Bidspirit auction | 1838. Comstock, J. L. A

1838. Comstock, J. L. A System of Natural Philosophy. Robinson, Pratt, & Co., 1838. Stereotyped from the Fifty-Third Edition. - A mid-19th-century scientific and educational textbook titled A System of Natural Philosophy: In Which the Principles of Mechanics, Hydrostatics, Hydraulics, Pneumatics, Acoustics, Optics, Astronomy, Electricity, Magnetism, Steam Engine, and Electro-Magnetism, are Familiarly Explained. The volume was authored by J. L. Comstock, M.D., and published in New York by Robinson, Pratt, & Co. in 1838. This octavo volume is bound in full contemporary brown leather, likely sheepskin, with a black title label on the spine featuring gilt-stamped text reading COMSTOCK'S / PHILOSOPHY. The title page indicates the work was stereotyped from the fifty-third edition and contains more than two hundred engravings. Specific technical diagrams present include a Savary steam engine, the mechanical advantage of an inclined plane, the optics of the human eye, and an early static electricity generator. The copyright page states the work was entered according to an act of Congress in 1838 by J. L. Comstock in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of Connecticut, with stereotyping by Francis F. Ripley of New York. The leather binding shows heavy rubbing and scuffing with significant surface loss across the front and back covers (photos 1 and 4). The front hinge is cracked externally along the spine edge (photo 1). The spine title label is chipped at the edges and the gilt lettering is faded (photo 2). The interior pages throughout the text block exhibit widespread and heavy foxing and oxidation (photos 3, 5, 7, 8, 9, and 10). The edges of the text block are darkened and show signs of shelf wear consistent with age and historical school use (photo 10).