Abstract
IN the early days of the coal-tar colour industry the French chemists, Coupier, Lauth, Girard and De Laire, and others did good work in the way of investigation, and certain standard books of reference which were indispensable in their time bore the names of French authors. Then the centre of activity in this field seems to have been shifted to Germany, and for some years we have been accustomed to look to that country for new discoveries and authoritative treatises. The author of the work now under consideration, M. Léon Lefêvre, who is “Préparateur de Chimie” in the École Polytechnique, has once again set the current of coal-tar literature flowing in France, and he is to be congratulated on having produced a treatise which may, without exaggeration, be described as the most comprehensive that we have at present in any language. The two bulky volumes under notice cover the ground occupied by several distinct German works; for not only is the subject dealt with in its purely chemical aspect, but the methods of production on the large scale, and the modes of application of the various colouring matters are likewise given in detail. It is impossible in these columns to give a critical review of a technical work of this magnitude, but a general statement of the method of treatment will enable those who are interested in the subject to form an idea of the extent to which they are indebted to M. Lefêvre.
Traité des Matières Colorantes organiques artificielles, de leur préparation industrielle et de leurs applications.
Par Léon Lefêvre. Two vols. Pp. xx + 1648. (Paris: G. Masson, 1896.)
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MELDOLA, R. Traité des Matières Colorantes organiques artificielles, de leur préparation industrielle et de leurs applications. Nature 53, 603 (1896). https://doi.org/10.1038/053603a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/053603a0