Author: PLEASONTON, Gen. A.J.
Title: The Influence of the Blue Ray of the Sunlight and of the Blue Color of the Sky, in developing animal and vegetable life, in arresting disease, and in restoring health ...
Description: Philadelphia, Claxton, Remsen &c 1876. Octavo publisher's blue cloth blocked in gilt and blind; iv,38,185pp, frontispiece printed in blue and black and a couple of illustrations through the text (which is blue). An outstanding copy. ¶ Pleasonton won his way from Captain to Brigadier-General during the Civil War but I gather from his multitude of unadmirers it was not due to heroism or competency in the field. Still he was not satisfied and resigned from the army in a huff. In the meantime he had decided to apply his scientific bent to agriculture and built a glass-house paned with blue glass panels to "test the chemical power of the solar ray" with wondrous results. He extended his experiments to husbandry and before long blue light was curing ailments and saving the lives of both animals and humans. The craze made it into song in 1877 with The Blue Glass Galop, The Blue Glass Scottische and maybe others. Pleasonton published his first lecture in 1871 and this 1876 book seems to be the definitive collection of lectures, letters and writings. His experiments are now not so easy to read - to alleviate the glare caused by black print on white paper under gaslight this is printed in blue on tinted paper. I have seen a couple of American books of the period printed in a similar manner and had presumed that it was just an unfortunate aesthetic choice. Now I know it was progress at work.

Keywords: science agriculture physics light colour theory c19th America progress reform loony