New Experiments and Observations Made on Electricity Made at Philadelphia in America. Communicated in Several Letters to P. Collinson, Esq. of London. F.R.S.

FRANKLIN, Benjamin

Published by Printed and sold by D. Henry and R. Cave, London, 1754

About this Item

Full Description: FRANKLIN, Benjamin. New Experiments and Observations Made on Electricity. Made at Philadelphia in America. Communicated in Several Letters to P. Collinson, Esq. of London. F.R.S. London: Printed and sold by D. Henry and R. Cave, 1754. First collected edition and second edition overall. With the first edition of Part III. Three parts in one small quarto volume (9 x 6 7/8 inches; 227 x 174 mm). [2], 109, [6], 112-154 pp. One engraved folding plate in Part I. Engraved head and tail pieces. With separate title-pages for each part, each dated 1754. A few errors in pagination, but collation is correct. Continuous pagination and collation throughout all three parts. We could find no copies of this 1754 first collected edition at auction since 1996. Bound to style in modern full brown morocco. Spine ruled and lettered in gilt. Top edge dyed black, others speckled red. Newer endpapers. Dentelles stamped in blind. Some foxing throughout. Leaf T2 with a repaired two-inch closed tear with no loss. Overall, a very good copy of this elusive title. "The most dramatic result of Franklin's researches was the proof that lightning is really an electrical phenomenon. Others had made such a suggestion before him- even Newton himself- but it was he who provided the experimental proof. In 1752 he flew a kite in a thunderstorm and attached a key to its string. From this he collected electric charges in a Leiden jar and showed that atmospheric and frictional or machine-made electricity are the same . Experiments and Observations remains the most important scientific book of eighteenth-century America" (PMM). "Franklin's most important scientific publication. The first part contained Franklin's first reports on the novel electrical experiments with the Leyden jar performed by himself and three other researchers during the later half of the 1740s. These experiments led to Franklin's successful analysis of the electrical properties of the Leyden jar , and the enunciation of his 'single fluid' theory of electricity, a full statement of which appears at the end of this part. The single fluid theory, although flawed in its inability to explain the mutual repulsion of negatively charged bodies, has several important assets, the most valuable being its explanation of induced charges. It was Franklin's clear understanding of this process that caused his theory to be so widely adopted by his contemporaries, and it has its practical laboratory uses even today" (Norman). The second part included Franklin's account of the famous kite experiment establishing lightning as an electrical phenomenon. The third part of the work developed Franklin's explanation of induced charges. "America's first great scientific contribution" (Howes). ESTC N23554. Howes F-324. Norman Library 830. Sabin 25559. Wheeler Gift 367a. PMM 199 (Regarding 1st edition). HBS 69164. $25,000.

Seller Inventory # 69164

Bibliographic Details

• Title: New Experiments and Observations Made on Electricity Made at Philadelphia in America. Communicated in Several Letters to P. Collinson, Esq. of London. F.R.S.
• Publisher: Printed and sold by D. Henry and R. Cave, London
• Publication Date: 1754
• Binding: Soft cover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Seller catalogs:
  • PMM
  • Science and Technology