Weiser Antiquarian Books Catalog # 32.
Alchemy.
IMPORTANT. Please note that this is an out-of-date catalog and is stored here for interest's sake only. Many of the books listed have already sold. Those that are still available are listed in the searchable database on the main page of our website at http://www.weiserantiquarian.com , or you can inquire direct by email
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Welcome to this, the thirty-second of our on-line catalogs, this time devoted to the subject of Alchemy.
The catalog is made up of five sections, the first of which features just one item, a charming nineteenth-century Italian Alchemical Manuscript containing translations into Italian of a work by Sendivogius, and two smaller texts. The second section lists a small selection of antiquarian and rare books, including a nicely bound set of William Law's edition of The Works of Jacob Behmen, The Teutonic Theosopher..., (1764-81), with magnificent hand-colored fold-outs, etc., a copy of The Dragon of the Alchemists, (1926) by Austin Osman Spare's friend and co-editor of Form magazine, Frederick Carter, and Dorothea Waley Singer's important three volume Catalogue of Latin and Vernacular Alchemical Manuscripts in Great Britain and Ireland (1928-1931). A particularly interesting association item is a copy of Treatise on the Great Art. A System of Physics According to Hermetic Philosophy and Theory and Practice of the Magisterium, 1898 signed by Edouard Blitz. A Martinist, and follower of Papus, Blitz was cited as the translator of the work, although it has been suggested with some authority that he may in fact have been its author. This particular copy has a fascinating multiple provenance, having been presented by Blitz to Leopold Engel (a prominent member of the Verband Deutscher Okkultisten and close associate of Theodor Reuss), and eventually finding its way into the library of John W. Hamilton-Jones, a well-known Freemason, Theosophist, and member of the Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia (S.R.I.A.), who published a number of important translations of little-known alchemical and hermetic texts.
The third section of the catalog comprises a good selection of Used, Out-of-Print, & Unusual Alchemical Texts, some of which are surprisingly scarce. The fourth section describes a recent publication that has attracted considerable interest within Alchemical circles: The Great Alchemical Work of Eirenaeus Philalethes, Nicholas Flamel and Basil Valentine by Rubellus Petrinus, whilst the fifth section offers a group of books, each of which is priced at twenty-five dollars or less. Despite their lowish prices, a number of these are quite important works, and worthy of serious consideration.
As usual we have a number of other catalogs in preparation. At present we are not sure in what sequence they'll appear, but they include: Spiritualism (Part II) , Rosicrucianism, Magic and Hermetica. Future catalogs will be devoted to The Occult Review, Astrology, Mythology, Theosophy, Grimoires, and other of our specialties. Of course we will also continue to regularly issue our special Aleister Crowley catalogs.
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Contents of this Catalog:
A Nineteenth Century Alchemical Manuscript.
Antiquarian & Rare Books on Alchemy.
Used, Out-of-Print, & Unusual Alchemical Texts.
'The Great Alchemical Work,' An Important Recent Publication.
Alchemy on a Budget. Books Priced at Twenty-Five Dollars or Less.
About This Catalog & How To Purchase From It.
A Nineteenth Century Alchemical Manuscript.
ALCHEMICAL MANUSCRIPT. Sandivogius [ Sendivogius ]; Marc Antonio Crassellame and another; Translated into Italian by Cesare Passigli. Manuscript translations of three alchemical works into Italian. Florence [?]: 1840. Hardcover. 8vo. Italian text. Contemporary half vellum with marbled papered boards, laid paper, approx. 100 pages in flowing manuscript, three parts in one volume.
The first part: [Sendivogius] Cosmopolita,Trattato del Sale De' Filosofi Ermetic, trattoto dal Francese in Italiano: (apparently a translation from Cosmopolite ou nouvelle lumiere chymyque, divisée en douse... , d'Houry, Paris: 1669). vi + 80pp with a mounted engraving 'De cavernis metallorum occultus est..." from Limojon de Saint-Didier's Triomphe Hermetique, [from the reprint in the third volume of Jean Maugin de Richebourg, Bibliotheque des Philosophes Chimiques, 1740-1754] with 2 pages of explanatory text, in ms., on a folding inserted leaf. The whole text on blue laid paper.
The second part: [Fra Marc-Antonio Crassellame Chinese] Ai veri Sapienti si discorre teoricamente sopra la composizione della Pietra de Filosofi.
An Italian alcehmical work, in verse. According to Ferguson it was translated into French, with the Italian poem included, and was published with the title: La Lumiere sortant par soy meme des Tenebres ou veritable theorie de la Pierre des Philosophes . . . Paris. L. d'Honry, 1687. Apparently the French text (but not the Italian) was reprinted in the third volume of Jean Maugin de Richebourg, Bibliotheque des Philosophes Chimiques (1740-1754). Presumably the text here was either from an early edition, or was retranslated from the French. 10pp. written on white laid paper.
The third part: Strada dell Unica Verita, cive Operetta elegante di gran pregio che apre la via della verita, 'In Frankfort l'Anno 1677' A short alchemical work, apparently extracted from 'Via Veritatis Unicae' in Musæum Hermeticum reformatum et amplificatum, Frankfurt, 1678. 17pp. written on white laid paper.
An interesting and unusual collection of alchemical works, obviously carefully transcribed by an enthusiast at a time when the originals were all but unobtainable.
The author of the main tract, Sendivogius (1566-1636), was born into the Polish nobility and held positions in several European courts, including that of Emperor Rudolf II, with whom he is said to have achieved transmutation during an alchemical experiment at Prague in 1604, a feat which he is supposed to have repeated before the Duke of Wurtemberg at Stuttgart in 1605. Sendivogius led an eventful life, and is variously supposed to have been kidnapped by rivals, and to have been twice imprisoned: once for his alleged part in the death of a fellow alchemist, and the other time for allegedly making false claims about his spygarical successes. His friends included Michael Maier and Oswald Croll. Sendivogius achieved widespread renown within alchemical circles, and was often cited as one of the few to have achieved the Philosopher's Stone. In later centuries he was also said to have been one of the early members of the Rosicrucians. Vellum darkened, boards well rubbed and chafed. Fore-edge rubbed through to boards, corners and spines ends rubbed and a bit rounded. Some contemporary repairs to lower edge of title and following page were likely made by the writer to alter the text. Still a pleasant and complete manuscript volume. (33606) Please check our website for current availability.
Antiquarian & Rare Books on Alchemy.
