Prospectus announcing the publication of part I of John Dalton’s (1766-1844) immortal New System of Chemical Philosophy (Manchester, 1808). This copy contains an accompanying letter to Dr. John Bostock (1773-1846) from Dalton, who enquires if Bostock wishes to purchase a copy of his forthcoming book.

Widely known for introducing the atomic theory into chemistry, Dalton was a noted English meteorologist and chemist. His research on meteorology resulted in its acceptance as a recognized science. He discovered his own color blindness through his botanical studies of flower hues and subsequently used this discovery to inform his research on color blindness.

Bostock was a physician, geologist, and one of the first chemical pathologists. He was the first to realize the relationship between urea and albumin in the blood and urine; he noted diminution of urea in urine as it rose in the blood, and that albumin concentration in the blood fell as that in urine increased.