The History of a Lump of Chalk : Its family circle and their uses
London: A. Johnston, 6, Paternoster Buildings, 1883. Pictorial Boards. First Edition of this charming popularization, one of a series making seemingly mundane subjects fascinating. Crown 8vo (188 x 120mm): viii,88,[8] with ten text figures. Original pictorial publisher’s boards (featuring a wedge of chalk embedded with an ammonite), printed in red and black. Bookseller's ticket to front paste-down: D. B. Friend, 77 Western Road, Brighten. Very minor shelf wear, but a superb survival (scarce in commerce and in institutional collections), tightly bound and clean throughout. Fine. Item #BB2694
According to booksellers Pickering & Chatto, Watt was a son of Charles Watt, of Burgess & Watt, inventors of a process of making wood pulp into paper. The son wrote a series of well-reviewed shilling books on such subjects as soap manufacture, leather, electrometallurgy, paper-making, and, here, chalk, dealing with seemingly every possible use to which chalk has been put, including an analysis of water in the Trafalgar Square fountains. N. B. With few exceptions (always identified), we only stock books in exceptional condition, carefully preserved in archival, removable mylar sleeves. All orders are packaged with care and posted promptly. Satisfaction guaranteed. (Fine Editions Ltd is a member of the Independent Online Booksellers Association, and we subscribe to its codes of ethics.).
Price: $199.00