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Alchemy Academy archive May 1999 Back to alchemy academy archives. Subject: ACADEMY : Memoirs of the Asiatic Society of Bengal From: Adam McLean Date: 2 May 1999 Yesterday I had some good news about the articles in the 'Memoirs of the Asiatic Society of Bengal'. One of our colleagues has been able to locate copies of these in a library to which she has ready access. So there is no need for anyone to pursue this any further. My thanks to those who tried to help locate copies. Adam McLean Subject: ACADEMY : Arabic transmission of alchemy From: Adam McLean Date: 2 May 1999 I am trying to sort out a clear picture of the main historical source documents which were the vehicles for the transmission of alchemical knowledge to Europe. I would like to be able to build up a timeline or list of source materials and the personalities involved, (for example Robert of Chester and Michael Scot). Any suggestions? We are of course here looking for 11th/12th/13th century sources. Adam McLean Subject: ACADEMY : Arabic transmission of alchemy From: Adam McLean Date: 2 May 1999 Here is a provisional quick sketch of a time line for the transmission of Arabic alchemy to Europe. I would welcome any suggestions, amendments or additions. It seems that there is no evidence of Arabic influence in Europe outside Spain, before the 11th century. 11th Century - Liber Sacerdotum (?) 12th Century - 1144 Robert of Chester makes the first translation of an arabic alchemical text into Latin, the ' Book of the Composition of alchemy' by Morienus. Constatine Africanus translated a number of medical treatise from Arabic into Latin. 13th Century - Vincent of Beauvais (c1190--1264) quotes from Rhazes, and Avicenna. Albertus Magnus(1193-1283) has knowledge of Arabic sources especially Avicenna and Averroes. 1260 Bartholomew the Englishman's 'De rerum proprietatis' quotes extensively from Arbic sources including Avicenna. Michael Scot (c.1190-1250), the translator of various arabic works, wrote his 'Ars Alchemie'. I am unsure if anyone has identified the time when the 'Turba Philosophorum' first appeared in Latin. I do not have a copy of Ruska's book on the Turba available to me at present. Can anyone tell me of a definite date for thre first appearance of the 'Turba' in Europe? Adam McLean Subject: ACADEMY : Exhibition on alchemy From: Adam McLean Date: 7th May 1999 There is a most interesting exhibition entitled 'Geheimnisse der Alchemie' focusing on the historical, scientific, philosophical, psychological, iconographical and artistic aspects of alchemy in the University Library in Basel, Schwitzerland, from 9 April until 18 June. Later the exhibition will move to St Gallen and to Amsterdam later this year. This has been organized by Manuel Bachmann and Thomas Hofmeier of the Institut für Geschichte und Hermeneutik der Geheimwissenschaften in Basel, with the participation of the Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica in Amsterdam which has lent a number of items to the exhibition. Today I received the catalogue which is in the form of a large format book. It is in German and has many illustrations some in colour. It is well worth purchasing for those who read German. It is published by Schwabe and Co of Basel and bears the ISBN 3-7965-1368-9. The authors are Manuel Bachmann and Thomas Hofmeier 271 pages. Adam McLean Subject: ACADEMY : Exhibition on alchemy From: Adam McLean Date: 7th May 1999 A couple of people asked where they can purchase the catalogue of the exhibition. Geheimnisse der Alchemie Manuel Bachmann, Thomas Hofmeier ISBN 3-7965-1368-9 It is easiest to buy it through the German Amazon.com using your credit card. http://www.amazon.de/ The price is DM 78,00 (EUR 39,88). This should be is about $40 or £25 (to which you have to add the postage costs.) Please note the text is in German. Adam McLean Subject: ACADEMY : Museum exhibits on alchemy From: Adam McLean Date: 9th May 1999 I noticed in the book/catalogue 'Geheimnisse der Alchemie' a number of photographs of original alchemical apparatus in the Pharmazie-Historisches Museum in Basel, Switzerland. This reminded me of some other museums with permanent exhibitions of alchemical apparatus, or reconstuctions of alchemical laboratories. The Castle if Heidelberg, Germany is very well known, and I have also mentioned recently the 'Sala Carbonelli' (a room dedicated to Professor Carbonelli an early 20th century scholar who wrote some articles on alchemy) in the Museo Storico Nazionale dell'arte Sanitaria in Rome. There is also the reconstruction of a sixteenth-century alchemical laboratory in the Technisches Museum in Vienna, Austria Does anyone have any information on other alchemical exhibits in Museum, that might be worth visiting? I would like to document these on the web site. Adam McLean Subject: ACADEMY : Rosicrucian Movement in English Literature From: Bartosz Protas Date: Sun, 9 May 1999 I am looking for any references to the ideas advocated by the Rosicrucian Movement in English Literature of the 17th century. I am specifically interested in the concepts of Spiritual Alchemy, Reformation of the 'Whole Wide World' based on hermetic-cabalistic principles, formation of an 'Invisible College', etc. I would also appreciate any reference to explicit use of Rosicrucian Symbolism. Thank you in advance, Bartosz Protas University of Warsaw, Subject: ACADEMY : Museum exhibits on alchemy Date: Sun, 9 May 1999 From: Michal Pober Dear Adam In November of 1997 a small permanent exhibition on alchemy opened in the Castle at Budyne nad Ohri, about 40 kms NNW of Prague. The highlight is a very fine reconstruction of an Alchemy Lab in a cellar-space. The Castle is associated with Bavor Rodovsky, the best-known Czech alchemist of the Rudolf II era. If you or anyone else would like more information about this I will be happy to check a few more details. One of the primary organisers of this project was Dr Lubos Antonin of the Castle Libraries Dept. at the National Museum and a participant in the Conferences in Cesky Krumlov in '95 and Prague in '97. Secondly, though not a great deal of physical progress has been achieved so far with the project for an Alchemy Museum in Kutna Hora, there are some interesting developments. Firstly we have been donated a large collection of reproduction alchemical glass by the Kavalier Company of Sazava. Their glass and ceramic items were displayed in the Opus Magnum exhibition in Prague in '97. Secondly the legendary connection between Hynek, the son of the Czech King George of Podebrady, and Alchemy has recently been authenticated by the exciting discovery, by Dr Antonin, of an alchemical text written by Hynek. This is currently being translated from Latin into Czech by Dr Vladimir Karpenko and