«Merge Record #»«Title» - Schulz-Falster Rare Books

in the statement 'Vico is probably the most unacknowledged source of ideas in the
history of philosophy'.
Croce I, p. 53, Gamba 2493; see Printing and the Mind of Man 184 for first edition.
The First Washing Mashine
83.
[WASHING MACHINE.] Dell' Arte di Fare il Bucato a Vapore.
Dialoghi el Dott. G.P. In Bologna, per Giuseppe Lucchesini, 1805. £
880
8vo, pp. 44, folding engraved plate with 5 illustrations bound at the end;
uncut in contemporary blue wrappers; a little dog-eared, else fine.
First edition, very rare, of this publication advertising the use of a steam-based
washing machine. Presented in the form of a dialogue between the padrona, the lady
of the house, and her two washerwomen, the benefits of this revolutionary new
washing technique are expounded. The arguments used by the padrona could easily
come out of a modern advertising jingle - whiter than white, with no hint of laundry
bluing. In four dialogues the washerwomen are first persuaded to try out this new
washing technique, which is then explained in great detail. In the course of the
discussion various traditional methods of washing are explained, such as bleaching
in the sun, using special soaps, ash or even soda. The garments are first soaked in
baths of sulphoric acid diluted in water, and in caustic potash, then rinsed, and
finally put into the 'washing machine'. The composition of this machine and its
construction is explained in great detail and illustrated on the large folding plate.
In his preface the anonymous author writes that his invention is based on an idea of
the French scientist Cadet de Vaux (1743-1828). To increase its circulation and
readership the author decided to present the ideas in the form of a dialogue, and to
give further technical details which had not been included by Cadet de Vaux.
OCLC lists one copy at Princeton, also recorded in the Bibliothèque Nationale.
84.
[WINE.] Accademia di Scienze ed arti degli Ardenti di Viterbo.
Istruzione del Miglior Metodo de Fare il Vino. Viterbo, estratte dagli
Atti della Classe IV. Arti, Agricoltura, Commercio ec. Torchj
dell'Accademia degli Ardenti, 1823. £ 400
8vo, pp. 8; later plain wrappers; paper a little spotted, woodcut
illustration in the text.