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[BRITISH TRADE]. URE, Andrew (1778-1857). Autograph Letter Signed. [London: 28 Novr. 1849]. 1 ¼ 8vo pages on one bifolium of ruled paper. Each page approximately 6 x 7 ½". 1 horizontal and 4 vertical creases, some minor rubbing, marginal toning. Fine. approbate the cocoa served by the Royal Navy to its nearly 200,000 mariners, written by important Scottish chemist Andrew Ure. The favourable result from a formal investigation of a specific company's cocoa purchased and consumed by the British Navy at 400 tonnes per year, Dr. Ure suggests that many English producers were at the time compromising quality during production, however, he confirms the purity of Graham & Hedley's Genuine Roll Cocoa which was manufactured in Liverpool. Evidently significant not only to the Navy, but also to the public as a whole, Ure's letter was published in the "Law Times" volume 15, 1850. Subsequently, numerous publications touted Graham & Hedley's product as "the best preparation of cocoa for morning and evening meals.... advantageous for invalids to whom it is essential to have the article genuine... the most economical substance offered to the public... superior homeopathic cocoa..." and so on. Offered with: Dr. Andrew Ure, F. R. S… London: For Private Distribution, 1874. 12mo. Illustrated with an original albumen portrait frontispiece. Special binding of full green morocco, boards and spine stamped in gilt, gilt board edges and turn-ins (light rubbing to binding, text foxed, a few gutters cracking). Near fine. FIRST EDITION OF THIS RARE BIOGRAPHY OF URE. Dr. Andrew Ure was a Scottish physician, analytical chemist, and a highly respected professor of chemistry. A foremost (possibly the first) consulting chemist in Britain, doing much work in London where he settled in 1830, his work entailed investigative tours of several industries in England, Belgium and France, various government commissions such as the one outlined above, and speaking as an expert witness. His visits to English textile mills led to his famous publications of "The Philosophy of Manufactures" (1835) and "The Cotton Manufactures of Great Britain" (1836). His exposure to factory conditions led him to consider methods of heating and ventilation, and he is credited with being the first to describe a bi-metallic thermostat. "The Great Dictionary of Arts, Manufactures and Mines" (1837), was Ure's chief and most encyclopaedic work. In 1840 he helped found the Pharmaceutical Society.