[Jacob Boehme]. The Works of Jacob Behmen, The Teutonic Theosopher...with Figures, illustrating his Principles, left by the Reverend William Law, .... (4 Volume Set). London: M. Richardson, Joseph Richardson, G. Robinson, , 1764-81. First Edition. Hardcovers. 4
Vols. Large Quartos (11" x 9"), Vol. I; [ii] xxiv, [iv] 270, [vi], 302,
[xx], [ii] [+ plates] Vol. II; [viii], 196, [xxxiv], [11], 120, 160, 32; [+
plates] Vol. III; [iv], 508, [xxvi], Vol. IV; [ii] 298, 218, [viii] pp.
Recent quarter leather binding, beautifully done in period style. Brown
leather spines, with gilt stamped leather title labels, gilt decorations,
etc. Marbled paper boards. Woodcut initials, head and tail pieces,
tables in text. Engraved frontispiece portrait of Boehme & 25 copper
engraved plates, 2 of which are hand-colored, two foldout (including one of
the hand colored plates), and 4 of which (including the other foldout) have
overslips. NB the 3 non-folding plates with overslips are supplied in
well-crafted modern facsimile, all other plates are original.
The first complete Collected Edition of the works of Boehme in English.
Jacob Boehme (1575-1624) underwent a variety of mystical experiences in
his youth, including a vision in 1600 (the year in which Giordano Bruno was
immolated) in which he felt the spiritual structure of the world was laid
open before him, and the relationship between good and evil explained.
Although he was accused of heresy much of his world view was not out of
step with Lutheran theology of the time, for he believed that encouraged by
fallen angels, humanity had fallen from grace to a state of sin, and that
it was God's will to restore it. Boehme had a third vision when he was
thirty-five in which "Nature opened wide the portals of her secret chambers
and laid bare before his gaze the treasures hidden in the very depths of
her pure virgin bosom," which inspired his study 'The Three Principles of
Divine Essence.'
Whilst a mystic above all, Boehme was been influenced by Neoplatonist
thought and the writings on spiritual transmutation of alchemical authors
such as Paracelsus, with Dame Frances Yates observing that he "aimed at
refreshing with Paracelsus-inspired alchemical philosophy the deadness and
dryness of contemporary Lutheran piety." He in turn inspired and influenced
later mystical groups such as the Rosicrucians and the Theosophists, who
held him to be one of their spiritual forbears, with Mme. Blavastky
speaking highly of him and his work. William Law (1686-1761) was his
Boehme's chief English proponent, who went so far as to learn German so
that he could read the mystics' works in the original language.
There is a delightful and beautifully penned contemporary owner's notice on
the front free end paper of the first volume which reads: "How the Author
is to be Read with Profit, What Recommended First and with what CAUTION, is
Solidly Answered by Wm. LAW in his Way to Divine Knowledge from Page 238 -
243 inclusive." The collation of this set is notoriously random -
virtually no two sets are the same - with plates found in differing
volumes, some set issued without various of the 'catalogues', appendicies,
etc. This set appears to contain all of these except an "Appendix to the
Book of Election" which appears as pp. 299 - 304 of some sets. Some old
damp browning throughout Vol. I - though the pages remain supple - a little
contemporary marginalia. There is a one inch square section missing from
top corner of advertisement leaf of Vol. II (no loss to text), a few neat
astrological annotations on plate facing p. 94, and some pencil underlining
throughout. Vol. III, has contemporary annotations on the title page and
scattered throughout the book (mostly in the margins), as well as some old
ink underlining on a few dozen pages, and some light foxing. The three
single page plates with overslips are in facsimile, all other plates
present and in good order (some small tears to the folds as always). One
other leaf "A Catalogue of the Books written by Jacob Behmen" p. (xxvi) of
Vol. I, is also in facsimile - though so well crafted it is practically
indistinguishable from the original. The title page of Vol. IV is chipped
at the bottom, without loss of text, and there are a number of
thumbprint-sized small old library blind stamps and a few similarly sized
ink-stamps, mostly to the margins of the preliminaries of that volume
(only). Fragment of a later related publisher's prospectus bound into Vol.
III. Vol. III is not quite as tall as the other volumes: it is clear that
this is a 'mixed set' (as was often the case with this work) though clearly
it was assembled a long time ago. Still a nice set of a major and
important work on mysticism.
Please note: the printing is sharp and clear - for some reason it does not appear like that in the photograph. This is a flaw in the picture, not the book! A nice set of a major work on mysticism. (31981) Please check our website for current availability.
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Frederick Carter, (Introduction by Arthur Machen). The Dragon of the Alchemists. London: Matthews, 1926. First edition. Hardcover. Small 4to. 54 pp text + 38 wood engraved plates of alchemical symbols. Quarter black cloth over blue/grey paper covered boards, gilt title to spine. Illustrations by Frederick Carter. Carter was friend and co-editor of Form Magazine with Austin Osman Spare, and in his own right an interesting alchemist of the spirit. The Dragon of the Alchemists comprises an essay and thirty-eight drawings, some of which are indeed strongly reminiscent of Spare, whilst others are more conventional in their mystical allegory. A curious work. Spine ends and corners lightly bumped and a bit chafed, boards slightly darkened at outer edges, page edges browned, a few light spots of browning, plates bright and fresh. Overall, a sound and clean VG copy. (34051) Please check our website for current availability.
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Fred Gettings, Dictionary of Occult, Hermetic and Alchemical Sigils. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1981. First edition. Hardcover. sm. 4to. 410pp. Original blue cloth with silver title etc to spine, heavily illustrated in black and white.
This valuable reference is the culmination of Getting's lifelong study of the influence of Hermetic and Occult thought on art, in which he has collected several thousand of the most frequent sigils and symbols, classified them alphabetically and presented them in a historical context.
Printed only once and now quite scarce. The faintest of rubbing to lower edges, hint of browning to outer margins, otherwise Fine condition in Near fine dust jacket. (Dust jacket lightly chafed, very slightly discolored at upper edge). (33991) Please check our website for current availability.
