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Alchemy Academy archive
June 1999

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Subject: ACADEMY : Book of the Twenty four Philosophers
From: Adam McLean
Date: 2 June 1999

I recently received an enquiry for more information about
"The Book of the Twenty four Philosophers".

I assume this is just a subtitle for the 'Turba philosophorum',
but I may be wrong.

Has anyone heard of a work entitled "The Book of the
Twenty four Philosophers" or have a reference to it?
It sounds like the titles used in arabic alchemical texts.

Adam McLean

Subject: ACADEMY : Three new French books
From: Adam McLean
Date: 2 June 1999

Today I received notice of three new books in French recently
published. I have not seen them, but here are some of the
details from the publishers publicity material.

Jean-Pascal Percheron. Charles Perrault, Conteur Et Hermétiste.
Éditions Ramuel, May 1999. 95 FF.

Charles Perrault is famous for his compilation of tales for children.
But, behind these moral tales is thinly concealed a message
that the Hermeticists know well, the work of the Royal Art.
-----------------------

Ces Hommes qui ont fait l'alchimie du XXe Siècle
Geneviève Dubois. 114 pages. April 1999. 119 FF.

This provides biographies and some source material on some
of the important Frenchmen who have contributed towards the
alchemical tradition in the twentieth century. Includes - Louis Cattlaux,
Emmanuel d'Hoogvorst, José Gifreda, Henri Coton-Alvart, Henri La
Croix-Haute, Roger Caro, Alphonse Jobert, Pierre Dujols de Valois,
Fulcanelli, Eugène Canseliet.
-----------------------

La Génération et Opération du Grand Ceuvre pour faire de L'or
Geneviève Dubois. 64 pages. April 1999. 190 FF.

Facsimile of an 18th century manuscript Illustrated with 21 watercolours
existing in the municipal Library of Lyons.
Fulcanelli mentions it in his work and Eugene Canseliet also speaks of it.
-----------------------

If anyone is interested in purchasing these books, which do not seem
particularly expensive, perhaps the easiest way is through the French
Internet bookseller Alapage. They accept credit payments online
and even have a English language menu system, for dummies like
myself, to help in searching and placing orders.

http://www.alapage.tm.fr/

Subject: ACADEMY : Book of the Twenty four Philosophers
Date: Wed, 2 Jun 1999
From: David Porreca

The Book of 24 Philosophers is a work ascribed to Hermes Trismegistus,
written in Europe around the year 1200. It really has nothing to do with
alchemy, so I will keep this message short. It consists of 24 definitions
of God, the most famous of which is 'God is an infinite sphere whose
centre is everywhere and whose circumference is no where', quoted by
Meister Eckhart, Alan of Lille and Thomas Bradwardine, among others. A
critical edition of this text has recently been published:

HUDRY, F., ed., 'Liber viginti quattuor philosophorum', (Turnholt, 1997)
in the series Corpus Christianorum, Continuatio Mediaevalis CXLIII a, as
tome III, part 1 of the Hermes Latinus edition project headed by P.
Lucentini in Naples.

David Porreca

Subject: ACADEMY : Smithsonian Institution Scholar Programs
From: Adam McLean
Date: 4 June 1999

I received the following message. Some scholars
in the US could well take advantage of this to fund some
research into alchemy and early science. There is so little
institutional funding available for research into alchemy,
but this particular funding body could well support
a short term study project.

I am not sure how strong the Smithsonian Library is in
regard to alchemical source material. Has anyone
any knowledge of the extent of the Smithsionian's
holdings of alchemical books?

Adam McLean

-------

Smithsonian Institution Libraries Resident Scholar Programs
Accepting Applications for 2000

The Smithsonian Institution Libraries Resident Scholar Programs offer
short-term study grants for 2000 with stipends of $1,800/month for
durations of one to three months. Three awards are in the Smithsonian
Institution Libraries Dibner Library Resident Scholar Program
supported by The Dibner Fund for research in The Dibner Library of the
History of Science and Technology. A fourth is in the Smithsonian
Institution Libraries Resident Scholar Program for research in other
special collections of the Libraries. Historians, librarians, doctoral
students and other scholars are invited to apply. Deadline for
applications: December 1, 1999. Applications and more information
will be posted after June 15, 1999, visit . Applications are also
available by writing to Smithsonian Institution Libraries Resident
Scholar Programs, Smithsonian Institution Libraries, NHB 22, MRC154,
Washington, D.C. 20560-0154. Tel: (202) 357-2240, or send e-mail to
libmail@sil.si.edu.

