 She originally considered calling her work "An Essay on the Art of making Cloths of Gold, Silver, and other Metals, by chymical processes", but considering the "imperfect state of the art", decided to select a title reflecting the broader implications of her experiments.She was apparently encouraged to publish an account of her 14 years of research as a result of meeting Sir Joseph Priestley in 1793.Fulhame studied the experimental reduction of metallic salts in a variety of states (aqueous solution, dry state, and sometimes an ether or alcohol solution) by exposing them to the action of various reducing agents.