Leipzig medicine tests bad wine - and doubts the standard lead assay.
Gehler, Ioannes Carolus
De dubia vini adulterati per liquorem probatorium
1782, Leipzig, Ex Officina Klavbarthia
First Edition
Overview
This 1782 academic pamphlet by D. Ioannes Carolus Gehler, addresses whether the liquor probatorius (assay liquid) reliably detects lead in acid wines. It incorporates a German Electoral rescript and frames a Medical Faculty inquiry at the intersection of university medicine, chemical experiment, and governmental oversight.
Inside the book
Gehler, with the sharp approach typical of the Enlightenment, compares wines treated with iron, tin, litharge, lead sugar, copper filings, and brass: the restrained conclusion is that the liquor probatorius alone is not a specific test for lead. The text cites Zeller, Neumann, Gaubius, Wallerius, Spielmann, Gmelin, and Beckmann. Contains a curriculum studiorum and an academic biography of the doctoral candidate.
Why La Fenice chose it
Enlightenment in a glass: Gehler probes suspect wines with cool precision, where chemistry, medicine, and state control meet. A pamphlet that turns toxic doubt into disciplined inquiry.
Condition Report
Pp. XVI
Unbound; some foxing at the last couple of leaves. Ex libris Dr Bassermann-Jordan. Good copy of a rare ephemera.
Dimensions (inches): 8 x 6 1/2 x 1/8
About the author
Johann Carl Gehler (1732-1796), pro-chancellor of the Medical Faculty at the Leipzig Academy, physician, professor of anatomy and surgery, and medical official.