PAPIN (Denis). La Manière d'amolir les os, et de faire cuire toutes sortes de viandes en fort de temps, & à peu de frais. Paris, Estienne Michallet, 1682. In-12, grained calf, spine with ornate nerves, red edges (Binding of the period). First edition of the French translation of the most important and innovative book by Denis Papin (1647-1714), an inventor of genius and a true benefactor of mankind; he took precedence over Savery and Newcomen in inventing the first piston-driven steam engine. Using an apparatus of his own invention, he demonstrated that if water was subjected to a certain pressure, ensuring that no outside air could enter it, and if the temperature was raised to over 100°C, food could be cooked extremely quickly and bones reduced to a pulp or jelly, or even a liquid. This invention, and the safety valve that accompanies it, is known as Papin's Marmite or Digesteur, and is the ancestor of today's pressure cooker or pressure cooker. This treatise first appeared in London, where Papin was working with Boyle, and was printed as The New Digestor in 1681. The illustration includes 2 unsigned fold-out intaglio plates showing in detail his machine for softening bones. Minor restorations to corners and spines.