New York: Balliere Brothers, 1865. vi, 181 p. 24 cm. Engraved frontispiece and nearly 150 b&w text illustrations. Second edition, revised and enlarged by George Weltden Gesner. Rebound in half blue leather and marbled paper boards. Ink inscription from 1866 on original front endpaper. Library stamp and ink numeral on preface page and p. 51. Foxing and occasional pencil marks.
Abraham Gesner (1797-1864) was a Nova Scotian doctor turned geologist who in 1852 inventor kerosene and in 1853 began its manufacture. Because of his patents of distilling bituminous minerals, he became a founder of the modern petroleum industry. There are several chapters here on drilling oil wells and the distillation of petroleum. An industrial and economic classic.