Subject: ACADEMY : Paracelsus' concept of 'monarch'
Date: Sun, 06 Jun 1999
From: Barry Kushner

Initially, I would like to know what Paracelsus meant by the the words
"monarchy" and "archidoxy" and are these two words connected by
the same root word?

Thank you.

Subject: ACADEMY : Floriana or Florian Canale?
Date: Sun, 06 Jun 1999
From: Penny Bayer

Some time ago there was discussion on the alchemy site about a woman
called Floriana Canale who wrote "De'Secreti Universali Raccolti, et
Esperimentati Da Florian Canale Bresciano"(Venice, Ghirardo Imberti,
1640).

I have had a look at this book now, and notice that the author signs the
name "Florian Canale", not "Floriana Canale". I am wondering how it has
been established that this author is in fact a woman. I haven't found
anything in the Italian DNB. If anyone knows of any external evidence by
which this has been established, I should be extremely grateful to know
of it.

Penny Bayer

Subject: ACADEMY : Guillem Tavernier
Date: Sat, 05 Jun 1999
From: Gabriel Laderman

Dear Sir:

I am a rare book dealer and from time to time have a few books of
alchemical interest, as I do now. At the moment though I am
researching an ownership inscription, probably of the mid 18th
century.

Guillem Tavernier. The volume two of the work has the crossed out
signature of Francoise Tavernier. Both are written in ox gall ink in a
book published in 1751. Since the book is in French I believe they were
French speakers.

Sincerely,
Gabriel Laderman

Subject: ACADEMY : Floriano Canale
From: George Leake
Date : 8 June 1999

>Some time ago there was discussion on the alchemy site about a woman
>called Floriana Canale who wrote "De'Secreti Universali Raccolti, et
>Esperimentati Da Florian Canale Bresciano"(Venice, Ghirardo Imberti,
>1640). [snip] I am wondering how it has
>been established that this author is in fact a woman.

I found an earlier citation that might clear up the confusion:

AUTHOR: Canale, Floriano.
TITLE: De' secreti universali raccolti et sperimentati da Floriano
Canale, trattati nove. Ne' quali si hanno rimedii per tutte
le infermita de corpi humani, come anco de cavalli, bovi, &
cani ...
PUBLISHED: Brescia, 1613.
DESCRIPTION: 293 p.
SERIES: Italian books 1601-1700.
NOTES: Microfilm. Cambridge, Mass., General Microfilm, (19--) 1
microfilm reel. 35 mm. (Italian books 1601-1700)
OCLC NUMBER: 25199225

Available from Center for Research Libraries, Chicago.

Subject: ACADEMY : Smithsonian Institution Scholar Programs
From: George Leake
Date : 8 June 1999

>I am not sure how strong the Smithsonian Library is in
>regard to alchemical source material. Has anyone
>any knowledge of the extent of the Smithsionian's
>holdings of alchemical books?

*using a resource here at Univ. of Texas, I found a way anyone with web
access could poke around for themselves. Since people on the Alchemy
Academy might not know of this resource, I thought I'd cite it here:

http://www.lib.utexas.edu/libcats/othercats.html

Through this I found an online site for the Smithsonian:

http://www.sil.si.edu/newstart.htm
http://www.siris.si.edu/

Just for grins, let's do some basic searches

Paracelsus, Hermes Trismegistus, Hermeticism, Philosopher's Stone no finds
on searches at all.
Alchemy, no hit under subject, one hit under Keyword search which looked
very far afield to me.
Bacon yielded a number of hits, none of the Francis (the man who lived
during the Elizabethan era, not the subject of the film Love Is The Devil)
nor Roger.

Anyhow, I don't think it looks promising.