there will hopefully be an English version soon. The long-time belief in Hynek's adeptship also located his laboratory in the tower behind the Sankturinovsky House in Kutna Hora which have been donated by the town of Kutna Hora for the Alchemy Museum. In a couple of weeks there will be pictures of these on my web site. Currently there are a couple of pictures from the exhibition in Budyne. http://www.levity.com/bohemia/links.html Best Regards, Michal Subject: ACADEMY : Rosicrucian Movement in English Literature From: Adam McLean Date: 10th May Dear Bartosz Protas, You might firstly consider the articles by my friend Ron Heisler, which I have put onto the web site. The references in these articles will give you much material to follow up. http://www.levity.com/alchemy/h_ros.html The Forgotten English Roots of Rosicrucianism http://www.levity.com/alchemy/h_dee.html John Dee and the Secret Societies http://www.levity.com/alchemy/h_fre.html The Impact of Freemasonry on Elizabethan Literature http://www.levity.com/alchemy/h_fludd.html Robert Fludd: A Picture in Need of Expansion http://www.levity.com/alchemy/h_maier.html Michael Maier and England http://www.levity.com/alchemy/h_shake.html Two Worlds that Converged: Shakespeare and the Ethos of the Rosicrucians http://www.levity.com/alchemy/h_zeiglr.html Philip Ziegler: The Rosicrucian King of Jerusalem Subject: ACADEMY : Arabic transmission of alchemy From: Jon Marshall Date: 10 May 1999 This is a reposting of an earlier piece by Jon Marshall on the alchemy forum - A. McL. I would like to raise another issue, and that is the connection between Islam and Western Alchemy. I was recently reading 'The elixir and the stone' and though the early parts of the book are not too bad it is noteable that there are large areas which are unsourced - and one of these is the implication that considerable numbers of alchemical and hermetic texts were translated from the Arabic very early on. This is of course the standard view and one I've supported myself. Indirect evidence for this is plentiful in words which appear to be arabic transcriptions (Holmyard I think covers this), and the appearance of alchemy in Europe only after the translators started work. However when we get to actual texts only very few seem to appear: The emerald tablet (is located in an arabic work by Jabir) and despite its reputation is possibly only useful if you already know about alchemy Stavenhagen casts doubt on the date traditionally given to the translation of Morenius' Testament usually considered to be the first alchemical work to appear in the West, putting it much later and suggesting that at least some of it is a western addition - I don't know if anyone has found the Arabic original Geber, as opposed to Jabir, seems to be a Western original - though we may still await a competant arabist trying to find he Geber texts in the Jabir corpus or even comparing the two I'm not sure of the origin of the Turba (being unable to read Ruska, but I gather portions of it have been found in Arabic - but this does not prove the whole book in its current form is a translation from a similar Arabic text, and it could have been translated because it was thought to be Greek or even from a Greek original) So I'm going to suggest another heresy: Which is that very few books of Arabic Islamic alchemy were translated at all. And that the theory of alchemy in the west (post 1200) grew from translations of Islamic cosmological writers (say Razis though I am not sure what was translated), non-alchemical books such as Aristotles 'Metrologica', and the psuedo-Aristotle 'Secretum secretorum', and summaries of such writings in the great compilations (Bartholemew, Vincent de Beauvais etc). So though the translation of Arabic works was of vast importance for western culture: philosophy, mathematics, medicine and possibly theology, it may not be that important for Western Alchemy after suggesting the possibility of transmutation. And here I venture into pure speculation (horror) based on one text alone. There is apparantly a text called 'Mappae Clavicula' which is Italian 9-10th century which has a recipe for "increasing gold" (all I know about this is in Singer's book on the Alum industry). There may thus have been an already existing European craft tradition of transmutation which has only left this one manuscript trace. Some of the other craft books from the period of the appearance of alchemy might also be of interest as they are occasionally a bit 'alchemical' in flavour i.e. Theophilus 'On Divers Arts'. The point of all this is not to deny an islamic/arabic influence, but to suggest that an awful lot more work may need to be done before we can be sure of the extent and nature of that influence. If this absence of translated texts is correct then the Church might not have regarded Alchemy as at all specifically connected with Islam Jon Marshall Subject: ACADEMY : Some Italian alchemy books From: Adam McLean Date: 10 May 1999 I would like to bring to your attention a remarkable series of books on alchemy produced in Italy. This is the Biblioteca Ermetica series produced by Edizioni Mediterranee in Rome under the general editor Stefano Andreani. This series produced during the 1980's and 1990's amounts to at least 24 titles. These are issued in remarkably cheap paperback editions, well printed, some illustrated, and with excellent introductions by such scholars as Mino Gabriele. The books are uncut and one has the rather unknown experience of having to cut the pages with a paperknife. For those who read Italian, or who like myself would like to build a comprehensive library, these are excellent items to collect. A. Allegretti - De La Trasmutatione Dei Metalli Anonimo - Un Libretto Di Alchimia E. Canseliet - L'alchimia (2 vols) V. Capparelli - La Sapienza Di Pitagora (2 vols) V. Capparelli - Il Messaggio Di Pitagora (2 vols) G.B. Comastri - Specchio Della Verita Crassellame - Lux Obnubilata G. De Givry - Huai Nan Tze - Le Grand Oeuvre - La Gran Deluce C. Della Riviera - Il Mondo Magico De Gli Heroi L. De Sainct Disdier - Il Trionfo Ermetico B. De Vigenere - Trattato Del Fuoco E Del Sale Filostibio - L'antimonio N. Flarnel - Il Libro Delle Figure Geroglifiche N. Flamel, G. Aurach de Argentina - Il Segreto Della Polvere di Proiezione - Prezioso Dono Di Dio - Il Giardino Delle Ricchezze Fulcanelli - Il Mistero Delle Cattedrali Fulcanelli - Le Dimore Filosofali (2 vols) J.G. Gichtel - Theosophia Practica Huginus a Barma - Il Regno Di Saturno Trasformato In Eta Dell'oro Ko Hung - Le Medicine Della Grande Purezza Lambsprinck, M. Eyquem Du Martineau - La Pietra Filosofale - Il Pilota Deluonda Viva Le Breton - Le Chiavi Della Filosofia Spagirica M. Maier - Atalanta Fugiens Marchese M. Palombara - La Bugia F. Picchi - Le Epistole