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Antoine-Joseph Pernety, Edited by Edouard Blitz, Treatise on the Great Art. A System of Physics According to Hermetic Philosophy and Theory and Practice of the Magisterium. Boston: Occult Publishing Company, 1898. First Edition. Hardcover. 8vo. (vi) + 256pp. Original deep maroon cloth, with gilt device on upper board, and gilt title and decorations on spine. Illustrations, index, Dictionary of Hermetic Symbols. Rubricated title page. An interesting copy with a fascinating multiple provenance. Inscribed by the translator (and possibly author), Edouard Blitz on the front free endpaper: "To Mr. Leopold Engel, Editor of 'Das Wort' Compliments of the translator, E. Blitz". Leopold Engel was a prominent member of the Verband Deutscher Okkultisten (League of German Occultists) and editor and publisher of a small esoteric journal 'Das Wort.' He has been rather unkindly described by Ellic Howe as "an itinerant actor who practised hypnotism and alleged naturopathic healing on the side." Engel was for a time closely associated with Theodor Reuss and was a member of his revived Order of the Illuminati. It was of course, Reuss that succeeded Carl Kellner as head of the O.T.O., and who later appointed Aleister Crowley National Grand Master General X° for the O.T.O. in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
This copy later passed into the possession of John W. Hamilton-Jones, a well-known Freemason, Theosophist, and member of the Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia (S.R.I.A.), who published a number of important translations of little-known alchemical and hermetic texts. He has neatly written the following comment in the margin, atop the Preface page "I doubt this work. Pernety never wrote a "Magnum Opus" as far as I can trace. I think Dr. Blitz has compiled this work from many others - as a treatise on Alchemy it is very misleading [initialed] J. W. H-J"
Spine sunned, spine bumped and rubbed with a few short tears to cloth, bump to mid fore-edge of both boards and both corners, front hinge slightly loose, blind stamped address on front endpaper, very faint foxing to first and last pages. All else VG. (33598) Please check our website for current availability.
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Martinus Rulandus, (Translated by A. E. Waite). A Lexicon OF Alchemy. Or Alchemical Dictionary containing a Full and Plain Explanation of all Obscure Words, Hermetic Subjects, and Arcane Phrases of Paracelsus. London: John M. Watkins, 1964. First Public Edition. Hardcover. large thick 8vo. viii + 466 pp. Black cloth with gilt title, etc. to spine. Edition limited to 250 copies. Ruland's Lexicon was posthumously published in Latin in 1612. Waite and a friend translated it, and privately printed it in a print run of only 6 copies in 1893. This is thus the first real published edition. Just a hint of rubbing to edges of boards, otherwise Near Fine condition in Near Fine dust jacket (just a little discoloration to the back panel, light rubbing to edges). (25834) Please check our website for current availability.
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Dorothea Waley Singer, Assisted by Annie Anderson, and Robina Addis. Catalogue of Latin and Vernacular Alchemical Manuscripts in Great Britain and Ireland. Dating from before the XVI Century Part A. Greek and Arabist Alchemy in Prose. Part B. Western Alchemy in Prose. Part C. Anonymous Alchemical Prose Works. Part D. Alchemical Verse in Commentaries thereon. Part E. Chemical Crafts and Natural Magic. Part F. Alchemical and Technical Recipes and Notes. With appendixes. Brussels: Maurice Lamertin, 1928, 1930 and 1931. First Editions. Softcover. large 8vo. Three volumes (complete). xxiv, 328pp & viii, 339-756pp & [iv] 758-1180pp. Latin and English text. Original light blue printed wrappers. Spines and outer margins of wrappers browned, light rubbing to edges and spine ends, otherwise a remarkably sound and clean set. VG+. Quite scarce as a set, particularly in the original wrappers. (33603) Please check our website for current availability.
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Arthur Edward Waite (Editor), The Hermetic Museum Restored and Enlarged. Most Faithfully Instructing All Disciples Of The Sopho-Spagyric Art How That Greatest And Truest Medicine Of The Philosopher's Stone May Be Found And Held. Now First Done into English From the Latin Original Published at Frankfort in the Year 1678. Containing Twenty-Two Most Celebrated Chemical Tracts. (Two Volumes) London: John M. Watkins, 1953. Hardcovers. 2 Volumes. Large octavos. xii + 358pp & viii + 322pp. Original black cloth with gilt titling to spine and upper board. Gilbert B7. Edition limited to 250 numbered sets, of which this set is number 125. A major collection of alchemical texts, orginally published in Latin in 1678. Waite edited and revised the text of an existing privately prepared translation, and first published this, also in an edition of 250 copies, in 1893. This is an exact photolithographic reprint of that edition. Cloth lightly chafed with a few light scratches and faint spots, spines quite faded, a few light bumps to edges, light rubbing, bookshop stickers and marks to rear eps. Otherwise a sound, unmarked VG+ set. Scarce in this edition. (34006) Please check our website for current availability.
Used, Out-of-Print, & Unusual Alchemical Texts.
M. A. Atwood, A Suggestive Inquiry into the Hermetic Mystery, with a Dissertation on the More Celebrated of the Alchemical Philosophers Being an Attempt towards the Recovery of the Ancient Experiment of Nature. Belfast, Ireland: William Tait, 1918. New Edition. Hardcover. 8vo. (ii) 597pp + 2pp advert. Navy cloth with gilt titling to spine, frontis photo of the author, appendix. Professionally rebacked with original spine laid on, original boards retained, fresh endpapers. An early edition of this important work. With an Introduction by Walter Leslie Wilshurst and "an Appendix containing the Memorabilia of Mary Anne Atwood." Spine darkened, cloth a bit chafed, all edges lightly rubbed. Page edges browned, text unmarked. Overall a sound and internally clean near VG copy. (34030) Please check our website for current availability.
[Roger Bacon] Edited by Stanton J. Linden. The Mirror of Alchemy [The Mirror of Alchimy]. Composed by the Thrice-Famous and Learned Fryer, Roger Bacon. New York & London: Garland Publishing, 1992. First Edition Thus. Hardcover. 8 vo. 144 pp. Beige cloth with green titling to upper board and spine, glossary and index. English Renaissance Hermeticism series. A good, scholarly edition, based largely on the text of the 1597 printing of a work that was widely (and probably wrongly) attributed to Roger Bacon. Just a hint of shelfwear, bookstore sticker. Otherwise Fine condition. No dust jacket - as issued. (32745) Please check our website for current availability.