Subject: ACADEMY : Smithsonian Institution Scholar Programs
From: Susan Anne Miller
Date: Tue, 8 Jun 1999

George Leake wrote:
>I found an online site for the Smithsonian:
>http://www.sil.si.edu/newstart.htm
>http://www.siris.si.edu/
>Anyhow, I don't think it looks promising.

Last year they photocopied for me all of the Newton alchemical
manuscripts which runs to hundreds of pages. Their online
searching is not very good as it did not give me any of the
manuscripts I knew they had so I wouldn't rely on that.

Susan Miller

Subject: ACADEMY : Smithsonian Institution Scholar Programs
From: Adam McLean
Date: Tue, 8 Jun 1999

George Leake wrote:
>I found an online site for the Smithsonian:
>http://www.sil.si.edu/newstart.htm
>http://www.siris.si.edu/
>Alchemy, no hit under subject, one hit under Keyword search
>which looked very far afield to me.
>Anyhow, I don't think it looks promising.

A small hint when searching catalogues for books on alchemy -
Remember there are few books or manuscripts in English so
you should search using the various Latin forms of the word
'alchimia', 'alchemia', 'alchemiae', 'alchymia', 'chymiae', 'chymica'.
etc., and the forms in French and German 'alchimia', 'alchimique',
'alchemia', and such related forms.

Adam McLean

====================

For example 'alchymia' found the following 15 items in the
Smithsonian libraries.

Title :Bifolium metallicum : seu, Medicina duplex, pro metallis & hominibus infirmis, â proceribus artis hermeticæ, sub titulo lapidis philosophici ... Author :Pantaleon. Publication Date :1676. Location :Special Collections (Dibner) Call Number :QD25 .G25

Title :Etliche Tractat Philippi Theophrasti Paracelsi ... : von natürlichen Dingen ... Beschreibung etlinger Kreutter ... von Metallen ... von Mineralen ... von edlen Gesteinen Author :Paracelsus, 1493-1541. Publication Date : 1582. Location :Special Collections (Dibner) Call Number :QD25 .P22 1582

Title :Ex Fabri hydrographo ; Ex Palladio spagyrico [microform] Author :Newton, Isaac, 1642-1727. Publication Date :[between 1660 and 1727] Location :National Museum of American History Call Number :q mfm 001147n

Title :Ex Fabri hydrographo spagyrico ; Ex Palladio spagyrico [manuscript] Author :Newton, Isaac, 1642-1727. Publication Date :[between 1660 and 1727] Format :Manuscript Location :Special Collections (Dibner) Call Number :MSS 001024 B

Title :Ioannis Hasfurti medici ac astrologi praestantissimi, De cognoscendis, et medendis morbis ex corporum colestium positione libri IIII : cum argumentis, & expositionibus Ioannis Paulli Gallucij ... Author :Virdung, Johann, ca. 1465-ca. 1535. Publication Date :1584. Location :Special Collections (Dibner) Call Number :R128.6 .V8 1584

Title :Laurentii Venturae veneti, artium et medicinae doct. De ratione conficiendi lapidis philosophici, liber unus : huic accesserunt eiusdem argumenti Ioan. Garlandii angli liber unus : et ex Speculo magno Vincentii libri duo. Author :Ventura, Lorenzo. Publication Date :1571. Location :Special Collections (Dibner) Call Number :QD25 .V46 1571

Title :Megale chymia = vel Magna alchymia : das ist ein Lehr vnd Vnterweisung von den offenbaren vnd verborgenlichen Naturen, Arten vnd Eigenschafften, allerhandt wunderlicher Erdtgewechssen Author :Thurneisser zum Thurn, Leonhard, 1530?-1596. Publication Date :1583. Location :Special Collections (Dibner) Call Number :f QD25 .T54 1583

Title :The mirror of alchimy, / Author :Bacon, Roger, 1214?-1294. Publication Date : 1597 Location :Special Collections (Dibner) Call Number :QD25 .B13 E1597

Title :Notanda chymica [manuscript] Author :Newton, Isaac, 1642-1727. Publication Date :[between 1660 and 1727] Format :Manuscript Location :Special Collections (Dibner) Call Number :MSS 001028 B

