquiesce and on the day of the demonstration swallowed prussic acid in front of the assembled Fellows and died.
Alchemy.- Price (James) An account of some experiments on mercury, silver and gold, made at Guildford in May, 1782. in the laboratory of James Price M.D. F.R.S. To which is prefixed an abridgment of Boyle's account of a degradation of gold, title a little soiled, hole to title with loss to 3 letters of title supplied in an old hand, scattered spotting, 19th century cloth, [Duveen p. 484 "Very rare pamphlet, unknown to the bibliographers"], small 4to, Oxford, at the Clarendon Press, 1782. ⁂ Rare pamphlet claiming the successful transmutation of metals into gold and silver, we can trace no other copy at auction. James Price (1752-83) had a successful career as an Oxford student, becoming a Doctor of Medicine in 1778 and member of the Royal Society in 1781. In 1782 he held a series of public experiments during which he appeared to demonstrate the successful transmutation of metals into gold and silver and published a pamphlet claiming the same to some acclaim. When asked by Fellows of the Royal Society to repeat the feat in front of them, Price claimed that he had run out of the necessary powders and that the costs required to create them far outstripped the value of the metals created. He was however eventually forced to acquiesce and on the day of the demonstration swallowed prussic acid in front of the assembled Fellows and died.
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.jpg "Source: Christie's")
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
