272 - Rumford, Benjamin, Count of. Essays, Political, Economic, and Philosophical. Volumes I and II (of IV) in first editions. London: T. Cadell / W. Davies, 1796 and 1798. Frontispiece, title page, 2 leaves, 11 leaves, 464 pp., 1 text illustration (view of Munich, Army Workhouse) and 14 figures on 6 copper plates; title page, 2 leaves, 496 pp., 11 copper plates with 23 figures (attributed to S. Neele, ca. 1758–1824) as well as 1 copper plate folded multiple times. 2 half-leather volumes, saffian, with gilt spines.

Rumford, Benjamin, Count of. Essays, Political, Economic, and Philosophical. Volumes I and II (of IV) in first editions. London: T. Cadell / W. Davies, 1796 and 1798. Frontispiece, title page, 2 leaves, 11 leaves, 464 pp., 1 text illustration (view of Munich, Army Workhouse) and 14 figures on 6 copper plates; title page, 2 leaves, 496 pp., 11 copper plates with 23 figures (attributed to S. Neele, ca. 1758–1824) as well as 1 copper plate folded multiple times. 2 half-leather volumes, saffian, with gilt spines. Followed from 1802 by Volumes III and IV. – Experiences and deeds of the author, a versatile Enlightenment thinker and reformer in Bavaria, who served in Munich from 1784, initially as General Aide-de-Camp to Elector Karl Theodor. He later served as Commander-in-Chief and reorganizer of the Bavarian army, became Minister of War in 1788 (and had already been an honorary member of the Electoral Bavarian Academy of Sciences since 1785), and in 1796 chaired the State Council in negotiations with the warring nations. As a social reformer, Rumford (who became an Imperial Count in 1792) made a lasting mark by establishing poorhouses, workshops, and schools in Bavaria; the memory of “Rumford’s Soup” has endured. A detailed description of social conditions in Bavaria, particularly in Munich, spans 299 pages in Vol. I: “The Poor in Bavaria.” This successful work on social reform received a fitting response; the fifth edition was published in London as early as 1800 due to its practical guidance on setting up commercial kitchens and improving mass catering—with concrete recipes as well as advice on purchasing supplies and managing energy costs— each accompanied by detailed accounts of experiments. – The copies of our first edition are in good condition, each with names on the title page, half-title page, and frontispiece of Vol. I (which bears a 1794 watermark) along with handwritten notes. Moderate foxing here and there.