Di Ali Puli Rupescissa - Trattato Sulla Quintessenza Conte De Saint-Germain - La Tres Sainte Trinosophie F.M. Santinelli - Sonetti Alchemici Solazaref - Introitus Ad Philosophorum Lapidem G. Testi - Dizionario Di Alchimia E Di Fisica Antiqua Ria Trismosimo - Il Toson D'oro B. Valentino - Azoth B. Valentino - Cocchio Trionfale Dell'antimonio These can be purchased through the internet from the online Italian bookshop http://www.trigono.com/index.html Subject: ACADEMY : Museum exhibits on alchemy Date: Mon, 10 May 1999 From: Catherine Fox-Anderson Dear Michal, If there should be anything in terms of alchemical connections to Spain, such as visiting/collaborating Jewish, Christian, or Muslim alchemists in Prague, during any era, I would be interested. How long does the exhibit run? I have a friend who could visit it for me. Happy hunting, good luck. Catherine Fox-Anderson Subject: ACADEMY : Mappae Clavicula From: Adam McLean Date: 11 May 1999 Jon Marshall referred to an interesting early manuscript which was a source for some chemical and medicinal recipes for early European alchemy. The 'Mappae Clavicula' whose title can perhaps be translated "the little key to painting" exists in two manuscript. One is dated to the 10th century and another to around 1130 A.D. Neither show any traces of arabic sources but seem to be based on Greek and Latin sources. It consists of a series of 293 recipes similar to those found in the Stockholm and Leiden Papyri, and thus give instructions for dyeing, writing in gold and silver letters, tingeing metals, even recipes for Greek fire, as well as methods for making medicinal preparations using sugar. The presence of two old English words in the text might suggest that it was edited by an English writer. The text was published in the 'London Archaeologia' Vol 32, 1847, though I have not yet seen a copy of this. I will try and get access to this at Glasgow University Library next week. Adam McLean Subject: ACADEMY : Rosicrucian Movement in English Literature Date: Tue, 11 May 1999 From: Rafal Prinke Adam McLean wrote: > You might firstly consider the articles by my friend Ron Heisler, > which I have put onto the web site. The references in these > articles will give you much material to follow up. Ron Heisler's articles are really packed with information but I believe one should have some background to fully appreciate them. Frances Yates' 'The Rosicrucian Enlightenment' is IMHO the best book to start with, covering the whole phenomenon and writings generated by it in considerable detail. While reading it, however, one should distinguish between her (very controversial) thesis and information content. Best regards, Rafal Subject: ACADEMY : Mappae Clavicula Date: Tue, 11 May 1999 From: Barbara Berrie You might be interested in reading the translation of Mappae Clavicula by Smith and Hawthorne published in: Trans. Amer. Phil. Soc., 1974, vol 64 part 4. I don't know the full page citation. I have a poor photocopy of part of it. Smith and Hawthorne's footnotes are good. BHBerrie Subject: ACADEMY : Mappae Clavicula Date: Tue, 11 May 1999 From: Adam McLean Dear Barbara Berrie, Thanks so much for this information. I did not know that a translation had been made. Luckily I have access to the Trans. Amer. Phil. Soc. here in Glasgow and will look at this next week. It is amazing what is hidden away in various academic Journals. I recently found an article which gave some information on alchemy within different cultures 'A history of ideas about the prolongation of life' in this very same journal, 'The Transactions of the American Philosophical Society' Volume 56, Part 9, 1966. If I had time I suppose I should go through all the volumes of this journal sequentially searching for any material relevant to alchemy. Best wishes, Adam McLean Subject: ACADEMY : Rosicrucian Movement in English Literature From: Adam Audette Date: 12 May 1999 You might also refer to the Codex Rosae Crucis, published by Manly Hall 1938 and re-issued 1971. Excellent (although brief) historical account focusing on the 17th & 18th centuries of the Rosicrucian problem. The earlier edition of this work is extremely scarce, as only 1000 copies were printed. However the more recent edition is obtainable at www.prs.org. It is a work of careful and scholarly research. Extract from the introduction: "Historians of Rosicrucianism receive scant praise for honest research when their findings upset preconceived notions. Modern protagonists gyved in errors make a sorry spectacle when their literary productions are subjected to critical analysis. After reading the recent "histories" of the Order, I feel that Rosicrucianism needs a restatement. As no other apologist has appeared, I have ventured this present treatise to clarify the subject from the injustices heaped upon it by friends, foes, and "impartial" historians." I was taken, upon reading Fulcanelli's Dwellings of the Philosophers, with a certain concordance of views between the two philosophers on the Rosicrucian issue. Also of interest is the D.O.M.A. manuscript (18th century) that is re-produced in facsimile and also translated into English for the first time. Yours sincerely, Adam Audette Subject: ACADEMY : Rosicrucian Movement in English Literature From: Adam McLean Date: 12 May 1999 Stanton J. Linden is one of the most important of contemporary scholars investigating the influence of alchemical and related ideas on the literature of the 17th century. You might do well to consider reading his articles and books. Alchemy and eschatology in Seventeenth-century poetry. Ambix, 31, (3), 1984, p102-124. Jonson and Sendivogius: Some new light on Mercury vindicated from the alchemists at court. Ambix 24, 1977, p39-54. Francis Bacon and Alchemy: The reformation of Vulcan. Journal of History of Ideas, 35, 1974, 547-560. Dark Hieroglyphicks Subject: ACADEMY : Mappae Clavicula Date: 13 May 1999 From: Adam McLean The manuscript of the Mappae Clavicula, written probably about 1170 ( at Bec in Normandy?) was formerly in the collection of Sir Thomas Phillipps. It was this manuscript that that was published in 1847. It is now in the Corning Glass Museum in Corning, New York, USA. I have also found a short piece on the 'Mappa clavicula' in an article by Heinz Roosen-Runge on early medieval technology manuscripts. Here is my rather inadequate translation of these paragraphs. "The 'Mappae Clavicula' is the most famous early medieval art-technical tract. It descends from the English tradition and is found most completely in a North-France manuscript of the 12th Century. The name is much older however and it is already mentioned in the year 821 in the 'Reichenauer Bücherkatalog'. On the other hand, parts of the text already appear in the 8th to the 9th century in a manuscript in