An essay on combustion, with a view to a new art of dying and painting

The author presents a systematic series of chemical experiments and arguments about combustion and the reduction of metals, proposing chemical methods to deposit gold, silver, and other metals onto textiles for dyeing, painting, and decorative maps. The essay details procedures involving hydrogen, phosphorus, sulphur and their gaseous compounds, charcoal, light, and acids, examines the oxygenation of combustible bodies, and disputes prevailing phlogiston hypotheses. Practical results, specimens, and applications are described alongside a concluding discussion and a nomenclature that summarise theoretical claims and experimental observations.