Title :Notanda chymica [microform] Author :Newton, Isaac, 1642-1727. Publication Date :[between 1660 amd 1727] Location :National Museum of American History Call Number :mfm 001147n

Title :Papers [microform] Author :Newton, Isaac, 1642-1727. Publication Date :1700-1718. Location :National Museum of American History Call Number :mfm 001147n

Title :Paracelsus Of the chymical transmutation, genealogy and generation of metals & minerals : also, Of the urim and thummim of the Jews : with an Appendix of the vertues and use of an excellent water made by Dr. Trigge : the second part of the mumial treatise whereunto is added, Philosophical and chymical experiments of ... Raymond Lully ... Author :Paracelsus, 1493-1541. Publication Date : 1657. Location :Special Collections (Dibner) Call Number :QD25 .P22o 1657

Title :Les rudimens de la philosophie naturelle touchant le systeme du corps mixte ... [microform] : Author :Locques, Nicolas de, 17th cent. Publication Date :1664-1668. Location :National Museum of American History Call Number :mfm 002836

Title :Les rvdimens de la philosophie natvrelle : tovchant le systeme dv corps mixte ... Author :Locques, Nicolas de, 17th cent. Publication Date :1664-1668. Location :Special Collections (Dibner) Call Number :QD25 .L819

Title :The works of Geber [microform] Author :Jabir ibn Hayyan. Publication Date :1928. Location :National Museum of American History Call Number :mfc 005541.01

Subject: ACADEMY : Smithsonian Newton Alchemical MSS
From: George Leake
Date : 9 June 1999

Susan Anne Miller wrote:
>Last year they photocopied for me all of the Newton alchemical
>manuscripts which runs to hundreds of pages.

Wow, thanks for this information. I had been under the impression
that Cambridge had the lion's share of Newton's MSS. Perhaps
Newton's heirs hushed this part of his archive up and this is how
it came to be on this side of the Atlantic. Suffice to say, any
information you can pass on (brief descriptions?) I think would
be received with the greatest interest here.

G.Leake

Subject: ACADEMY : Floriano Canale
From: Adam McLean
Date : 10 June 1999

>Some time ago there was discussion on the alchemy site about a woman
>called Floriana Canale who wrote "De'Secreti Universali Raccolti, et
>Esperimentati Da Florian Canale Bresciano"(Venice, Ghirardo Imberti,
>1640). [snip] I am wondering how it has
>been established that this author is in fact a woman.

I had a look yesterday at the four editions of this work in Glasgow
University Library, dated 1622, 1626, 1640, and 1645 in Venice.

I suspect the confusion may have arisen from the difference between
the spelling on the title page and on the head of page 1.

The titles pages have:

De secreti universali, Raccolti, et esperimentati da Florian Canale

whereas the heading on page 1 has :

Dell'officina Medicinale di Floriano Canale.

I feel sure that this is a male name. The book itself seems to
have been written by a member of the medical establishment
of the time, and it might have been difficult for a woman in these
early decades of the 17th century, when men totally dominated
the medical profession, to be able to write such a work. The
book consists of many recipes and cures for medical conditions
and only seems to touch upon alchemy in a peripheral way,
in the sense that the medicine of that period, following Paracelsus,
drew heavily upon alchemical terms and substances. I cannot
however read Italian, so in making this superficial assessment
of the book I may have missed some important point.

Adam McLean

Subject: ACADEMY : Floriano Canale
From: Stanislas Klossowski de Rola
Date: Thu, 10 Jun 1999

Floriano Canale was definitely a man, Lenglet Du Fresnoy gives
his name in the French mode i.e. "Florian Canale" and in fact
gives us an earlier edition which is probably the original one
entitled "Bresciano Secreti, in-8 Brescia 1613".
His terse comment reads thus: "One finds therein many
Chymical operations, some are passable while others are
quite mediocre."

All the best,
Stanislas Klossowski de Rola

Subject: ACADEMY : Smithsonian Newton Alchemical MSS
From: Susan Anne Miller
Date: Fri, 11 Jun 1999

George Leake wrote:
>Wow, thanks for this information. I had been under the impression
>that Cambridge had the lion's share of Newton's MSS. Perhaps
>Newton's heirs hushed this part of his archive up and this is how
>it came to be on this side of the Atlantic. Suffice to say, any
>information you can pass on (brief descriptions?) I think would
>be received with the greatest interest here.