Armand Barbault, Preface by Raymond Abellio. Gold of a Thousand Mornings. London: Neville Spearman, 1975. First UK edition. Hardcover. 8vo. xvii + 130pp. Original orange cloth with gilt titling, b&w illustrations. Translated from the French by Robin Campbell. The record of a practicing alchemist of the late twentieth century: “an actual handbook on 'celestial agriculture', a detailed step-by-step account of the incredible discovery which put him on the path: the years of dedicated tending of The Secret Fire and so to the interim triumph - the creation of potable gold.” Chapters include: 1. The Alchemist's Elixir for Long Life. 2. The Observation of Nature. 3. The Alchemist's First Matter and how to obtain it. 4. Treatment of the First Matter. 5. Our Spagiric Preparation and Traditional Teaching. 6. The Hermetic Treasures of the Alchemists. 7. Experimental and Clinical Verification. 8. Other Metallic Tinctures of the First Degree. 9. Introduction to Preparations of the Second Order. Tail of spine lightly bruised, endpapers a little darkened, top edge dusty, a few light bumps to edges, bookshop sticker. All else Near fine condition in VG+ dust jacket. (Dust jacket edges lightly rubbed, original price covered with store price, now in mylar.) (34003) Please check our website for current availability.
Bonus of Ferrara (translated by A. E. Waite). The New Pearl Of Great Price. A Treatise Concerning the Treasure and Most Precious Stone of the Philosophers or the Method and Procedure of this Divine Art. London: Vincent Stuart Ltd., 1963. Second edition. Hardcover, 8 vo, xii + 442 pp. Black cloth with gilt title, etc. to spine, gilt emblem on front cover. Edition limited to 500 copies. "A Treatise Concerning the Treasure and Most Precious Stone of the Philosophers or the Method and Procedue of this Divine Art; With observations drawn from the Works of Arnoldus, Raymondus, Rhasis, Albertus, and Michael Scotus, First Published by Janus Lacinus, the Calabrian, with a Copious Index. The Original Aldine Edition Translated into English." A work thought to have been written by Petrus Bonus of Ferrara in about 1330. The Aldine Press version, from which this translation was made, was published in Venice in 1546. Corners and spine ends lightly bumped, a few light bumps to edges, bookshop sticker, page edgse lightly thumbed, text unmarked. Otherwise a tight, bright VG+ copy. Remains of dust jacket tucked in at rear. (34005) Please check our website for current availability.
Archibald Cockren, Alchemy Rediscovered and Restored. London: Rider & Co., nd [ circa 1941 ]. First UK Edition. Hardcover. Small 8vo. 158 pp. Original red cloth with black titling to spine. An unusual study which emphasises the practical, as well as the historical and theoretical aspects of the alchemical tradition. "With an account of the extraction of the seed of metals and the preparation of the medicinal elixir according to the practice of the hermetic Art and of the Alkahest of the Philosopher." Corners and spine ends lightly bumped and bruised, light rubbing to extremities, endpapers unevenly browned, short penciled note to rear blank - otherwise a tight, unmarked VG+ copy in VG printed paper dust jacket. (Dust jacket rubbed and lightly creased at edges, not price clipped). Scarce. (33995) Please check our website for current availability.
Andrea De Pascalis, Alchemy. The Golden Art. The Secrets of the Oldest Enigma. Rome: Gremese International, 1995. First edition. Hardcover. Quarto. 192pp. Pictorial papered boards, b&w and color illustrations. A beautifully produced study which gives an overview of the varying strands of alchemical thought and history, whilst acknowledging that all are interconnected and form a part of a great tradition. Light rubbing, bump to fore-edge, upper page edge a bit darkened. Otherwise Near fine in lightly chafed Near fine dust jacket. (33997) Please check our website for current availability.
Stanislas Klossowski De Rola, Alchemy: The Secret Art. New York, NY: Bounty Books, ND [Circa 1975]. Reprint. Hardcover. 4to. 128 pp. Olive cloth with gilt titling to spine. An interesting overview by the author of The Golden Game, magnificently illustrated in color and b/w. Very light rubbing and fading to lower edge, otherwise Fine condition in mylar protected, lightly rubbed Near fine dust jacket. (34029) Please check our website for current availability.
B. J. T. Dobbs, The Foundations of Newton's Alchemy or, 'The Hunting of the Greene Lyon.' Cambridge: University of Cambridge Press, 1992. Reprint. Softcover. 8vo. xvi + 300 pp. Printed wrappers, b&w illustrations, index. An extensive study, largely drawn from original sources, that highlights the importance of alchemical study and practice in every aspect of Newton's life. Covers lightly rubbed, bookshop sticker, otherwise a sound and unmarked VG+ copy. (34044) Please check our website for current availability.
Jean Dubuis, Translated from the French by Brigitte Donvez. Spagyrics: A Practical Course in Plant Alchemy. Volume 1, Lessons 1-24; Volume 2, Lessons 25-48. (Two Volumes). Winfield, IL: Triad Publishing, 2000. Softcover. 4to. Two volumes, complete. Variously paginated: approx. 200pp. per volume. As issued: oversize, printed paper wrappers with protective acetate cover-sheets and spiral backstrips. B&w illustrations. Appendixes, biblio and index. Covers lightly rubbed, pages very lightly thumbed, otherwise a tight, clean Near fine set. (34049) Please check our website for current availability.
Mircea Eliade, Translated from the French by Stephen Corrin. The Forge And The Crucible. London: Rider & Company, 1962. First English language edition. Hardcover. 8vo. 208pp. Original black cloth, gilt title, etc. to spine, colored top edge, b&w illustrations, appendices, index. Professor Eliade's study of the ancient beliefs and mythologies relating to metallurgy, and the way in which he felt they shaped and inspired the alchemical traditions. Spine ends slightly bruised, page edges very slightly darkened and bumped, otherwise a tight, bright Near fine copy in mylar protected VG+ dust jacket. (Dust jacket lightly chafed at extremities, a few light creased, clipped). (34014) Please check our website for current availability.
[Jean-Baptiste Alliette] 'Etteilla.' Les Sept Nuances de l’Oeuvre. Philosophique, Hermétique. Paris: Editions Arma Artis, 1977. Facsimile edition. Softcover. Small 8vo. 59pp. Printed wrappers. Edition limited to one thousand copies. A volume in the "Bibliotheca Alchemica" series A facsimile edition of an unusual alchemical work by Jean-Baptiste Alliette (1738-1791) that was first published circa 1786. Alliette (who reversed his family name, to get the pseudonym Etteilla) is most widely known for his works on card reading and the tarot, which were amongst the first significant studies on the subject. French text. Light chafing to covers, most pages unopened. Overall sound and clean. VG+ (33985) Please check our website for current availability.
