VICTORIAN SCIENCE · TOBACCO FRAUD · MICROSCOPY · 1858

Victorian Britain Under the Microscope — Tobacco, Fraud and the Science of Detection, 1858

Henry Paul Prescott · London: John Van Voorst · First edition

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Catalogue details

Description

An original 1858 first edition of Henry Paul Prescott’s illustrated investigation into tobacco adulteration, a revealing early application of botany and microscopy to Victorian commercial fraud and public revenue.

Author: Henry Paul Prescott, Inland Revenue Department
Title: Tobacco and Its Adulterations
Publication: London: John Van Voorst, Paternoster Row, 1858
Edition: First edition
Subject: Economic botany, microscopic analysis, tobacco adulteration, excise and scientific inspection
Illustrations: Drawn and etched by Prescott; reference bibliographies describe forty plates, pending physical verification
Binding: Original dark green pebbled publisher’s cloth, blind-stamped border decoration
Pagination: Historical reference records approximately 130 pages; this copy not yet collated
Dimensions: Measurements gladly provided on request
Condition: Please consult the photographs for condition. Additional photographs are available on request.

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Historical context & sources

London, 1858 — Science enters the marketplace

Plants concealed in manufactured tobacco

The first edition and its illustrated title

A note to the future custodian

Keep the original cloth binding and engraved illustrations together. Support the spine while consulting the book, avoid forcing it flat, and retain loose plates in their correct sequence. Do not bleach foxing or use household cleaners on the paper and cloth. Store in stable, dry conditions away from direct sunlight.