DAVY, HUMPHRY. 1778-1829.


Researches, Chemical and Philosophical chiefly concerning Nitrous Oxide or Dephlogisticated Nitrous Air, and its Respiration. London: J. Johnson, 1800. 8vo (215 x 134 mm). Engraved frontispiece illustration. 20th century quarter calf and marbled boards. Slight offsetting from frontispiece, minor spotting.FIRST EDITION. Davy published this work when he was just 22 years old, after trying the anesthetic on himself the year before. In the second part of the book, there are testimonials of patients describing their use of nitrous oxide, including Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Josiah Wedgwood, and the poet Robert Southey. Garrison Morton 5646; Norman 607.