The Discovery of the Elements. Collected Reprints of a Series of Articles Published in the Journal of Chemical Education. by Weeks, Mary Elvira - 1933

Easton, PA: Mack Printing Co., 1933. Octavo. Original green cloth, titles to spine and upper board gilt. Illustrations throughout the text. Ownership signature and date "5/24/33" to the title. Short pencilled note listing six elements on the rear pastedown. very lightly rubbed at the extremities. An excellent, fresh copy. First edition, first printing and a beautiful copy. The Discovery of the Elements is a classic in the history of chemistry, going through seven editions by 1968, but copies of the 1933 first edition are rare in commerce, particularly in such nice condition. Author Mary Elvira Weeks (1892 - ?) was a physical and analytical chemist at the University of Kansas. "She worked on the atmospheric oxidation of solutions of sodium sulfite in ultraviolet light, the role of hydrogen ion concentration in the precipitation of calcium and magnesium carbonates and the use of oxidation-reduction indicators in the determination of iron. She was also interested in the history of chemistry, particularly in the discovery of the elements" (Ogilvie, Biographical Dictionary of Women in Science, p. 1358). This copy with the ownership signature of Dr. Charles B. Gates, head of the Chemistry Department of the Wisconsin State Teacher's College, Milwaukee, on the title.