author
W. J. Atkinson (William John Atkinson) Butterfield
A practical writer on gas engineering and acetylene, he helped explain fast-changing industrial technology for readers working with light, heat, and power. His surviving books point to a career grounded in chemistry, fuel gas, and real-world technical practice.
1 Audiobook
Acetylene, the Principles of Its Generation and Use A Practical Handbook on the Production, Purification, and Subsequent Treatment of Acetylene for the Development of Light, Heat, and Power
by F. H. (Frank Henley) Leeds, W. J. Atkinson (William John Atkinson) Butterfield
About the author
William John Atkinson Butterfield was a British gas engineer and technical author, active around the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Library and book records credit him with works including The Chemistry of Gas Manufacture and, with F. H. Leeds, Acetylene, the Principles of Its Generation and Use.
A biographical note preserved by Grace's Guide describes him as a distinguished worker in the British gas industry, records his death in London on December 13, 1945, and says he also worked as a consultant on ventilation for government departments. The same source says he was educated privately and continued his technical training at University College London.
His writing is notably practical in focus: not just theory, but the production, purification, testing, and use of gas. That makes his books a useful window into the industrial world of manufactured gas and acetylene at a time when those technologies mattered deeply to everyday lighting and power.