Dear George,
Cambridge only has the Keynes and Portsmouth Collections of Newton's work,
much else went private in the 1922 and 1936 sales. Here is a brief
description of the items at the Smithsonian:

1. Chemical notes (1660-1727?) - a recipe using gold and silver and a recipe
beginning "Materia sublimatur" on distillation MSS1007B SCDIRB
2. Chemistry transcriptions - inc Vilanova's "Rosarium abbreviatum", Boni's
"Margarita pretiosa" and Philaletha's English text on sulphur, 2 texts from
Blankaart's "Theatricum Chemicom" 1693. MSS 1008B SCDIRB
3. "Ex fabri hydrographo spagyricc; Ex Palladio spagyricpo". Undated MSS
1024B SCDIRB
4. Notanda Chy inc extracts from Maier's Arcana Arcanissima. MSS 1028B
SCDIRB.
5. The Regimen MSS 1032B SCdirb
6. Separatio elementorum; Reductio at sublimato MSS 1041B SCDIRB.
7. Vegetation of Metals MSS 1031B SCDIRB.

I think many of these are on the Chadwyck-Healey microfilms of Newton's
manuscripts.

Happy hunting.

Susan Anne Miller

Subject: ACADEMY : Paul Oskar Kristeller has died
From: Adam McLean
Date: 12 June 1999

I have received the following information from Eldo Stellucci in Italy.

Paul Oskar Kristeller, the prince of Renaissance philology, has
died in New York. He was 94. This great student contributed in a
determined way, in the 30's and 40's, to renew the serious study of
Humanism & Renaissance with publications in particular on Pico
della Mirandola and Marsilio Ficino. His completed bibliography
amounts to 800 volumes and articles. He was a Jew and was forced to
leave Germany because of the antisemitic laws and sheltered in Italy
at Pisa where he was called by Prof. Giovanni Gentile.

As students of the mind in all its various fields, as psychohistorians
knowing the importance of the Renaissance's rediscovery of a great
category of symbols, we all recognise Kristeller's great contribution to
our knowledge and have a gratitude for all his insightful work.

Eldo Stellucci

Subject: ACADEMY : Some questions
Date: Thu, 17 Jun 1999
From: Catherine Fox-Anderson

Greetings-
I have a few questions now that I'm immersed in the thesis:

1. In Stanislas de Rola's Golden Game, is there a reference to the
Chymical Wedding, or the coinuinctio taking place in repeated cycles?
I cannot find it if it's there. The focus of my thesis will be rex and
regina.

2. For Adam or anyone else; how would you characterize the current
state of scholarly research in alchemy? What about Spanish alchemy?

3. For Evgueni Tortchinov- Can you recommend a good article/study on
the connection between Tantric sex and western alchemical symbolism?

4. Is there a reference in any accessible alchemical texts to the
slowing down or speeding up of the processes of the work resulting in
failure? Any references to herons? The wolf image devouring birds of
prey? The furies/or valkyries? Ecstacy? Evil?

5. Can anyone recommend a good article/study on Sufi influences in
alchemy? Cabalistic influences/ Jewish alchemists, particularly
Spanish Jewish before 1492, or conversos in the New World (ie. Mexico)?

6. Alchemical influences in Western literature? Donne, Goethe,
Milton, Cervantes, Lope de Vega, Shakespeare ,etc.

I'd like to mention that La historia de la alquimia en Espana by J.
Garcia Font, is a solid study, and the best I've seen other than
Luanco's of the last century. Has anyone read Feijoo?

Thank you all in advance very much. If I can offer assistance let me
know. The Azogue site and Mr. Rodriguez have been helpful.

Best wishes

Catherine Fox-Anderson

Subject: ACADEMY : La Génération et Opération du Grand Oevre
From: Adam McLean
Date: 18th June 1999

Today I received a copy of an excellent recently published book.