Antoine Faivre, The Golden Fleece and Alchemy. Albany, NY: SUNY, 1993. First Edition. Hardcover. 8vo. (vi)+ 140pp. Printed papered boards, b&w illustrations, notes, biblio. and index. SUNY series in Western Esoteric Traditions. A scholarly study of the myth of the Golden Fleece, from late paganism through medieval and Renaissance alchemical and masonic interpretations to modern alchemical practice. Spine ends and corners lightly chafed, otherwise Fine condition. (no dust jacket issued). (34011) Please check our website for current availability.
[Marsilio Ficino] Translated and with a New introduction by Charles Boer. Marcilio Ficino's Book of Life [Liber de Vita or De Vita Triplici] . Woodstock, CT: Spring Publications, 1994. Reprint. Softcover. 8vo. xxx + 217pp + 1 page advert. A 'long-suppressed Renaissance work on health, demons and the practical life.' Upper corner bumped resulting in some creasing to page corners, page edges lightly foxed - otherwise a tight, bright VG+ copy. (33634) Please check our website for current availability.
Marsilio Ficino; Translated, edited and introduced by Carol V. Kaske and John R. Clark. Three Books on Life [De Vita Libri Tres]. A Critical Edition and Translation with Introduction and Notes. Tempe, AZ: Medieval & Renaissance Texts & Studies, 1998. First Edition Thus. Hardcover. Large 8vo. xiv + 508 (ii). Original blue cloth with silver rules and titling to upper board and spine, frontis, commentary and notes, indexes. Parallel text. A critical edition, with Introduction, translation, and notes, of Marsilio Ficino's De Vita Libri Tres, (Three Books on Life) a highly influential work which touched on all of Ficino's preoccupations: from astrology, alchemy and medicine, through to the philosophy of Neoplatonism. Very light bruising to spine ends and a few tiny spots to cloth, slight darkening to top edge, tidy bookseller sticker on rear pastedown - otherwise unmarked. Otherwise a tight, bright Near fine copy. (no dust jacket issued). Quite scarce. (34012) Please check our website for current availability.
Nicolas Flamel [Flammel] Edited by Laurinda Dixon. Nicolas Flamel. His Exposition of the Hieroglyphicall Figures (1624) New York & London: Garland Publishing, 1994. First Edition Thus. Hardcover. 8 vo. lx (xvi pp plates) + 126 pp. Beige cloth with green titling to upper board and spine, glossary and index. English Renaissance Hermeticism series. A scholarly edition, drawn largely from the English language translation by Eirenæus Orandus that was originally published in 1624. Full page reproductions of the plates in black and white. Just a hint of shelf wear and dust.. Near fine condition. No dust jacket - as issued. (32747) Please check our website for current availability.
Nicolas Flammel [Flamel] Translated by: Eirenaeus Orandus. Preface by W. Wynn Westcott. Alchemical Hieroglyphics. Which Were Caused to Be Painted Upon an Arch in St. Innocents Church Yard in Paris By: Nicholas Flammel. Gillette, NJ: Heptangle Books, 1980. First Edition Thus. Hardcover. 8vo. 93 pp. Quarter linen with marbled papered boards and printed paper spine label, b&w illustrations. Fold-out plate of Flammel's Fresco. A handsome letterpress edition, with rubricated title page. The English language translation by Eirenæus Orandus was originally published in 1624. A new edition, with Introduction by W. W. Westcott (of Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn fame) was published in 1889. As far as we can determine this is essentially a high quality hand-printed reissue of that edition. Lower edge very lightly rubbed, otherwise Near fine condition in VG+ dust jacket. (Dust jacket lightly browned at spine and extreme edges, very lightly rubbed, not clipped). (33988) Please check our website for current availability.
Geber [Jabir ibn Hayyam] Translated by Richard Russell, Introduction by E. J. Holmyard. The Works Of Geber. London: J.M. Dent & Sons LTD., 1928. First edition thus. Hardcover, small 8vo, xl+ 264 pp. Original black cloth with gilt title, etc. to spine, blind stamped pentacle on front board, frontis, b/w illustrations. A reprint of the 1678 English translation of the works of the celebrated Arab alchemist Jabir ibn Hayyam with a new Introduction by E. J. Holmyard. Corners lightly bumped, a couple of small numerals inked on front pastedown (hidden by fold of dustjacket), tiny ink run to extreme margin of top edge of first two leaves otherwise a near fine copy in VG+ dust jacket. (Dust jacket has a a couple of blemishes to the spine, and is lightly worn at edges with a few light chips, price clipped). (417) Please check our website for current availability.
Joscelyn Godwin, Robert Fludd. Hermetic Philosopher and Surveyor of Two Worlds. Grand Rapids, MI: Phanes Press, 1991. First Edition Thus. Hardcover. 4to, 96pp. Original silver decorated light blue cloth with gilt titling to upper board and spine, 126 b&w illustrations. Publisher's original prospectus loosely inserted at front. Generously illustrated - "All of Fludd's important plates are collected here for the first time, annotated and explained, together with an introduction to his life and thought." Very faint spot fading to cloth - otherwise a bright copy in Fine condition. (34017) Please check our website for current availability.
Rick Grimes, et al. The Stone, The Journal of The Philosophers of Nature, Volume 3 (1998 - 1999). Winfield, IL: Triad Publishing, 2001. First Edition Thus. Softcover. 4to. Bound periodical. Approx. 300pp. As issued: oversized spiralbound with transparent acetate cover sheets. b&w illustrations. "The Philosophers of Nature was a research and educational association that existed in the United States from 1987 until 1999. The focus of the organization was on the Western esoteric practice, with a particular emphasis on practical work in Alchemy and Qabala. 'The Stone' was the newsletters [sic] for members and associates of The Philosophers of Nature." The third volume of the collected reprint of this newsletter, reproducting twelve issues: Nos. 24-35; Jan/Feb 1998 through Nov/Dec 1999. Covers lightly rubbed, pages very lightly thumbed, otherwise a tight, clean Near fine copy. (34076) Please check our website for current availability.
Manly P. Hall, Orders Of The Great Work: Alchemy (The Adepts In The Western Esoteric Tradition). Los Angeles, CA: Philosophical Research Society, Inc., 1976. Second Printing. Hardcover. 8vo. 108 pp. Original navy glazed cloth with gilt titling to upper board and spine, b&w illustrations. Manly P. Hall's historical overview of the alchemical tradition - with a particular emphasis on the relationship between alchemy and Rosicrucianism. Corners and spine ends lightly rubbed, othewise a tight, unmarked Near fine copy in VG+ dust jacket. (Dust jacket lightly chafed and creased, with a few short closed tears ) (34016) Please check our website for current availability.
