1839 INSCRIBED by Convicted Murderer John W. Webster

Description: A Manual of Chemistry, Containing the Principal Facts of the Science, in the Order in Which They are Discussed and Illustrated in the Lectures at Harvard University, N.E. and Several Other Colleges and Medical Schools in the United States. Compiled and Arranged as a Text Book for the Use of Students, and Persons Attending Lectures on Chemistry. Third Edition, Comprising a Summary of the Latest Discoveries as Contained in the Works of Brande, Turner, Thomson and Other Distinguished Chemists, Illustrated with Upwards of Two Hundred Engravings on Wood. By John W. Webster, M.D. Erving Professor of Chemistry and Mineralogy in Harvard University. Boston: Published by Marsh, Capen, Lyon and Webb, 1839, Inscribed by Convicted Murderer John W. Webster (JWW), 556 pp, 9.25 x 6". **This is a third edition, which is the first edition with announcement of the Daguerreotype process (p. 507) - Photographic Drawing. In fair condition. Cloth boards beginning to chip around all edges; corners are bumped as well. Head and tail of spine lacking - binding exposed. Cloth beginning to chip at both front and rear hinges - binding exposed. Gilt lettering and ruling on spine dulled, but still legible. Two water dampness stains exhibited towards the bottom edge of front board. Author/murderer's inscription found on front end-page, in ink. Inscription has bled through end-page & is exhibited on front fly-leaf as well. Toning and foxing throughout text-block, especially to paste-downs & end-pages. Hinges & gutters are fragile, but intact. No known marginalia. Protective mylar cover included with purchase. Binding intact. Please see photos and ask questions, if any, before purchasing. John White Webster (1793-1850) was an American professor of chemistry and geology at Harvard Medical College. He was a popular lecturer at Harvard - being described by Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. as "pleasant in the lecture room, rather nervous and excitable." Many of Webster's class-room demonstrations involved some of the latest chemical discoveries. George F. Hoar mentioned Webster's lectures were "tedious," at least to non-chemistry majors, but that, "[Webster] was known to the students by the sobriquet of Sky-Rocket Jack, owing to his great interest in having some fireworks at the illumination when President Everett, his former classmate, was inaugurated. There was no person less likely to commit such a bloody and cruel crime as that for which he was accused." On January 26, 1850, Webster was accused of murdering George Parkman (1790-1849) over an outstanding debt, in what was to be known as the case of the century. Webster was tried and found guilty after the dismembered & half-cremated remains of George Parkman were found in his medical laboratory by the Harvard Medical College's janitor Ephraim Littlefield. This was one of the earliest recorded cases in which forensic evidence & medical expertise were used to identify a body. Nathan Cooley Keep, Parkman's personal dentist, showed the jury how the discovered jawbone found in Webster's lab fit exactly into a plaster impression he had made of Parkman's jaw. Furthermore, Keep burst into tears showing the jury how the loose teeth found in Webster's furnace fit into the plates on the custom mold of Parkman. Debate continued for years on the legitimacy of Webster's trial and his unflappable guilt (or lack thereof). When Charles Dickens visited Boston in 1867, among his first requests was to see the room where Parkman had been murdered. This work: Manual of Chemistry, Third Edition, is both written and inscribed by Webster. Incredibly interesting piece full of American history & sensational murder. RAREA1839FPTX01/24 - HK1103

Price: 1000 USD

Location: Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

End Time: 2024-12-12T21:25:29.000Z

Shipping Cost: 6.13 USD