La Génération et Opération du Grand Oevre pour fair de l'or.
Geneviève Dubois éditions, 1999

It is a facsimile with transcription into modern French of a manuscript
in the Bibliothèque municipale de Lyon, MS. Palais des Arts 88. It
has two series of watercoloured drawings wirh short texts. It is
referred to in Fulcanelli, 'Les Demeures Philosophales'.

It is a large format paperback and is modestly priced at 150F
29 euros. The easiest way to buy it is through www.alapage.com
a French bookshop which has the advantage of allowing you
to browse and place orders in English.

The publication of this book is of especial interest to me as it
finally clears up a mystery. In Glasgow University library there is a
unidentified manuscript which has interested me for many years.

Ms Ferguson 271.
40 folios. 215x163mm. 18th Century. In French.
[20 watercolour alchemical figures with explications in French.
In two series 1-14, and 1-6. The work is incomplete having lost
the outer folios. Thus the explication of the first figure is missing,
and the figure corresponding to the seventh figure of the second
series is also missing.]

This is obviously another version of the Lyons manuscript. Next
week, when I have time, I will compare the two versions. I
wonder if there are other manuscript copies of this work as
yet unidentified.

Adam McLean

Subject: ACADEMY : Alchemical manuscripts in Lyon
From: Adam McLean
Date: 18th June 1999

The manuscript I mentioned earlier 'La Génération et Opération du
Grand Oeuvre' is in the municipal library in Lyon. It came there from
the collection of Mr Adamoli, an eighteeenth century collector. I
have already documented some alchemical manuscripts in Lyon,
but did not have any information on this item. Has anyone done
any research at the public Library in Lyon into alchemical
manuscripts? There may be some further treasures waiting to
be discovered in this library.

Adam McLean

Subject: ACADEMY : Spendor Solis manuscripts
From: Adam McLean
Date: 23rd June 1999

I have been wondering recently about the exact sequence of the
manuscripts of the 'Splendor Solis'. Does anyone know of any
book which has investigated the versions of the 'Splendor Solis'
in detail.

According to Gisela Hohle 'Splendor solis der Sonnenglantz',
Wiesbaden 1972, the earliest version is the Berlin manuscript
dated to about 1532-35.

Berlin, Preussischer Kulturbesitz Staatliche Museen
Kupferstichkabinett MS. 78 D 3.

This and the two later copies, are suggested to have been made
in Augsburg, due to the stylised ornamentation, particularly the
flowers, which seems to be related stylistically to other
manuscripts produced in that area. These two copies may have
been produced some years later.

Nürnberg, Germanisches Nationalmuseum MS. 146766. [1550]
Berlin, Staatsbibliothek Preussischer Kulturbesitz MS. Germ. fol. 42.

The copy in France is slightly later

Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale MS. German 113. [ 1577]

The British Library version is dated to 1582, as is another copy
apparently in a private collection in Switzerland. Does anyone have
any information on this Swiss version?

British Library. MS. Harley 3469. [1582]
Private collection Switzerland. [1582]

The Kassel version was also made at this time.

Kassel, Landesbibliothek MS. 8vo Chym. 21 [1584-1588]

All the other manuscript copies are later, some from the 18th century.

Has anyone made an investigation of the Splendor solis manuscripts,
or know of a study of their sequence? I already have Hartmut Broszinski's
book 'Lux Lucens in tenebris', dealing with the Kassel manuscript which
does have some information on the dating.

Adam McLean

Subject: ACADEMY : Jewish alchemists
From: Gleb Butuzov
Date: Mon, 21 Jun 1999

Regarding the question of Jewish alchemists: there's an excellent book by
Raphael Patai entitled "The Jewish Alchemists" and published by Princeton
University Press, New Jersey, 1994. It covers the span from Old Testament to
medieval authors.

Best regards.

Gleb.

Subject: ACADEMY : Splendor Solis manuscripts
Date: Wed, 23 Jun 1999
From: Urs Leo Gantenbein

Together with Joachim Telle I am preparing a critical edition of
Splendor Solis taking into account all the existing manuscripts. The
questions Adam has asked are subject to this investigation. The MS
Hartmann mentions (Private collection Switzerland) is not yet located,
but there is a hitherto unknown MS at the Kantonsbibliothek Solothurn,
Switzerland.

