The Roy G. Neville Historical Chemical Library
The Roy G. Neville Historical Chemical Library, a collection in the Othmer Library of Chemical History, represents one of the richest single deposits of books on the history of chemistry in the world.

Coming soon: The annotated catalogue to the Neville collection. Order your copy now.

Extensive
Roughly 6,000 titles in all, the collection dates from the late 15th century to the early 20th century and includes many of the most important works in the history of science and technology from this period. Examples include:

• Georgius Agricola, De Re Metallica (1556);
• Robert Boyle, The Sceptical Chymist (1661);
• Robert Hooke, Micrographia (1665);
• Isaac Newton, Principia Mathematica (1687);
• Antoine Lavoisier, Traite Elementaire de Chimie (1789);
• John Dalton, New System of Chemical Philosophy (1808 and 1827), along with the 1808 pamphlet announcing publication of this landmark book; and
• Dmitri Mendeleev, Osnovy Khimii (Principles of chemistry, 1869 and 1871).

Unique
Many of the works written before 1800 are especially rare, and some 400 titles are unique to the collection.* Important manuscript materials, dissertations, and pamphlets complement the books and serials in the collection, which also includes several documents previously unknown or thought lost.

*Comparison with records in the Online Computer Library Center (OCLC), the international cooperative catalog database shared by approximately 53,000 libraries in the United States and 96 other countries and territories around the world.

Cataloging the Collection and Providing Electronic Access
Under the stewardship of the Othmer Library, the Neville collection is undergoing a three-year cataloging process. The project is already well under way, with more than 4,500 titles already listed in the Othmer Library’s online public access catalog. In addition, the collection is also listed on WorldCat, which can be accessed through any library worldwide.

Selected images from the books will be digitized and included in the Othmer Library online catalog. Each book’s title page will be reproduced as well as woodcuts, plates, engravings, association signatures, and examples of period bindings. Many of these images are already available for viewing.

Roy G. Neville
Acquiring and cataloging the books in his collection has been the life’s work for Roy G. Neville. A consulting chemist by profession, in 1973 he founded Engineering and Technical Consultants in Redwood City, California, of which he was president. He is also a passionate bibliophile by avocation. Neville began collecting books almost 60 years ago and amassed one of the largest private collections of rare books in the fields of science and technology, and chemistry in particular.

Gordon E. and Betty Moore
The acquisition and conservation of this collection for future generations was made possible through a generous $10-million gift from Gordon E. and Betty Moore. Gordon Moore, a chemist, is the cofounder of Intel Corporation. Commenting on the strengths of the Neville collection and the appropriateness of CHF as its permanent home, Moore has said, “Betty and I believe it is important to conserve for future generations the books and documents that record and reveal the remarkable progress of the chemical sciences through the past 600 years.”