List of Illustrations
Series Preface
Introduction: Chemistry, Shifting Meaning, and Shapes of Experience in the Early Modern Era, Bruce T Moran
1.Theory and Concepts: Conceptual Foundations of Early Modern Chymical Thought and Practice, Lawrence Principe
2.Practice and Experiment: Cultures of Chymical Analysis, Joel A. Klein
3.Laboratories and Technology: Chymical Practice and Sensory Experience, Donna Bilak
4.Culture and Science: The Development and Spread of Chemical "Knowledges" across Evolving Cultures and Communities, Andrew Sparling
5.Society and Environment: The Social Landscape of Early Modern Chemistry, William Eamon
6.Trade and Industry: Chemical Economies and the Business of Distillation, Tillmann Taape
7.Learning and Institutions: Chymical Cultures at Courts and Universities, Margaret Garber
8.Art and Representation: Skepticism and Curiosity for the Alchemist at Work, Elisabeth Berry Drago
Notes
Bibliography
Notes on Contributors

Bruce T. Moran is Professor of History and University Foundation Professor (emeritus) at the University of Nevada, Reno, USA.

A Cultural History of Chemistry in the Early Modern Age covers the period from 1500 to 1700, tracing chemical debates and practices within their cultural, social, and political contexts. This era in the history of chemistry was notable for natural philosophy, scientific discovery, and experimental method, and also as the high point of European alchemy - exemplified by the immensely popular writings of Paracelsus. Developments in the chemistry of metallurgy, medicine, distillation, and the applied arts encouraged attention to materials and techniques, linking theoretical speculation with practical know-how. Chemistry emerged as an academic discipline - supported by educational texts and based in classroom and laboratory instruction - and claimed a public place.
The six-volume set of the Cultural History of Chemistry presents the first comprehensive history from the Bronze Age to today, covering all forms and aspects of chemistry and its ever-changing social context. The themes covered in each volume are theory and concepts; practice and experiment; laboratories and technology; culture and science; society and environment; trade and industry; learning and institutions; art and representation.
Bruce T. Moran is Professor of History and University Foundation Professor (emeritus) at the University of Nevada, Reno, USA.
A Cultural History of Chemistry in the Early Modern Age is the third volume in the six-volume set, A Cultural History of Chemistry, also available online as part of Bloomsbury Cultural History, a fully-searchable digital library (see www.bloomsburyculturalhistory.com).
General Editors: Peter J. T. Morris, University College London, UK, and Alan Rocke, Case Western Reserve University, USA.