Urs Leo Gantenbein

Subject: ACADEMY : Spendor Solis manuscripts
From: Stanislas Klossowski de Rola
Date: Wed, 23 Jun 1999

Dear Adam,
I have examined all the Splendor Solis manuscripts in Germany
which you mention.
The first and the oldest one is, as you have correctly stated,
MS. 78 D3 which is unfortunately damaged and incomplete
(only 19 pictures) but the dates you quoted are inaccurate:
i.e. folio 29 which depicts the plucking of the Golden Bough is
dated 1531 whilst folio 69 (i.e. Venus - which incidentally was cut out
of fol. 53 and rebound out of place) is dated 1532.
Those dates are interesting as my research tends to indicate that
their most plausible author was the very gifted Nuremberg artist
Albrecht Glockendon.
The latter, on the first of August 1531, published in Nuremberg
the first edition of a famous Planetary series of woodcuts
(erroneously attributed either to Hans Sebald Beham or to
Georg Pencz) which contains many of the elements found in a
similar sequence in all the Splendor Solis manuscripts.
Incidentally, the same Albrecht Glockendon lived in a house
called: " Das Haus beim Sonnenbad" that is to say the House by,
or near the Sun-bath.
It seems quite plausible that the best of the surviving manuscript
copies were illuminated by various members of the Glockendon
family in Nuremberg, as indeed Gabriel Glockendon almost
certainly illuminated the London manuscript. By the way, I find
that the Augsburg hypothesis, on the grounds mentioned is in fact
quite untenable.
I would be interested to know how and where you found the date
1550 in connection with Ms HS. 146766 in Nuremberg I certainly do
not remember having found any such date in it. However, it is
undeniably older than Harley 3469 as it still retains fragments of
golden captions in the colored rectangles under the flasks of the
Planetary series which appear to have been omitted in the London
copy.
The second Berlin manuscript (MS. CODEX GERM. fol. 42) is a
seventeenth century maneristic copy which belonged to the Elector
Friedrich Wilhem von Brandenburg (1620-1688) one plate (that of
"The New King" ) is missing.
The Kassel manuscript Ms. Chem. 21 (also of the XVIIth century) is a
collection of seriously damaged fragments under plastic it belonged
to the Elector Moritz of Hesse.
I am unfamiliar with the Swiss manuscript which you mention, There
is one copy in Solothurn but I can provide no reference to it as my
notes on that copy are incomplete and it has been nearly 25 years
since I saw it last. I do know that I looked for another one in Bern
but it was a wild goose chase.
WHo mentions this?
Much to my amazement I have never seen MS German 112 which
strikes me as extraordinary, where does this reference come from?
As I have previously stated, I am still working on revising and
completing my own long overdue Splendor Solis project begun over
twenty five years ago which Thames & Hudson has now agreed to
revive. Thus at some point in the not too distant future I plan to revisit
all the manuscripts.

All the best
Stanislas Klossowski de Rola

Subject: ACADEMY : Spendor Solis manuscripts
From: Adam McLean
Date: 24 June 1999

Stanislas Klossowski de Rola wrote:

>I would be interested to know how and where you found the date 1550 in
>connection with Ms HS. 146766 in Nuremberg I certainly do not remember
>having found any such date in it.

The date of around 1550 is given in Hartmut Broszinski 'Lux lucens in
tenebris'.

>I am unfamiliar with the Swiss manuscript which you mention, There is one
>copy in Solothurn but I can provide no reference to it as my notes on that
>copy are incomplete and it has been nearly 25 years since I saw it last. I
>do know that I looked for another one in Bern but it was a wild goose chase.
>WHo mentions this?

The Swiss manuscript is mentioned in Gisela Hohle 'Splendor solis
der Sonnenglantz', Wiesbaden 1972 and also in Broszinski, 1994.

They are possibly referring to the earlier articles by Felix Hartlaub.

Signa Hermetis. Zeitschrift des deutschen Vereins für
Kunstwissenschaft, 4 (1937), p93-112, 114-162.

Chymische Märchen. Naturphilosophische Sinnbilder aus einer
alchemistischen Prunkhandschrift der deutschen Renaissance
(Splendor Solis). BASF Werkzeitung 'Die BASF' 2+3/54, 1/55
BASF 1955, p5-21.