Lucca, the 'Compositiones ad tingenda musiva'. The manuscript contains 294 rules for metal-working, Alcherny and art-technology. In the second hundred there are a number of recipes for the manufacture of dyes." Adam McLean Subject: ACADEMY : Museum exhibits on alchemy From: Adam McLean Date: 13th May 1999 There is a reconstructed alchemical laboratory in the Deutsche Museum in Munich. This shows an alchemical laboratory as it might have appeared in 1600. Adam McLean Subject: ACADEMY : New book on Bruno From: George Leake Date: 15th May 1999 I just wanted to mention a book I found reference to earlier this week and is turning out to be the most exciting new work on Bruno I've seen this decade. It includes English translations of three of Bruno's most important works. If I have time, I'll return with a capsule review. Very encouraging too that it is a part of Cambridge's "Texts in the History of Philosophy" series, as usually Hermeticism and Alchemical related topics tend to get overlooked in such surveys. AUTHOR: Bruno, Giordano, 1548-1600. TITLE: Cause, principle, and unity / translated and edited by Robert de Lucca. Essays on magic / translated and edited by RichardJ. Blackwell ; (both written by) Giordano Bruno ; with an introduction by Alfonso Ingegno. PUBLISHED: Cambridge ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 1998. DESCRIPTION: xxxvi, 186 p. : ill. ; 24 cm. SERIES: Cambridge texts in the history of philosophy NOTES: Includes bibliographical references (p. xxxiv-xxxv) and index. Contents: Cause, principle and unity -- On magic -- A general account of bonding. SUBJECTS: Metaphysics--Early works to 1800. Magic--Early works to 1800. OTHER AUTHORS: Lucca, Robert de Blackwell, Richard J., 1929- Bruno, Giordano, 1548-1600. / Essays on magic. 1998. OTHER AUTHORS: Bruno, Giordano, 1548-1600. / General account of bonding. 1998. OTHER TITLES: Essays on magic ISBN: 052159359X (hardback) 0521596580 (pbk.) OCLC NUMBER: 38765070 Subject: ACADEMY : Mappae Clavicula From: Sophie Page Date: 15th May 1999 I briefly looked at some texts related to the Mappae Clavicula in the course of part of my phd research and wondered if the following information would be useful. Recipe collections of this kind both named and formal (in the sense of being copied fairly consistently), and anonymous and informal appear in large numbers of Medieval manuscripts in alchemical collections and with secrets, practical, magical and medical recipes. In at least one monastic library which I know of (St. Augustine's, Canterbury) the MC is included in the section of the library containing alchemical works. Articles which may be of interest on this subject: 'Medieval recipes describing the use of metals in manuscripts' S.M. Alexander, in Marsyas 12, pp.34-51. 'Art, Technology and Science: Notes on their Historical Interaction' CS Smith. in Technology and Culture 11, pp.493-549. 'Notes on some mss. of the Mappae Clavicula, ' Rozelle Johnson in Speculum 10, 1935. 'Trial Index to some unpublished sources for the History of Medieval Craftsmanship' Daniel V Thompson, pp.410-431. Sophie Page Subject: ACADEMY : The fifth essence From: Sophie Page Date: 15th May 1999 I wondered if anybody could help me with information on 'the fifth essence' - what it is and which texts discuss it. I am most interested in Medieval texts. I am translating a Latin text (12th or 13th century) at present called the book of the essence of the spirits. In spite of the title it is rather more religious than alchemical. A line in this text reads: 'The spirit is of the fifth essence, the second purity, or the weak harmony of the elements...' I have come across one other Medieval text, which is alchemical in the traditional sense (?) (instructions for making gold and curing diseases etc) and called the book of the fifth essence, of which there is (an old and rather inadequate) edition of the English version. I would also be interested if anyone knew anything about this text. Sophie Page Subject: ACADEMY : Museum exhibits on alchemy From: Klaus Oberhummer Date: Mon, 17 May 1999 There is an original alchemical laboratory ( Fugger laboratory) in Austria - called the laboratory of Oberstockstall - in Kirchberg am Wagram. Lit: Rudolf Werner Soukup, Helmut Mayer : Alchemistisches Gold, Paracelsitische Pharmaka. Boehlau Verlag Wien,Koln,Weimar. Mag.Klaus Oberhummer Technisches Museum Wien Subject: ACADEMY : Museum exhibits on alchemy From: Michal Pober Date: Sun, 16 May 1999 Dear Catherine, >If there should be anything in terms of alchemical connections to >Spain, such as visiting/collaborating Jewish, Christian, or Muslim >alchemists in Prague, during any era, I would be interested. Nothing immediately springs to mind but I'll keep you posted if it does. >How long does the exhibit run? Its a permanent exhibition but has very abbreviated hours in winter which are probably also 'flexible'. Once I went there when it should have been open but wasn't. I'll be there next week and will make a note of the official hours. >I have a friend who could visit >it for me. But probably can't take photos.. Best Regards, michal Subject: ACADEMY : Jean de la fontaine - mercury as a tree From: Mon, 17 May 1999 Date: Veerle Johanna Fraeters I am currently reading 'Een uytlegginge vanden boom mercurii' (= an explanation of the tree ['named' or 'of'] Mercury), a short alchemical text in verse (154 lines) which is contained in ms. Sloane 1255, an autograph of the Flemish medical doctor and alchemist Justus a Balbian (= Joos van Balbiaen, °Aalst1543 - Ý Delft 1616). The text learns that corpus and anima, being brought together into one vessel, will generate a tree which will be of much use to the king and the queen. Further on the six planets (mercury, luna, saturn, jupiter, mars, venus) each utter a short complaint about their vileness and how they long to be purified from sulphur so that their real power can come out. Finally the sun presents himself as the perfect king of the world, who first has to die in order to resurrect together with his father, after which he can be multiplied in order to help those who are in spiritual or material need. The poem is apparently translated out of french ('uyt den walschen'), and it containes a reference to 'Jan Fonteyne' or 'Fontanus' of whom is said that he has written most clearly about the art. A text of Jean de la Fontaine de Valencienne (15th century) might be the source of the Dutch poem. I checked 'La fontaine des amoureux de la science', a trancription of which is available on Adam's alchemy website (thank you!!!), but I found no literal parallels with the (much shorter) Dutch poem. 