Patrick Harpur, Mercurius: or, the Marriage of Heaven & Earth. London: MacMillan, 1990. First Edition. Hardcover. Large 8vo. xvi + 480pp. Original red cloth with gilt titling to spine, b&w illustrations, Notes. A highly regarded reconstruction of the alchemical world-view, set in mid-twentieth century Britain. Described by Joscelyn Godwin as 'Surely one of the most persuasive evocations, ancient or modern, of genuine alchemists at work.' Lower spine and corners lightly bruised and rubbed, paper a bit browned as always with this edition - particularly at edges. Still, overall a sound, unmarked near-Fine copy in near-Fine dustjacket (a little creased at the edges and very lightly rubbed). (34032) Please check our website for current availability.
Johannes Helmond, Translated and edited by Gerhard Hanswille and Deborah Brumlich. Alchemy Unveiled. Scarborough, Canada: Merkur Publishing Co., Ltd., 1991. First Edition. Hardcover. 8vo. 180pp +2pp publisher's catalog. Original dark blue cloth with gilt titling to spine and device to upper board, b&w illustrations. A guide to practical alchemy, that claims to make clear the process and correct the errors of earlier accounts. Just a hint of rubbing to lower edges otherwise Fine in VG+ dust jacket. (Dust jacket a bit faded at spine and outer edges of panels, lightly rubbed at edges). (34031) Please check our website for current availability.
[Hermes Trismegistus], John D. Chambers (Translator). The Theological and Philosophical Works of Hermes Trismegistus, Christian Neoplatonist. Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1882. First Edition. Hardcover. 8vo, xxiv + 170 pp. + 6pp adverts. Original blind stamped maroon cloth, gilt titling to spine, colored page edges. An early critical study, translated from the original Greek, with Preface, Notes and Indices. Corners and spine ends bumped and rubbed with some very light fraying, endpapers split at inner hinges but hinges quite sound, some browning to margins of endpapers. Overall a sound VG copy. (33617) Please check our website for current availability.
Dorje Jinpa, A Synthesis of Alchemy. An Esoteric Enquiry into the Mysteries of Transmutation, Transformation, and Transfiguration. Ashland, OR : Pentarba Publications, 1994. First edition. Hardcover. 8vo. 184pp. Blue cloth with gilt title on spine, gilt device to upper board, tipped in color frontis of White Tara. Edition limited to 100 copies signed by the author on colophon at rear. A modern interpretation of alchemy. About half the work is made up of an anthology of excerpts from major alchemical works, with commentary by the author. Very slight bumping to lower spine and upper corners, otherwise Fine condition. (no dust jacket issued). (34013) Please check our website for current availability.
Edward Kelly, Edited and with a Biographical Preface by Arthur Edward Waite. The Alchemical Writings of Edward Kelly. The Englishman's Excellent Treatises on the Philosopher's Stone, together with The Theatre of Terrestrial Astronomy. New York: Samuel Weiser, Inc., 1976. Fourth Impression. Hardcover. 8vo. lxviii + 154pp. Original black cloth with gilt title to spine and device to upper board, index. Translated from the Hamburg Edition of 1676 and edited with a Biographical Preface. Edward Kelly (1555-1595) is more widely remembered for his role as John Dee's 'skryer' than as an alchemist, and there is some uncertainty as to whether he actually authored the works here attributed to him. Page edges a little browned - otherwise a sound and bright Near fine copy in price clipped, lightly chafed VG + dust jacket. (34000) Please check our website for current availability.
'Lapidus' (Additions and Extractions by Stephen Skinner). In Pursuit Of Gold. Alchemy Today In Theory And Practice. New York: Samuel Weiser, Inc., 1976. First US Edition. Hardcover, large 8vo. 176 pp. Quarter brown cloth w/ beige papered boards, gilt title, etc. to spine, 25 illustrations from Atalanta Fugiens, index. An unusual and detailed account of physical alchemy, written by a practicising modern-day alchemist. Page edges dusty, faintly musty, otherwise a Fine copy in VG+ dust jacket. (Dust jacket has a bit of rubbing to edges, panels lightly chafed, not price clipped). (32742) Please check our website for current availability.
J. Lewis Mcintyre, Giordano Bruno. London: MacMillan and Co., 1903. First Edition. Hardcover. large 8vo. xvi + 366 pp + 2 pp Pub. catalog. Dark green blind ruled cloth with gilt titling to spine, frontis w/ tissue guard, index. An unusual early study and biography of the martyred hermetic philosopher. Ex-Library, call numbers to spine, front endpapers, and title page - a few neatly covered or removed. Corners lightly bumped and rubbed, spine ends and edges slightly chafed, margins very lightly browned. Short tear to lower edge of title page, two inch tear to fore-edge of page 231. Otherwise quite a sound and clean VG copy without dust jacket. (33600) Please check our website for current availability.
Adam McLean, The Alchemical Mandala. A Survey of the Mandala in the Western Esoteric Traditions. Hermetic Research Series No. 3. Grand Rapids, MI: Phanes Press, 1989. First Edition Thus. Hardcover. large 8vo. 144 pp. Light grey cloth titled and decorated in gilt, b&w illustrations. A study of the use of mandala-type designs in Western esotericism, by means of an analysis of engravings from alchemical, kabbalistic, magical, Rosicrucian and Hermetic sources. Fine condition in VG+ dust jacket. (Dust jacket lightly chafed and creased, short closed tear to lower fore-edge of upper panel) (34007) Please check our website for current availability.
Adam McLean, A Commentary on the Mutus Liber. Magnum Opus Hermetic Sourceworks Number 11. Grand Rapids, MI: Phanes Press, 1991. Reprint. Hardcover. 8vo. 82 pp. Maroon cloth with gilt titling, b&w illustrations. Single page prospectus loosely inserted. Reproduces the 15 plates of the famous seventeenth century alchemical work the Mutus Liber (the 'Mute Book') along with an extensive commentary by Adam McLean. Unused copy. Fine condition. (34010) Please check our website for current availability.
