obtained via the Swedish East Indian Company. One of his contacts was Peter
Johan Bladh (1746–1816) who also had contacts with Scheele’s employer in
Stockholm, Scharenberg (Chap. 10), where he lived in 1775. von Engeström’s most
extensive work, Laboratorium Chymicum, published in three parts 1781–1784, is
entirely devoted to the refinement and separation of gold and silver, especially from
the waste from goldsmiths. Despite the first line of the preface “After I have, for
some time, been occupied with chymical
22 work, I have thought it to be my duty to
share with the public what I have achieved” [109] the book contains little of what
Bergman and Scheele would call chemistry, and it seems like “chymistry” in von
Engeström’s eyes would be better translated to metallurgy. The only chemistry to
be found in the book is associated with the separation of gold and silver with, for
example, nitric acid and antimony(III) sulphide.
Wallerius and von Engeström had in practice divided the education between
them: a student would be taught basic chemistry by Wallerius in Uppsala, and von
Engeström taught them the art of assaying in Stockholm [110]. Unfortunately for
the students, von Engeström had a strained economy, and thus charged the students
very high fees. The fee for a chemistry course was 3,000 copper dalers, for a course
in mineralogy it was 2,000 and a course in assaying was 1,000 copper dalers [111].
Bergman, also in need of students and money, broke this silent agreement and
started to compete with von Engeström. With lower fees, he was able to keep at
least some of the students in Uppsala, certainly annoying von Engeström.
Two particular incidents increased the strain between the two men. Bergman and
von Engeström had agreed to exchange mineral samples, a common practice among
mineralogists and a way to establish bonds. They had agreed that von Engeström
should give Bergman two Swedish or one foreign sample for each foreign sample
Bergman sent him. Apparently, von Engeström only sent one Swedish mineral for
each sample he received from Bergman [111]. Bergman wrote a letter to Wargentin
in 1778, where he expressed his feelings about his competitor [110]. He complained
that von Engeström was arrogant and imagined that he knew more than anyone else.
The next episode was more serious. von Engeström had a copy of the lecture
notes from the chemical lectures of Henrik Theofil Scheffer (Chap. 9), which he
allowed the students to copy once they had paid the fee. von Engeström regarded
this text as a secret which he shared with his students [111]. Thus, this text was very
precious to von Engeström. One can assume that the students had to promise not to
distribute copies. von Engeström’s copy was, however, not the only copy of the
text. Bergman was acquainted with industrialist Patrick Alströmer (1733–1804),
who was the son of Jonas Alströmer, an important figure in Swedish industrialisation. Patrick Alströmer had a documented interest in chemistry and had attended
Scheffer’s lectures in chemistry 1749–1751. Alströmer had kept notes from the
lectures, notes which had been read and corrected by Scheffer himself [112]. In a
letter to Wargentin, Bergman wrote that he learned of this copy by chance and that
Alströmer asked him if it deserved to be published [111]. Bergman needed a book
for his teaching, and thus published Scheffer’s lectures with his own remarks in
22
von Engeström consequently used the old spelling “chymistry” (chymie).
140
9 Bergman Becomes a Chemist
Johan Bladh (1746–1816) who also had contacts with Scheele’s employer in
Stockholm, Scharenberg (Chap. 10), where he lived in 1775. von Engeström’s most
extensive work, Laboratorium Chymicum, published in three parts 1781–1784, is
entirely devoted to the refinement and separation of gold and silver, especially from
the waste from goldsmiths. Despite the first line of the preface “After I have, for
some time, been occupied with chymical
22 work, I have thought it to be my duty to
share with the public what I have achieved” [109] the book contains little of what
Bergman and Scheele would call chemistry, and it seems like “chymistry” in von
Engeström’s eyes would be better translated to metallurgy. The only chemistry to
be found in the book is associated with the separation of gold and silver with, for
example, nitric acid and antimony(III) sulphide.
Wallerius and von Engeström had in practice divided the education between
them: a student would be taught basic chemistry by Wallerius in Uppsala, and von
Engeström taught them the art of assaying in Stockholm [110]. Unfortunately for
the students, von Engeström had a strained economy, and thus charged the students
very high fees. The fee for a chemistry course was 3,000 copper dalers, for a course
in mineralogy it was 2,000 and a course in assaying was 1,000 copper dalers [111].
Bergman, also in need of students and money, broke this silent agreement and
started to compete with von Engeström. With lower fees, he was able to keep at
least some of the students in Uppsala, certainly annoying von Engeström.
Two particular incidents increased the strain between the two men. Bergman and
von Engeström had agreed to exchange mineral samples, a common practice among
mineralogists and a way to establish bonds. They had agreed that von Engeström
should give Bergman two Swedish or one foreign sample for each foreign sample
Bergman sent him. Apparently, von Engeström only sent one Swedish mineral for
each sample he received from Bergman [111]. Bergman wrote a letter to Wargentin
in 1778, where he expressed his feelings about his competitor [110]. He complained
that von Engeström was arrogant and imagined that he knew more than anyone else.
The next episode was more serious. von Engeström had a copy of the lecture
notes from the chemical lectures of Henrik Theofil Scheffer (Chap. 9), which he
allowed the students to copy once they had paid the fee. von Engeström regarded
this text as a secret which he shared with his students [111]. Thus, this text was very
precious to von Engeström. One can assume that the students had to promise not to
distribute copies. von Engeström’s copy was, however, not the only copy of the
text. Bergman was acquainted with industrialist Patrick Alströmer (1733–1804),
who was the son of Jonas Alströmer, an important figure in Swedish industrialisation. Patrick Alströmer had a documented interest in chemistry and had attended
Scheffer’s lectures in chemistry 1749–1751. Alströmer had kept notes from the
lectures, notes which had been read and corrected by Scheffer himself [112]. In a
letter to Wargentin, Bergman wrote that he learned of this copy by chance and that
Alströmer asked him if it deserved to be published [111]. Bergman needed a book
for his teaching, and thus published Scheffer’s lectures with his own remarks in
22
von Engeström consequently used the old spelling “chymistry” (chymie).
140
9 Bergman Becomes a Chemist