'La fontaine des amoureux ...' is transcribed from a book entitled 'La metallique transformation. Contenant trois anciens traitez en rithme francoise' edited by Pierre Rigaud, Lyon, 1618. This edition apparently contains three different poems by Jean de la Fontaine, one of which may be the source of the Dutch poem about the tree of mercury. I checked Adam's 'database of alchemical books up to 1800' but could not find the Rigaud edition there. Does any of you know in which library this book can be consulted? Does any of you know of articles on Jean de la Fontaine and/or his works? I noticed that the representation of mercury as a tree is not uncommon. There are quite a lot of iconographical testimonies. Does any of you know more about the tradition of mercury as a tree and about the symbolical meaning of this image? Veerle Johanna Fraeters Antwerpen Subject: ACADEMY : Jean de la fontaine - mercury as a tree From: Mon, 17 May 1999 Date: Veerle Johanna Fraeters > 'La fontaine des >amoureux ...' is transcribed from a book entitled 'La metallique >transformation. Contenant trois anciens traitez en rithme francoise' >edited by Pierre Rigaud, Lyon, 1618. This edition apparently >contains three different poems by Jean de la Fontaine, one of >which may be the source of the Dutch poem about the tree of >mercury. I checked Adam's 'database of alchemical books up to >1800' but could not find the Rigaud edition there. >Does any of you know in which library this book can be consulted? Jean de LA FONTAINE de Valenciennes. La metallique transformation. Contenant trois anciens traictez en rithme françoise. A sçavoir, La fontaine des amoureux de science: autheur I. de la Fontaine. Les remonstrances de nature a l'alchymiste errant: avec la responce dudict alchym. par I. de Mung. Ensemble un traicté de son Romant de la rose concernant ledict art. Le sommaire philosophique de N. Flamel. Avec la deffense d'iceluy art, et des honestes personnages qui y vacquent: contre les efforts que I. Girard met à les outrager. Derniere edition. Lyon: Pierre Rigaud 1618. There is a copy here in Glasgow in the Ferguson Collection at Glasgow University. Earlier editions of 'La metallique transformation' Paris: Guillaume Guillard en Amaulry Warancore 1561 copies in the BPH Amsterdam and the Duveen Collection, Wisconsin. Lyon: Rigaud 1590. copies in the BPH Amsterdam and in the Herzog August Bibliothek Wolfenbuttel. There is an edition of 'La fontaine des amoureux de science...' Lyon: J. de Tournes, 1571. Copy in the Duveen Collection, Wisconsin. >Does any of you know of articles on Jean de la Fontaine and/or >his works? I cannot remember any articles which discuss this poem. Adam McLean Subject: ACADEMY : Jean de la fontaine - mercury as a tree From: George Leake Date: 17 May 1999 Veerle Johanna Fraeters wrote: > I checked 'La fontaine >des amoureux de la science', a trancription of which is available >on Adam's alchemy website (thank you!!!), but I found no literal >parallels with the (much shorter) Dutch poem. 'La fontaine des >amoureux ...' is transcribed from a book entitled 'La metallique >transformation. Contenant trois anciens traitez en rithme francoise' >edited by Pierre Rigaud, Lyon, 1618. This seems close but probably not what you're looking for...Veerle, if nothing turns up, email me directly and I'll try a search on a resource that should have it (its just one that takes a bit of time and patience to get to and use)--email me at taliesin@mail.utexas.edu if it comes to that. AUTHOR: Tagault, Jean, d. 1545. TITLE: Opuscule tres-necessaire a ceux qui veulent parvenir a la cognoissance des principes de la science, ou art, de chirurgie. Extraict des Institutes de M. Jean Tagaut. / Et mis en dialogue par Tannequin Guillaumet ... PUBLISHED: Lyon, Benoist Rigaud, 1590. DESCRIPTION:58, (3) p. 12 cm. SERIES: French books before 1601, roll 325, item 5. NOTES: Colophon: de l'imprimerie, de Pierre Chastain dit Dauphin. 1589. Imperfect: p. 19-30 wanting. Master microform held by: GmC. Microfilm. Watertown, Mass., General Microfilm Co., (19--) 1 microfilm reel. 35 mm. (French books before 1601, roll 325,item 5) OTHER AUTHORS: Guillaumet, Tannequin, fl. 1575-1622. OCLC NUMBER: 23457509 Available from Center for Research Libraries, Chicago. Subject: ACADEMY : The fifth essence From: Iain Jamieson Date: 17 May 1999 Sophie Page. wrote: > I wondered if anybody could help me with information on > 'the fifth essence' - what it is and which texts discuss it. I am > most interested in Medieval texts. I am translating a Latin > text (12th or 13th century) at present called the book of the > essence of the spirits. In spite of the title it is rather more religious > than alchemical. A line in this text reads: 'The spirit is of the fifth > essence, the second purity, or the weak harmony of the elements...' > I have come across one other Medieval text, which is alchemical > in the traditional sense (?) (instructions for making gold and > curing diseases etc) and called the book of the fifth essence, > of which there is (an old and rather inadequate) edition of the > English version. I would also be interested if anyone knew > anything about this text. Dear Sophie, I assume the medieval text you refer to is that edited by Furnivall for the Early English Text Soc. from Slo. ms. 73 and ascribed to Hermes (!). This text is a mangled translation of John of Rupescissa's 'Liber de consideratione quintae essentiae', a work which had considerable influence on the pseudo-Lullian alchemical corpus. The following references will, I hope, be useful: Walter Pagel, Paracelsus, an Introduction to philosophical medicine in the era of the Renaissance, 2nd ed., Karger, Basel, 1982, pp. 263-266, for Rupescissa and Arnaldus on the Quinta Essentia. Michaela Pereira, The Alchemical Corpus attributed to Raymond Lull, Warburg Inst., London, 1989, Index, s.v. John of Rupescissa. R.P. Multhauf, John of Rupescissa and the growth of medical chemistry, Isis, 45 (1954), pp.359-367. You might also like to check Multhauf's 'Origins of Chemistry' which has some materials on J. of R. and the Quinta Essentia. I don't have a copy to hand so I can't give you the references. Iain Jamieson Subject: ACADEMY : Church reactions to Alchemy From: Jim Luebke Date: 17 May 1999 I was curious where I could find the best resources detailing the reaction of the Catholic Church to the practitioners of alchemy in the period between 1200-1500. Thanks, Jim Subject: ACADEMY : Church reactions to Alchemy From: Adam McLean Date: 18 May 1999 Jim Luebke asked: >I was curious where I could find the best resources detailing the >reaction of the Catholic Church to the practitioners of alchemy in the >period between 1200-1500. There is an excellent article: Ogrinc, Will H.L. Western society and alchemy from 1200 to 1500. Journal of Medieval History 6 (1980) p103-132 Also this book provides an interesting survey of the history of alchemy: De Pascalis, Andrea. Alchemy. The Golden