APPERT (Nicolas). - Lot 50

APPERT (Nicolas). L'Art de conserver, pendant plusieurs années, toutes les substances animales et végétales. Paris: Patris et Cie, 1810. [Followed by]: MACHET (J. J.). Le Confiseur moderne, ou l'art du confiseur et du distillateur. Paris: Maradan, 1806. - 2 works in one volume in-8, 194 x 122: xxxij, 116 pp. 1 plate; xvj, 461 pp. Green half calf with green parchment corners, richly decorated smooth spine (contemporary binding). Oberlé, 184 and 185. Interesting collection of two works on gastronomy. - First edition of L'Art de conserver by Nicolas Appert (1749-1841). This highly sought-after work marks the birth of modern food preservation. A former confectioner in Massy, near Paris, Nicolas Appert described his revolutionary process, perfected fifty years before Pasteur's work. It consisted of "releasing the oxygen from substances by boiling them at the very point of cooking, and then sealing them in tin cans, heated in a bain-marie and hermetically sealed. He won a prize of 12,000 francs and was able to exploit his patent commercially for some time." (Oberlé). The edition is illustrated with a fold-out plate engraved by Nicolas Louis Rousseau. The copy includes the author's autograph signature opposite the title. - Second edition of Machet's Confiseur moderne (first published in 1803), a gastronomic classic that has been reprinted several times. In nearly 500 pages, the author details: "All the operations of the Confiseur and the Distiller, and, in addition, the general procedures of certain Arts related to them, particularly those of the Perfumer and the Lominadier. [...] Several new recipes, within the reach of every amateur, with the means of recognizing falsifications and sophistications of all kinds; to which [it is] attached 1. An Appendix or Compendium of recipes for medicinal products, made pleasing to the eye and to the taste, by a new preparation and form, with their doses and virtues. 2. A short history of some of the most common simple substances. 3. A vocabulary of technical terms" (title). A fine copy in contemporary binding. Some minor wear. Castle library label on upper spine. Scattered foxing.