Observations and Experiments on Living Organisms in Heated Water by Wyman, Jeffries [ August 11, 1814 - September 4, 1874 ] - 1867

New Haven: M. M. Burdick, 426 Chapel St, 1867. First Edition. Boards. Very Good. First Edition. [2], 9, [1-blank], [3]-21 pages. 8vo. 1/2 leather over marbled boards. Two offprints from the American Journal of Science. The first, "Experiments on the Formation of Infusoria in Boiled Solutions of Organic Matter, Enclosed in Hermetically sealed Vessels, and Supplied with Pure Air" from the AJS, Vol XXXIV, July 1862. The second "Observations and Experiments on Living Organisms in Heated Water" from the AJS, Vol XLIV, Sept. 1867, comments on the former paper. Bound out of order, with the first leaf being the front wrapper of the second paper. Tipped in is a letter from Henry James to Mr. [ Jeffries ] Wyman [ Wyman's grandson ], noting "I am sending you two of your grandfather's manuscripts [ not included here] which he gave to my father, as the inscriptions show. I hope that it will please you to own them, and if so I shall be very glad to know that they have passed into your possession., Sincerely Yours, Henry James". On James' letterhead, marked 95 Irving Street, Cambridge, April 18, 1923. Boards. Jeffries Wyman [ August 11, 1814 - September 4, 1874 ], the author of these two papers, was an American naturalist and anatomist. An invalid of sorts for most of his life, he was subject to the support of friends and colleagues who were generous with their support (See DSB for a long account of this). Wyman corresponded with Darwin during the time period these papers were written, and several cases or examples provided by Wyman were included in Origin of the Species. "In 1862, Wyman began a series of experiments on spontaneous generation, paralleling those conducted by Pasteur and Pouchet. He reported the presence of infusoria even in flasks that had been boiled, under carefully controlled conditions, for four hours. When the flasks were boiled beyond five hours, no infusoria appeared. Yet Wyman did not press to any conclusion, either for or against spontaneous generation, being content to let his experiments stand as examples of logically conceived and elegantly executed laboratory exercises." (DSB) The first paper here included is the one referred to in DSB. The second provides supplemental experiments which expand on those made in 1862, including an analysis of hot springs and the life found therein. "Jeffries Wyman [the grandson] (June 21, 1901 - November 4, 1995) was an American molecular biologist and biophysicist notable for his research of proteins, amino acids, and on the physical chemistry of hemoglobin." (wiki) Henry James was probably the son of William James, whose family occupied the house at 95 Irving Street Cambridge for several generations. James may have given Wyman the manuscripts as a gift (not included here) as Wyman was graduating from Harvard in 1923.