Lavoisier and his Last Printed Work: the Mimoires de physique et de chimie(1805)

On the basis of a significant number of unpublished documents, here publish ed for the first time, the article reconstructs the historical and scientif ic origins of Lavoisier's Memoires de physique et de chimie. Because of the paucity of primary sources available so far, this work has previously rece ived little attention and its 'publication' is commonly attributed to Madam e Lavoisier's effort to revive the memory of her husband. In contrast with this image, this article suggests that Madame Lavoisier had only a subsidia ry role and that Armand Seguin's contribution to both the editing and the s cientific organization of the Memoires needs a historical reassessment. Lav oisier's collaboration with Seguin, dating from 1792, resulted in a work th e aim of which was far more ambitious than that of collecting already publi shed memoirs. Furthermore, it is argued that the contents of the first volu me of the Memoires indicate an important evolution in Lavoisier's chemical theory.