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Magnum Opus Hermetic Sourceworks Series This series of limited edition hand-bound books by Adam McLean were initially produced between 1979 and 1986. They were never sold through book dealers, but only by direct mail order. Consequently, these books became collectors items, often fetching high prices on the second-hand market. Only a few copies remain of some of the older titles in this series and a number are now entirely sold out. Since 1997 thirty new titles have been issued with more in preparation.  
No. 27. Three Dreams on the Transmutations of Metalsby Giovanni Battista Nazari Translated by Doug Skinner Sorry, the edition is now sold out. Some copies may be available from Adam McLean's personal collection. Email adam@alchemywebsite.com for information on availability and price. This remarkable book written in the last half of the 16th century is an elaborate extended allegory in the form of three dreams. Through these the author is taken on strange journeys in which he meets various symbolic figures who lead him to realise the errors, deceptions and falsehoods of alchemy. He is guided by Bernard of Treviso towards an understanding of where the alchemical truth lies. This is one of the key allegories of alchemy. It appeared very early in alchemical publishing. Although written in Italian and never translated into Latin, this work must have influenced the explosion of the allegorical alchemy that appeared in the early 17th century. It draws upon the Hypnerotomachia (Dream of Poliphilus) printed in 1499, Nazari having the same fascination for elaborate descriptive detail of architecture and landscape. This is the first ever translation of this previously obscure work. Few will have heard of this work before, but this is truly one of the hidden gems of alchemical allegory. This book has a number of woodcut illustration that have become quite well known recently.
Limited edition of 300 signed and numbered hardbound copies. 147 pages. Illustrations. |