Primary sourceArtifact1789

Traité élémentaire de chimie, Plate VIII: Large Gasometer

Antoine Lavoisier · 1789

An engraved plate from Lavoisier's 1789 chemistry textbook showing his large gasometer and laboratory instruments.

This plate from Lavoisier's own textbook illustrates the experimental apparatus central to his scientific work.

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Engraved plate labelled Planche VIII showing laboratory apparatus: a large gasometer on a wooden base with pipes and a tall column, a balance with chains and pan, a thermometer tube, and several smaller instruments numbered Fig. 1 to Fig. 10, with a scale bar reading 5 Pieds. — Plate VIII, Large Gasometer, from A.L. Lavoisier, Traité élémentaire de chimie, Paris: Cuchet, 1789.

About this source

What it is

This engraved plate, labelled Planche VIII, comes from the 1789 edition of Lavoisier's Traité élémentaire de chimie, printed in Paris by Cuchet. It shows laboratory apparatus including a large gasometer, a balance, a thermometer, and several numbered instruments with a scale bar.

Why it matters

Lavoisier's Traité élémentaire is considered a foundational text of modern chemistry, and its illustrations show the precise measuring instruments he used to study gases and chemical reactions. The detailed engravings reveal how much Lavoisier relied on careful measurement, not just theory, to build his new chemistry.

Look closer

Why would a chemistry textbook need detailed engravings of equipment?
What does the scale bar on the plate tell you about the importance of precise measurement?
What does this apparatus suggest about the kind of experiments Lavoisier performed?

This artifact is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Antoine Lavoisier on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.