In this article he also discusses Albrecht Glockendon.

>Much to my amazement I have never seen MS. German 113. which
>strikes me as extraordinary, where does this reference come from?

MS. Allemand 113 in the Bibliotheque Nationale, f29v has the date
1577. Two illustrations from this are shown in Jacques van Lennep
'Alchemie', 1984.

> As I have previously stated, I am still working on revising and completing
>my own long overdue Splendor Solis project begun over twenty five years ago
>which Thames & Hudson has now agreed to revive. Thus at some point in the
>not too distant future I plan to revisit all the manuscripts.

This is good news . Please keep us informed of progress in your
research.

Adam McLean

Subject: ACADEMY : Theatre of terrestrial astronomy
From: Adam McLean
Date: 30th June 1999

Does anyone have any information on the 'Theatrum
astronomiæ terrestri' which was issued under the
name of Edward Kelly? This is the work which contains a series of
16 woodcuts, and was issued in an English translation edited by
A.E. Waite in the late 19th century. I am sure this work was written
some time earlier but later associated with Kelly. I thought I had
made some notes on the original version of this work, but cannot
find these. Does anyone know the title of the original work?

Edward Kelly
Tractatus duo egregii, de Lapide Philosophorum, una cum Theatro
astronomiæ terrestri, cum Figuris, in gratiam filiorum Hermetis nunc
primum in lucem editi, curante J. L.M.C. [Johanne Lange Medicin
Candidato].
Hamburg. 1676.

Subject: ACADEMY : Holger Rosenkranz - Danish alchemist
From: Adam McLean
Date: 30th June 99

Kent Johannsen has over the past few days informed me about a
17th century Danish alchemist of whom I have never heard of before.
I wonder if anyone has any further information on this person.

Adam McLean

--------------------------

Here is some information, partly from Kent Johannsen, and also
gleaned from some web searching.

The Dane Holger Rosenkranz was known as "The most learned man
in Europe", and in the gardens of his home, Rosenholm Castle,
there is a small building or tower "Pirkentavl" (late 1500) which is called "The
first University of Denmark". The building itself bears remarkable resemblance
with the old well known picture of the Rosicruzian college on wheels (no wheels
though..). It is known, that he had an alchemist workshop in the basement. His
son took up alchemy after his death, but his sister became so worried about
his experiments, that she threw all of his apparatus in the moat - where it was
found not many years ago. The choice of books in his library, combined with
symbolism on furniture + in the castle church, makes it very likely that he was
a mason. Holger Rosenkrantz' library has been recovered not long ago, it had
been confiscated by the notorious "book collector" Magnus Gabriel de la
Gardie, and there is much interesting stuff there.

Rosenholm castle was founded in 1559 by the nobleman and landlord
Jørgen Rosenkrantz (1523-1596) and completed by his son Holger
"the learned" Rosenkrantz (1574-1642). The castle is today one of the
most beautiful and complete renaissance castles. The castle, which has
had 17 owners, is still owned by the family Rosenkrantz and today
contains a rich inventory, consisting of furniture, paintings and tapestries.
In the park at the castle the house "Pirkentavl" is seen, which Holger
"the learned" used as a schoolroom, therefore the name "the first
university of Jutland".

Again let us finally recall the "book collector" Magnus Gabriel de la
Gardie who was responsible for yet another confiscation of a book
collection namely the large library belonging to Holger Rosenkrantz.
This collection contained particularly expensive treasures in the form
of irreplaceable Danish national treasures which during the wars were
stored at the Palace of Rosenberg. Let us as examples mention the
historian Anders Sörensen Vedel's historic collections, Tycho Brahe's
scientific works, Adam of Bremen's "Historia Ecclesiastica", hand writings
such as Riddarromaner in quarter-size format from about the year 1500,
transcript from Henrik Harpestreng's Medical Book, Denmark's oldest
Annal Collection, the famous Ryd-Aabog and many others. Parts of
these valuable collections are now stored in different places in Sweden
such as Kungliga Biblioteket, Skokloster, the University Library in
Uppsala, etc.