Art. The secrets of the oldest enigma. Rome, Gremese International, 1995. Adam McLean Subject: ACADEMY : The fifth essence From: Adam McLean Date: 18 May 1999 Sophie Page wrote: > I wondered if anybody could help me with information on > 'the fifth essence' - what it is and which texts discuss it. I am > most interested in Medieval texts. I am translating a Latin > text (12th or 13th century) at present called the book of the > essence of the spirits. In spite of the title it is rather more religious > than alchemical. A line in this text reads: 'The spirit is of the fifth > essence, the second purity, or the weak harmony of the elements...' The 'fifth essence' is surely a rather hazy undefined term in early alchemy. As far as I understand the concept of a 'fifth essence' arose as a reaction to the restrictions and rigidities of the Aristotlean four elements. It was a transfomational dynamic power that came from outside the four elements. Some people saw it as coming from the heavenly sphere, from outside the spheres of the four elements, earth lowest, then the sea or sphere of water, the air, the realm of fire above, and outside this the heavenly sphere and the 'fifth essence'. I think we will find this concept of a dynamic force that breaks down or transcends the limitations of the four elements is at the root of the many different expressions of the 'fifth essence' during this early period of European alchemy. Adam McLean Subject: ACADEMY : Barbara Obrist's book on alchemical imagery From: Adam McLean Date: 18 May 1999 Does anyone have a copy of Barbara Obrist. Le debuts de l'imagerie alchimique, XIVe-XV siecles. Paris. Le Sycomore. 1982. 328 pages. I have been looking for a copy of this book for over three years. I would really appreciate it if anyone could lend me a copy for about two weeks. Adam McLean Subject: ACADEMY : Church reactions to Alchemy From: Jose Rodríguez Date: 18 May 1999 Jim Luebke asked: >I was curious where I could find the best resources detailing the >reaction of the Catholic Church to the practitioners of alchemy in the >period between 1200-1500. Dear Jim: There is a great article (in French) about alchemy in the Middle Ages: Barbara Obrist: "Les Rapports d'Analogie entre Philosophie et Alchimie Médiévales". In "Alchimie et Philosophie à la Renaissance". pp. 43-64. Librairie Philosophique J. Vrin, 1993. París. Barbara Obrist provides details about the break between alchemy and European universities in the Middle Age. The assimilation of a writing based on supernatural ideas (for example: Petrus Bonus: 'Margarita Pretiosa Novella') was scandalous to a university controlled by the Christian Church. José Rodríguez (Spain) Subject: ACADEMY : Psellus 'Chrysopeia' From: Adam McLean Date: 18 May 1999 Has anyone any information on the 'Chrysopeia' of Michael Psellus (1018- 1078)? I have not been able to locate an English translation, though there is a French version in Épître sur la Chrysopée. Opuscules et extraits sur l'alchimie, la météorologie et la démonologie, publiés par Joseph Bidez. En appendice-Proclus: Sur l'art hiératique; Psellus: Choix de dissertations inédites. Publisher: pp. xiv. 246. Bruxelles, 1928. 8o. Series: [Catalogue des manuscrits alchimiques grecs. vol. 6.] And also an Italian translation 'La Crisopea', edited F. Albini, Genoa, 1988. This is an early text on gold making from a Byzantine source. Adam McLean Subject: ACADEMY : The fifth essence From: Klaus Oberhummer Date: Wed, 19 May 1999 Dear Sophie! I'll send you some information on quintessenz. I hope you understand enough German to understand this text. Lit: Claus Priesner.Karin Figala:Alchemie, Lexikon einer hermetischen Wissenschaft. Quintessenz Seinen Ursprung nahm der Begriff der Q. (von lat. quinta essentia^ d. h. Elementen der sublunaren Welt (Feuer, Wasser, Erde u. Luft) stellte er ein funftes, himmlisches, an die Seite. Dieses Konzept leitete er aus seiner Bewegungslehre ab: Der linearen Bewegung der irdischen Stoffe, die den Gesetzen des Werdens und Vergehens durch stofflichen Austausch gehorch-ten, stand die bestandig kreisformige der Himmelskorper, deren Sphare daher eine grundsatzlich andere, gottliche, Beschaffenheit haben mu?te, gegenuber. Dieser Weltather, spater auch Spiritus (s. T Geist) bzw. t Pneu-ma genannt, diente als immaterielles Substrat der regelma?igen Bewegung der Gestirne, die sich bis auf den irdischen Bereich ubertrug. Die pseudo-aristotelische Schrift Ather stofflichen Charakter zu und verlieh ihm gottliche, erschaf-fende und bewegende Krafte. In der alchemischen Literatur erscheint die Q. als innerster Wesenskern aller Stoffe, dem eine konservierende oder heilende Kraft eigen war. T Jo-hannes von Rupescissa ordnete in seiner Schrift anderen vier Elementen uber. Gleichzeitig wird der Gedanke einer einzigen Q. zugunsten diverser, jeweils substanzspezifischer Q.en aufgegeben. Durch Destillation (s. T Arbeitsmethoden} gewann er aus dem Wein die wertvoll-ste und heilkraftigste Q., die Quinta essentia vini (Weingeist, T Alkohol), die die nach der aristotelischen Elementenlehre an sich unvereinbaren Ele-mente Feuer (hei? und trocken) und Wasser (kalt und feucht) wunderba-rerweise in sich vereinigte. Fur die Isolierung der spezifischen Q.en aus Pflanzen, tierischen Stoffen und Mineralien sowie deren Anwendung als Arzneien gab er genaue Anweisungen. Eine aus den vier antiken Elementen gewonnene Q. wurde als Mercurius philosophorum (Merkur der Philoso-phen^ s. a. T Quecksilber} bezeichnet; dieser sollte - wie der Gotterbote Merkur - die himmlischen mit den irdischen Spharen verbinden. Die Idee der Q. fand danach ihren besonderen Niederschlag in der Pharmazie. Hie-ronymus Brunschwig(k) (f 1512 od. 1513) beschrieb in seinem beruhmten Arzneimittel. T Paracelsus ordnete die Q.en den anderen Elementen nicht mehr uber, sondern sah darin das fur einen bestimmten Stoff charakteristische Element (so ist die Q. des / Goldes das 301 Quintessenz << OLE-Objekt: Picture (Metafile) >> Destillation von Krauteressenzen. Im Titelholzschnitt von Michael Puff von Schricks Buch Darstellung einer Frau als Laborantin. Dies verweist auf die alte Tradition der krauterkundigen Volks-medizinerinnen, da es (soweit wir wissen) kaum Alchemistinnen gab. (Aus: Michael Puff von Schrick, Hienach volget ein nuczliche materi von manigerley ausgepranten wasser wie man die nuczen und pruchen soll etc., Augsburg 1478 u. ofter) Feuer). Bei ihm wie bei seinen Vorgangern und auch bei spateren Autoren wird die jeweilige Q. durch eine Extraktion, d h. durch Abtrennung aller unwirksamen bzw. verunreinigenden Bestandteile, erhaken. In diesem Sin-ne definierten auch Martin T Ruiand (1612) und Antome Joseph Pernety (1716-1800/01) in ihren Lexika die Q. als stoffliche Essenz, die die einem Korper eigenen wirksamen Krafte bzw. Qualitaten in sich vereinigt. Der-artige Extrakte als Arzneiform finden sich noch im 19. Jh. in den Pharma-kopoen und belegen so die Dauerhaftigkeit der Vorstellung eines in jedem Stoff vorhandenen isolierbaren Wesenskerns. L Aristoteles, De caelo, Buch I, 2-3; 268^-270 , in: J. Barnes (Hrsg.), The Complete Works of Aristotle. The revised Oxford Translation, Princeton 1984, Bd. I, S. 447-51; Ruland, S. 400 f; A.