The forerunners of the chemistry set were 17th century books on "natural magick", "which all excellent wise men do admit and embrace, and worship with great applause; neither is there any thing more highly esteemed, or better thought of, by men of learning." Authors, such as Giambattista della Porta, included chemical magic tricks and scientific puzzles along with more serious topics.
The earliest chemistry sets were developed in the 18th century in England and Germany to teach chemistry to adults.  In 1791, Description of a portable chest of chemistry : or, Complete collection of chemical tests for the use of chemists, physicians, mineralogists, metallurgists, scientific artists, manufacturers, farmers, and the cultivators of natural philosophy by Johann Friedrich August Göttling, translated from German, was published in English. Friedrich Accum of London, England also sold portable chemistry sets and materials to refill them.     Primarily used for training druggists and medical students, they could also be carried and used in the field.
Scientific kits also attracted well-educated members of the upper class who enjoyed experimenting and demonstrating their results. James Woodhouse of Philadelphia presented a Young Chemists Pocket Companion (1797) with an accompanying portable laboratory, specifically targeted ladies and gentlemen. Jane Marcets books on chemistry helped to popularize chemistry as a well-to-do pastime for both men and women.
Beginning in the late 1850s John J. Griffin & Sons sold a line of "chemical cabinets", eventually offering 11 categories. These were marketed primarily to adults including elementary school teachers as well as students at the Royal Naval College, the Royal Agricultural Society, and the universities of Oxford and Cambridge.
In the mid to late 1800s England, magic and illusion toys enabled children to make their own fireworks, create disappearing inks and cause changes in color, tricks which were mostly chemically based. The Columbian Cyclopedia of 1897 defines "CHEMISTRY TOYS" as "mostly pyrotechnic; recommended as illustrating to the young the rudiments of chemistry, but probably more dangerous than efficient for such use", listing a variety of hazardous examples.