Auction 73 Jewish and Israeli History, Culture and Art
Aug 11, 2020 (your local time)
Israel
 8 Ramban St, Jerusalem.
The auction has ended

LOT 20:

Nine Scientific Publications by Chaim Weizmann – 1910-1914 – While Developing the Acetone-Butanol Fermentation, His ...

Sold for: $800
Start price:
$ 400
Auction house commission: 25%
VAT: 17% On commission only
tags:

Nine Scientific Publications by Chaim Weizmann – 1910-1914 – While Developing the Acetone-Butanol Fermentation, His Contribution to the Victory of Britain in the World War which Paved the Way to the Balfour Declaration
Nine booklets with scientific articles by Chaim Weizmann. Printouts from The Proceedings of the Chemical Society. Bungay (Suffolk, East Anglia): R. Clay and sons, 1910-1914. English.
In 1915, in the midst of World War I, Weizmann managed to produce acetone through fermentation of starch. At the time, acetone was used to manufacture cordite, a smokeless propellant used by the British army, which was in short supply since the beginning of the war. Weizmann's discovery enabled Britain and the Allies to independently produce propellants, thus influencing the course of the war and leading to the victory of the Allies. British Prime Minister Lloyd George later recalled that "this was the fount and origin of the famous declaration about the National Home for Jews in Palestine… the beginning of an association, the outcome of which, after long examination, was the famous Balfour Declaration".
These nine booklets were published while Weizmann was developing his revolutionary method. At the time, Weizmann was studying the fermentation of starch at the Manchester University; co-authored by his colleagues, Arthur Hopwood, Harold Davis, Henry Stephen and others.
See: Science in the Service of Politics: The Case of Chaim Weizmann during the First World War, by Jehuda Reinharz. The English Historical Review, vol. 100, no. 396 (Jul., 1985), pp. 572-603.
Varying number of pages, approx. 21 cm. Good-fair condition. Brittle paper. Closed and open tears to covers (some reinforced with tape). Open tear to upper corner of all leaves in one booklet. Inked stamp to one cover.