255 - [PHYSICS]. SIGAUD DE LA FOND, Joseph-Aignan. A Historical and Experimental Account of Electrical Phenomena, from the Origin of This Discovery to the Present Day.

[PHYSICS]. SIGAUD DE LA FOND, Joseph-Aignan. A Historical and Experimental Account of Electrical Phenomena, from the Origin of This Discovery to the Present Day. Second edition of this compendium tracing the history of discoveries in electricity from antiquity, illustrated with 10 large fold-out plates engraved by Sellier, well-preserved in its period binding. Paris, Rue et Hôtel Serpente, 1785. In-8, full fawn marbled calfskin, spine with guilloché raised bands, gilt fleurons between the bands, burgundy title label, gilt fillet on the edges, red edges (contemporary binding). XVI, 2 ff. of errata, 624 pp., 2 ff. (privileges), 10 fold-out plates engraved by Sellier. Minor scuffing, top edge worn. Second, considerably expanded edition of this compendium tracing the complete history of discoveries in electricity from antiquity to the latest experiments of the 18th century. The author details the work of Franklin, Nollet, Musschenbroek (the Leyden jar), and Priestley, while also presenting his own demonstrations on conductivity, electric sparks, lightning, and the first medical applications of electric fluid. Jean-René Sigaud de La Fond (1735–1810) was a French physicist and educator who, along with his mentor Abbé Nollet, was one of the pioneers of experimental physics and its teaching, notably by establishing the first “physics cabinets .” A fine copy in a contemporary binding.