[Trismosin Salomon]. Edited etc. by Adam McLean, Translated by Joscelyn Godwin Splendor Solis Magnum Opus. Hermetic Sourceworks Number 8. Grand Rapids, MI: Phanes Press, 1991. Reprint. Hardcover. 8vo. 122pp. Original maroon cloth with gilt titling. Black and white illustrations. Prospectus loosely inserted. An important new translation of what is probably the best known of the sixteenth century alchemical manuscripts. The translation, by Godwin, is drawn from five different primary sources, and is accompanied by 22 engravings reproduced from the German edition of 1708. Fine condition. No dust jacket issued. (34008) Please check our website for current availability.
William R. Newman, Promethean Ambitions: Alchemy and the Quest to Perfect Nature. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 2004. First Edition. Hardcover. 8vo. xvi + 334pp. Navy cloth with silver titling to spine, nicely illustrated in color and b&w, list of references, index. A study of the debates concerning the boundary between the natural and the artificial, and the way that these effected perceptions and self-perceptions of the alchemists, and the way their work was interpreted by modern philosophy and science. The author is a Professor of the History and Philosophy of Science, and has previsouly translated Gerber's Summa Perfectionis and written the excellent study of George Starkey, Gehennical Fire. Light bumping to lower spine otherwise Fine condition in lightly rubbed near -fine dust jacket. (34027) Please check our website for current availability.
William R. Newman, and Lawrence M. Principe. Alchemy Tried in the Fire: Starkey, Boyle, and the Fate of Helmontian Chymistry. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 2002. First Edition. Hardcover. 8vo. xvi + 344pp. Original black cloth with gilt titling to spine, b&w plates, list of works cited, index. An important study that examines how alchemy was actually practiced in the laboratories of such well-known adepts as George Starkey and Robert Boyle. Fine in lightly chafed Near fine dust jacket. (34026) Please check our website for current availability.
Walter Pagel, Joan Baptista Van Helmont: Reformer of Science and Medicine. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 1982. First edition. Hardcover, 8vo, xii + 220 pp. Black cloth with gilt title, etc. to spine and upper board, b&w frontis and illustrations, Bibliography of Van Helmont, index. Cambridge Monographs on the History of Medicine. Offers a broad view of Van Helmont: as scientific pioneer as well as alchemist and mystic. Very light rubbing to edges, light shelf dust - otherwise Near fine condition in lightly edgeworn VG dust jacket. (33599) Please check our website for current availability.
Raphael Patai, The Jewish Alchemists. A History and Sourcebook. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1994. First Edition. Hardcover. 8vo. xvi + 618 pp. Black publisher's cloth, gilt title, etc. to spine, illustrations, notes and index. The first major study of Jewish alchemical study and practice - from antiquitiy to the nineteenth century. A history and source book of an often overlooked aspect of alchemy. Spine ends very lightly bruised, light shelf dust, bookshop sticker - otherwise Near fine condition in Near fine dust jacket. (Dust jacket has just a hint of chafing). (33996) Please check our website for current availability.
Eirenaeus Philalethes, With Dr. Francis Antony, George Starkey, Sir George Ripley and others. Collectanea Chemica: Being Select Treatises On Alchemy And Hermetic Medicine. London: Vincent Stuart LTD, 1963. Second edition. Hardcover. 8vo.160 pp. Black cloth with gilt title, etc. to spine, gilt device to upper board. Limited edition of 500 copies. A facsimile reprint of the 1893 publication of this collection of Hermetic tracts, which was itself taken from a manuscript in the collection of Frederick Hockley. A few very light bumps to edges, otherwise a Fine copy in VG+ dust jacket, (Dust jacket price-clipped and with just a bit of light wear and chipping to extremities) (32382) Please check our website for current availability.
Lawrence M. Principe, The Aspiring Adept: Robert Boyle and his Alchemical Quest (Including Boyle's "Lost" Dialogue on the Transmutation of Metals) . Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1998. First Edition. Hardcover. Large 8vo, xiv + 342pp. Green cloth with gilt title, etc. to spine, list of works cited, index. An intriguing reinterpretation of Boyle - showing that he had far more sympathy for and involvement with alchemy than has been acknowledged in more traditional biographies. It includes the text of Boyle's "lost" work the 'Dialogue on the Transmutation and Melioration of Metals,' carefully reconstructed from scattered fragments. Fine in lightly rubbed Near fine dust jacket. (11030) Please check our website for current availability.
Israel Regardie, The Philosopher's Stone. A Modern Comparative Approach to Alchemy from the Psychological and Magical Points of View. St. Paul, MN: Llewellyn Publications, 1970. Second edition, Revised and enlarged. Hardcover. 8vo. 204pp. Black cloth with gilt title, etc. to spine, illustrated. Light shelf dust, edged lightly rubbed. Otherwise a tight, clean Near fine copy in Near fine dust jacket. (Panels of dust jacket lightly chafed, slightly rubbed and darkened at edges, not clipped). (33091) Please check our website for current availability.
John H. Reid III, The Minor Opus. Mt. Vernon, NY: Privately published, 1992. First Edition. Softcover. 4to. 106pp + 5pp full-sized color plates with tissue guards + (ii). Oversized spiralbound wraps. Colour and b&w illustrations, Appendices. Edition limited to 250 signed and numbered copies, this being copy no. 30. The first edition of Reid's text book of practical alchemy. Covers lightly rubbed, otherwise a tight, clean Fine copy. Unusual. (34077) Please check our website for current availability.
Martinus Rulandus, (Translated by A. E. Waite). A Lexicon OF Alchemy. Or Alchemical Dictionary containing a Full and Plain Explanation of all Obscure Words, Hermetic Subjects, and Arcane Phrases of Paracelsus. New York, NY: Samuel Weiser Inc., 1984. First American edition. Hardcover. large 8vo. 466 pp. Original gilt decorated blue cloth. Ruland's Lexicon was posthumously published in Latin in 1612. Waite and a friend translated it, and privately printed it in a print run of only 6 copies in 1893. This is the first American edition, reprinted from the 1893 edition. A hint of rubbing to edges and a few very faint spots to cloth. A largish (2 1/4 x 3 inch) rectangular section has been clipped from the bottom right corner of the title page, affecting publisher's imprint, otherwise a tight, bright VG+ copy. No dust jacket - as issued. (34001) Please check our website for current availability.
Jean Ryeul, La Légende de Raymond Lulle, le Docteur illuminé. Paris: Les Editions Des Champs - Élysées "Omnium Littéraire, 1965. Softcover. Large 8vo. 208pp. Printed wrappers. A volume in the "Alchimie et Alchimistes" series. French text. Light chafing to covers, a few light creases, most pages unopened. A sound, clean VG+ copy. (33989) Please check our website for current availability.
