Science And Civilisation In China. By Joseph Needham with the collaboration of Lu Gwei-Djen. Volume 5 Chemistry And Chemical Technology Part II : Spagyrical Discovery And Invention: Magisteries Of Gold And Immortality .

Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1974 .. First edition. A very good original binding with the original dustwrapper. 4to. 10.0" x 7.75" x 1.5" . pp.32/pp.510 with 41 illustrations, and 12 tables within the text. Blue and white illustrated dustwrapper: "The Taoist Genii..." , with light edgewear, now protected by a removeable clear plastic cover. Boards with similar design in black & white, edges lightly rubbed. Black cloth spine with bright gilt titles. Original grey endpapers. Clean throughout with no marks or blemishes. A very good copy of this scarce publication. VG/VG . ** "Noel Joseph Terence Montgomery Needham CH FRS FBA ; (9 December 1900 � 24 March 1995) was a British scientist, historian and sinologist known for his scientific research and writing on the history of Chinese science. He was elected a fellow of the Royal Society in 1941, and a fellow of the British Academy in 1971. In 1992, the Queen conferred on him the Companionship of Honour, and the Royal Society noted he was the only living person to hold these three titles. In 1948, Needham proposed a project to the Cambridge University Press for a book on Science and Civilisation in China. Within weeks of being accepted, the project had grown to seven volumes, and it has expanded ever since. His initial collaborator was the historian Wang Ling (??), whom he had met in Lizhuang and obtained a position for at Trinity. The first years were devoted to compiling a list of every mechanical invention and abstract idea that had been made and conceived in China. These included cast iron, the ploughshare, the stirrup, gunpowder, printing, the magnetic compass and clockwork escapements, most of which were thought at the time to be western inventions. The first volume eventually appeared in 1954. The publication received widespread acclaim, which increased to the lyrical as further volumes appeared. He wrote fifteen volumes himself, and the regular production of further volumes continued after his death in 1995." - See Wikipedia .