Recherches sur les substances nutritives que renferment les Os

Recherches sur les substances nutritives que renferment les Os, Ou Mémoire sur les os provenant de la viande de boucherie, sur les moyens de les conserver, d'en extraire de la gélatine par la vapeur, etc., Par M, D'Arcet, membre de l'Académie royale des sciences et du Conseil de salubrité, etc; Et Mémoire sur l'application spéciale de ce procédé à la nourriture des ouvriers de la Monnaie royale des médailles et sur les applications générale qu'il peut recevoir, Par M. A. de Puymaurin, Directeur de la Monnaie royale des médaille, Membre de la société d'encouragement, etc. First edition. Printed chez Madame Huzard, Paris, 1829. 8vo; 20 x 13 cm, boards, leather spine with compartmented false bands, titled on a black ground.164 pp and 5 folding plates engraved by Leblanc. Foxing. Interior quite fresh. A rare scientific work devoted to the alimentary use of butchery bones. The author seeks to demonstrate that bones still contain nutritive substances, notably gelatine and fats, which could be used to produce inexpensive broths for hospitals, workers and the poor. The work describes the extraction processes using steam and pressure cooking, as well as the apparatus required for this production. It reflects the idea, very present at the beginning of the 19th century, that chemistry and industry could help improve the material and alimentary conditions of society. The volume also contains a memoir by Aimé de Puymaurin devoted to the application of these processes to the feeding of the workers of the Monnaie royale des médailles and to the more general uses this method could receive. Even though later research qualified the nutritional importance of gelatine, the work remains an important testimony to the progress of chemistry applied to food at the beginning of the 19th century.