CHLADNI Ernst Florens Friedrich Traité d’acoustique.

Roberts & Trent, p. 71; DSB, III, 259. See PMM, 233b; Sparrow, 38; Norman, 481; Dibner, 150 (for the first edition 1802).

First edition of the French translation made by Chladni himself, bearing the inscription « A son Excellence Mr. le Comte de Lacépède. Hommage de l’Auteur »..

Chladni and Count Étienne de Lacépède (1756–1825) met at the Tuileries in the year this treatise was published. The event was organised in February by Napoleon; the Emperor wished for Chladni to give a demonstration of his famous ‘acoustic figures’ in Paris.

Lacépède is said to have helped convince Chladni to produce this translation:

« Chladni ne tarda pas à se lier d’amitié avec plusieurs d’entre eux [savants français]. Ce furent surtout MM. De la Place, Berthollet, Lacepède et Biot qui, prenant un vif intérêt à la science dont il leur avait révélé les mystères, le pressèrent de publier une traduction française de son ouvrage sur l’acoustique ». (Revue et Gazette musicale, n°41, 5^e année, 14 octobre 1838, p.402.)

Lacépède wrote a Poétique sur la musique, published in 1783; this explains the interest shown by this naturalist – the successor to Buffon – in the work of his counterpart.

Chladni (1756–1827) is regarded as the father of modern acoustics. He was the first to set out the general relationship between the frequency of vibration and pitch in tabular form, thereby laying the foundations for modern acoustics. The experiments he carried out by placing sand on metal or glass plates, which he then set vibrating with a bow, yielded astonishing results. Indeed, the sand settled into different geometric patterns depending on the vibrations of the plates. These patterns are still known today by the name of their famous inventor: ‘Chladni figures’. (PMM)

“Except for a few publications on meteorites, Chladni devoted his research to the study of acoustics and vibration. He first described his early experiments using the sand figures in Endeckunger über die Theorie des Klanges. They were presented with additional observations in Die Akustik, which is also a general acoustics text containing very complete historical material. This appeared in French translation in 1809 (Traité d’acoustique) in which he gives an autobiographical summary in the introduction” (DSB III p. 258).

Furthermore, the volume concludes with two reports signed by Gaspard de Prony but also co-signed by Lacépède, devoted respectively to the clavi-cylindre and to Chladni’s own work.

The plates illustrate a variety of geometric shapes obtained during the experiments.

Other provenance : Jesuit college (library label on inner-cover, as well as rubber stamp and number on title).

Small occasional marginal waterstain in a few leaves, otherwise a very fine copy of important scientific provenance.