-J. Pernety, Dictionnaire Mytho-Hermetique, Paris 1758, (Nachdr. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ To my mind you should imagine that "Quintessenz" was used by German writers, who imagined something like "Gewinnt-Essenz", which is pronounced very similar to "Quintessenz". The latin quinque pronounces to my mind the symmetry five of the human hand. Maybe Quintessenz could be understood as "Gewinne was du ersehnst, mit Hilfe der menschlichen Hand" . Win/make the desired with the help of man. Klaus Oberhummer Subject: ACADEMY : Fifth essence From: Sophie Page Date: Thu, 20 May 1999 Thanks to everybody for their helpful information on the fifth essence, it appears that I was very ignorant until a week ago. The text I am studying seems to use the term 'fifth essence' in a sense closer to the Aristotelian one (though filtered through a Christian interpretation) than the alchemical one but I need to do more research. I think it was probably written before Johannes de Rupescissa's work and does not seem to share any elements of either his alchemical text or his religious prophecies (and thus could not usefully be viewed as a transitional text between the two senses of the 5th essence). However, a look at Michela Pereira's corpus of Pseudo-Lullian alchemical works has indicated 12 (at least) more works largely centred on the fifth essence which I may need to investigate. I still need to work out the exact alchemical content of the text I am looking at (if any) and may further try the patience of Alchemy Academy members with questions in a few weeks time. Sophie Page Subject: ACADEMY : Smithsonian Institution Libraries Resident Scholar Programs Date: Thu, 20 May 1999 From: Maureen Daley 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 http://www.sil.si.edu/Information-Files/dibner-fellowship.htm. Applications are also available by writing to Smithsonian Institution Libraries Resident Scholar Programs, Smithsonian Institution Libraries, NHB 22, MRC 154, Washington, D.C. 20560-0154. Tel: (202) 357-2240, or send e-mail to libmail@sil.si.edu. Maureen Daley Program Assistant Information Systems Division/Publications Office Smithsonian Institution Libraries Subject: ACADEMY : Church reactions to Alchemy From: Adam McLean Date: 22 May 1999 Jim Luebke asked: >I was curious where I could find the best resources detailing the >reaction of the Catholic Church to the practitioners of alchemy in the >period between 1200-1500. Sorry, I forgot a most important article Wilfrid Theisen. The attraction of alchemy for monks and friars in the 13th-14th centuries. The American Benedictine Review, 1995, 46:3, p239-253. Adam McLean Subject: ACADEMY : John Thornborough From: Tim Axon Date: 24 May 1999 I am currently doing some research on John Thornborough (1551-1641), Bishop of Worcester (1617-1641). Thornborough was interested in alchemy and wrote an alchemical work, "Lithotheorikos" (1621). He also knew Robert Fludd, who dedicated his "Anatomiae Amphitheatrum" (1623) to him. (Fludd's "Mosaicall Philosophy" also mentions Thornborough). He appears to have led an extremely colourful life - I have found several books which mention him briefly, in passing, (e.g. DNB, Joan Lane's "John Hall and His Patients", Allen Debus's "The English Paracelsians", William Huffman's biography of Fludd, A. L. Rowse's book on Simon Forman), but nothing more substantial. (A couple of articles by Ron Heisler, accessible through the Alchemy Website, also mention him). Are there any further references that might be of use? I would be particularly interested in views as to the possible significance of his remarkable tomb in Worcester Cathedral. At the top left of one side of the tomb (on the stone canopy above his effigy) is the Latin inscription "DENARIVS PHILOSOPHORVM.". At the top right: "DVM SPIRO, SPERO.". On the other side of the tomb, top left: "IN VNO.2.3.4.10" (with superscripts "o", "a" and "r" above of "2", "3" and "4", respectively); top right: "NON SPIRANS." I interpret the phrase "DENARIVS PHILOSOPHORVM" to refer to the Pythagorean Ten/Decad. This is supported by the reference to "VNO.2.3.4.10", which looks like a reference to the Pythagorean tetraktys. Final confirmation lies in the fact that immediately beneath the latter phrase is an heraldic device consisting of an (inverted) tetraktys! In fact, it turns out that this is the arms of the see of Worcester, which long predates Thornborough, but I feel sure that - in the choice of his inscription - Thornborough must have been making a conscious connection between the two. Perhaps, then, the Latin inscription is a meditation on the Decad. Nevertheless, the sense of the whole inscription eludes me, and I wonder if anyone has any suggestions to offer? (Note: the phrase "NON SPIRANS." is reported in early sources to be "NON SPIRANS SPERABO", but there is no evidence of this from the tomb as it now exists - I suspect the latter is a mistranscription. The shield beneath this phrase bears the personal arms of Thornborough. There are also shields beneath each of the first two phrases mentioned - these are unfortunately now defaced but there are reasons to think that they also bore the arms of the see and of Thornborough). There are two other Latin inscriptions that may be of relevance. Above the head of the effigy: "Mors nubecula transiens, Laborum finis. vita Ianua scala coeli. mihj Lucrum.". Above the feet of the effigy: "Quj dormis attolle caput quia in infirmitate virtus, in Morte vita, in tenebris Lux." Are these quotes, I wonder? Any help regarding Thornborough, and especially regarding the tomb, would be very gratefully received! With many thanks, Tim Axon Subject: ACADEMY : The fifth essence From: Adam McLean Date: 25 May 1999 There is a short but very interesting discussion of the fifth element in this article in AMBIX Daniel Merkur. The study of spiritual alchemy: mysticism, gold-making and esoteric hermeneutics. Ambix, 37, 1990, p35-45. Adam McLean Subject: ACADEMY : Data bank of alchemical pictures From: Adam McLean Date: 25 May 1999 On the inside cover of Andrea De Pascalis' book 'Alchemy the golden art', it mentions that he is - "currently working on a project, approved by the C.N.R. (National Research Council), for the creation of a data bank of alchemical and early chemical pictures." Does anyone have any information on this project or a contact address for