The Editorial Beginnings of the First Chemical Journal

Abstract

The academic journal is a central instrument of scholars and scientists alike, yet we know surprisingly little about its historical development. This paper focuses on the foundation of the first scientific journal devoted solely to chemistry. It introduces the editorial strategies and policies behind the periodical, and briefly describes the role it played in the process of establishing chemical knowledge during the last decades of the eighteenth century. More generally, it sheds light on the socio-cultural identity of the editor located between the two professionalising fields of science and journalism and the epistemological consequences of his editorial work.