LAPOSTOLLE (Alexandre). Traité des parafoudres et des paragrêles en corde de paille, précédé d'une météorologie électrique, présentée sous un nouveau jour, et terminé par l'analyse de la bouteille de Leyde. Amiens : from the printing house of Caron-Vitet, 1820. - In-8, 195 x 121 : (2 ff.), V pp., (1 f.), 320 pp., (1 f.), 1 plate. Red long-grained morocco, gilt border and gilt arms in the center of the boards, smooth spine decorated, gilt border inside, gilt edges (period binding). First edition. Alexandre Lapostolle (1749-1831) was a famous pharmacist, professor of physics and chemistry at the École centrale, the Jardin du roi and the École préparatoire de médecine d'Amiens. When he published this book he was already over 70 years old and was already appreciated for the research he had done on wheat decay, fertilizers, potato preservation, beet, sugar extraction, the tax on bread according to the price of flours, the dangers of copper cookware and the food value of mushrooms. In this work, he endeavors to indicate the construction of devices intended to preserve dwellings from lightning and to protect the fields from hail. His discoveries were intended for the greatest number of people, which is why he dedicated his study "To the Nations of Europe". Lapostolle's work had the advantage of forcing the Institute to deal with the problem of hail-proofing; unfortunately, it was criticized and rejected by the physicist Biot and by Gay-Lussac. In spite of this, the devices imagined by Lapostolle were very successful and were even introduced in Italy in 1823, then in Germany and even in the United States. The edition is illustrated with a beautiful folding lithograph out of text, representing a "View of a Plain armed with Paragrêles, and of a Village armed with Parafoudres". There is also a large folding table corresponding to page 212, giving the "Parallel of the experiments Which note the various degrees of conductibility of the metallic substances, and of the straw, in the electric phenomena". A very nice copy with the supposed arms of the Marquis d'Allonville. The copy is complete with the author's autograph signature on the back of the title. There is also an old note on the latter relating to Biot's answer as well as the old stamp of the parish of Saint-Honoré, repeated on two other leaves. Some minor wear and tear, one corner dulled. Scattered foxing.