Andrea De Pascalis? The preparation of a such a data bank, provided it was exhaustive and comprehensive would be invaluable. I myself have been trying to do this for many years, but without any financial resources or assistance it is proving a considerable task for me to undertake. I already have completed about half the work necessary. Adam McLean Subject: ACADEMY : Dum spiro spero From: Stanislas Klossowski de Rola Date: Tue, 25 May 1999 Dear Tim Axon, The inscription "DUM SPIRO SPERO" struck an immediate chord in my memory as there is in the ceiling at the castle of DAMPIERRE-sur- BOUTONNE, (built at the end of the 15th century) one of Fulcanelli's Philosophick Dwellings a similar inscription i.e. "DUM SPIRO SPERABO" As long as I breathe I hope. This is to be found in the third panel at the top of the second series, in a phylactery above a severed snake representing the Philosophick Mercury. The text concerning this particular emblem is to be found on page 219 of the original edition. (Paris 1930) . I am certain that you will find it easily as Les Demeures Philosophales was also recently translated into English. Let me know if you need more help. Sincerely, Stanislas Klossowski de Rola Subject: ACADEMY : Dum spiro spero From: Adam McLean Date: Wed, 26 May 1999 The motto 'Dum spiro spero' was used by the Lindsay family in Scotland. The early 17th century Lord Lindsay built an interesting renaissance walled garden at his castle at Edzell in Scotland. This bears the date 1604 over the entrance gate, and the walled garden has three series of seven relief sculptures - representing the seven planets, the seven liberal arts and the seven virtues. These are set into strange checkered bays with seven pointed stars in the wall. The son of this Lord Edzell, was the Earl of Balcarres, Sir David Lindsay, who had an especial interest in alchemy and the rosicrucians, and had an extensive library, for the time, on alchemy. I will put a little plan of this walled garden onto the alchemy web site at http://www.levity.com/alchemy/images/edzell.gif Adam McLean Subject: ACADEMY : Béroalde de Verville's Steganographic preface From: Adam McLean Date: 27 May 1999 At the end of March Stanislas Klossowski de Rola kindly promised that he would translate the "Recueil Steganographique contenant l'intelligence du frontispiice de ce livre" from Béroalde de Verville's 'Songe de Poliphile...' Paris 1600. and allow me to make it available on the alchemy web site. I am pleased to say that he has now completed his translation and sent me the text earlier today. I have now set it up on the web site at http://www.levity.com/alchemy/beroalde.html Subject: ACADEMY : John Thornborough From: Adam McLean Date: 27 May 1999 This evening by serendipity this book was drawn to my attention. I noticed that it was dedicated to John Thornborough ============================== Lambye, John Baptiste. A revelation of the Secret Spirit. Declaring the most concealed secret of Alchymie. Written first in Latine by an unknowne Author, but explained in Italian, by Iohn Baptista Lambye, Venetian. Lately translated into English, by R.N.E. Gentleman. London, Printed by Iohn Haviland for Henrie Skelton, and are to be sold at his shop a little within All-gate. 1623. [STC 15177.] 16° [12] + 80 +[2] pages. p[1] [Title page.] p[3]-[8] [Epistle dedicatory.] To the Right Reverend Father in God, my honourable Lord, Iohn Thornburgh, Lord Bishop of Worcester, health and happinesse. [At end "R.N.E."] p[9]-[11] To the discreet and true searchers of the secrets of Nature, leading a solitary life. Iohn Baptista Lambye, Venetian, wisheth health. p1-17 The revelation of the secret spirit. The author sets out to describe that secret spiritual substance which can remove all corruptions, renew youth and prolong short life. p18-22 The Preamble to the Exposition of the secret spirit. [This is a summary of the following section.] p23-80 [Text in eight chapters.] Wherein it is proved that there is only one thing, out of which the secret Spirit, or the Philosophers Stone, may be taken - In which shall bee seene, (by meanes of many sentences of divers Philosophers) if it can bee judged, what thing is this only thing - Wherein is proved, that of necessity it behoveth to reduce the body to the first matter, that it may be disposed for the separation of the Elements - Where it shall bee seene if it bee possible, to know what thing is tis first matter - In which is handled the separation of the foure Elements, which the apparitions of that secret Spirit doe signifie - In which shall be declared the fifth apparition of the secret Spirit in a glorified body - Wherein is shewed the manner to make the Elixir, or medicine to conserve the life of man - Where are handled the divers workers in this Science. p[1] Errata. ================ Subject: ACADEMY : Jean de la fontaine - mercury as a tree From: Stanislas Klossowski de Rola Date: Thu, 27 May 1999 Earlier editions of Jean de la Fontaine are : Paris 1547 Paris 1561 and there is an excellent anthology in the third volume of Le Roman de la Rose Paris 1735. Stanislas Klossowski de Rola Subject: ACADEMY : Data bank of alchemical pictures From: Adam McLean Date: 28 May 1999 I have today placed part of my provisional database of alchemical iconology in printed books onto the web site. http://www.levity.com/alchemy/iconology.html Over the past years I have researched over 1020 books containing woodcuts or engravings. This online database of the iconography includes a description of the images and in most cases a small picture for reference purposes. The primary source for this database is a series of folders I hold here in Glasgow, which have my written research on over 500 books. This online database initially only has 55 entries, as it takes an enormous amount of time to scan in the images and set up the html pages for the web site. New pages will be added as the work proceeds. As I have no support for this work I can only find an hour or so a week to do this. The pictures are small size in order to save disc space and to save my costs, but they provide a reference for identification purposes. I cannot provide printing quality images on the web site. If you require printing quality images then you will have to contact one of the specialist libraries - Glasgow University, Wisconsin, or the British Libary - and ask them to make microfilms or photographs for you. This is expensive and my own lack of funds means that I myself cannot immediately afford to have many photographs made. Almost no libraries allow photocopies to be made from early books. I would welcome any assistance with developing this project further. If I could raise some funding I might be able to issue this as a CD-Rom. Adam McLean |
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