Nathan Sivin, (Foreword by I. Bernard Cohen). Chinese Alchemy: Preliminary Studies. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1968. First edition. Hardcover, large 8vo, xxiv + 338pp. Dark blue cloth with silver title etc to spine. Harvard Monographs in the History of Science. The first major scholarly study of Chinese alchemy to be published in the English language. Still an important work. A sound and bright copy in fine condition with near fine dust jacket. (Dust jacket very lightly shelfworn, not price clipped) (736) Please check our website for current availability.
Lee Stavenhagen, (Edits). A Testament of Alchemy. Being the Revelations of Morienus, Ancient Adept and Hermit of Jerusalem to Khalid Ibn Yazid ibn Mu'awiyya, King of the Arabs of The Divine Secrets of the Magisterium and Accomplishment of the Alchemical Art. Hanover, NH: Brandeis University Press, 1974. First Edition. Hardcover. 8vo. iv + 76pp. Original black cloth with gilt titling to spine, colored eps, b&w plates, appendixes. The first authoratitive translation of the dialogues of Morienus and Khalid ibn Yazid. These are "reputed to be the first work of Arabic alchemy translated into Latin," and to have "set the tone for European alchemical thought, remaining popular and widely influential from the thirteenth century until the Englightenment." Light bumping and rubbing to spine ends. Page edges and endpapers foxed. Otherwise a tight, unmarked VG+ copy in VG dust jacket. (Dust jacket lightly rubbed at edges, some foxing). (34020) Please check our website for current availability.
Walter Johannes Stein, The Death of Merlin. Arthurian Myth and Alchemy. Edinburgh: Floris Books, 1989. First Edition Thus. Hardcover. 8vo. 240pp. Pale aqua cloth with gilt titling, list of sources, bibliography. First published in book form in Germany, under the title Der Tod Merlins. The author, an anthroposophist, studies connections between the Grail legends and alchemy. Spine ends and corners lightly bruised, very slight fading to cloth at edges, very light foxing to page edges, otherwise a tight, unmarked Near fine copy in Near fine dust jacket. (34022) Please check our website for current availability.
Basil Valentine, Edited by L. G. Kelly. Basil Valentine. His Triumphant Chariot of Antimony (with Annotations of Theodore Kirkringius 1678). New York & London: Garland Publishing, 1990. First Edition Thus. Hardcover. 8 vo. xlvi + 190 pp. Beige cloth with green titling to upper board and spine, glossary and indexes. English Renaissance Hermeticism series. Just a hint of shelf wear and dust. Otherwise Fine condition. No dust jacket - as issued. (32748) Please check our website for current availability.
[Thomas Vaughan, or Eugenius Philalethes] Arthur Edward Waite, Edits and Introduction, Lumen de Lumine. or A New Magical Light Discovered and Communicated to the World. London: John M. Watkins, 1910. First edition. Hardcover. small 8vo. lx + 100 pp. Original red cloth with gilt title etc. to spine and upper board, b&w frontis w/ tissue guard, top edge gilt, appendices, notes and index. Gilbert B28. A scarce Waite title - only 300 copies were printed. The first edition of the work appeared in 1651. Gilbert notes that "In addition to editing the text, Waite supplied the Preface, Introduction, and Notes, and translated the Latin passages (omitting the originals)." Oddly his Notes and Introduction were not included when the work was republished in his collection The Works of Thomas Vaughan (1919). Spine a bit sunned and lightly bruised at ends, corners slightly bumped and rubbed and a few light bumps to edges, previous owner stamp to front end paper, tissue browned and guard torn but complete, otherwise a sound and bright VG+ copy. Scarce. (2350) Please check our website for current availability.
Arthur Edward Waite, The Turba Philosophorum; or Assembly Of The Sages Called Also The Book Of Truth In The Art And The Third Pythagorical Synod. London: William Rider & Son, 1914. Second Issue. Hardcover. 8vo. iv + 212 pp. Red cloth with gilt title etc to spine, title and author's name blind stamped on front cover. The Turba Philosophorum is an early Latin alchemical text of the 12th Century CE - though according to Gilbert Waite probably used the texts of the work in Manget's Bibliotheca Chemica Curiosa (1702) as the basis for his work. The Waite edition was first published in 1896, this second issue comprised the sheets of the First Edition, with a new title page. Gilbert B17(b). A little fading and a few spots to spine and boards, spine ends lightly bumped and rubbed, paper lightly browned, otherwise a sound and unmarked VG+ copy. (451) Please check our website for current availability.
Arthur Edward Waite, (Editor). The Hermetic Museum Restored and Enlarged. Most Faithfully Instructiing All Disciples Of The Sopho-Spagyric Art How That Greatest And Truest Medicine Of The Philosopher's Stone May Be Found And Held. Now First Done into English From the Latin Original Published at Frankfort in the Year 1678. Containing Twenty-Two Most Celebrated Chemical Tracts. (Two Volumes) New York, NY: Samuel Weiser, Inc., 1974. Fourth Impression. ISBN: 0877282218. Hardcovers. 2 Volumes. Small Quartos. xii + 358pp & viii + 322pp. Light grey cloth bindings, with gilt titling to spine, b&w illustrations. Originally published in Latin in 1678, The Hermetic Museum was intended as a representative collection of the significant works of alchemy, many of which were rare even then. Waite edited and revised the text of an exisiting privately prepared translation into English, and first published this, also in an edition of 250 copies, in 1893. This is an exact photolithographic reprint of that edition. Cloth very slightly darkened at edges with a bit of light shelf dust, otherwise a sound and unmarked Near fine set in VG dust jackets. (Dust jackets lightly browned at edges and spine, lightly chafed and rubbed at edges with a few short tears, not price clipped). (33101) Please check our website for current availability.
Arthur Edward Waite, Editor (New Foreword by Kenneth Rexroth). The Works of Thomas Vaughan. Mystic and Alchemist [Eugenius Philalethes]. New Hyde Park, NY: University Books, 1968. First Edition Thus. Hardcover, large 8vo. lii + 498pp + 12pp of adverts. Gold textured papered boards, black title, etc. to spine, frontis, appendices, index. "The only collected edition of the Works of Thomas Vaughan (1621-1665), the English alchemist.." First published in London in 1919, this is the first US edition, with a new introduction by Kenneth Rexroth. Light bruising to spine ends, bookshop sticker on front pastedown. Otherwise tight, bright Near fine copy in VG dust jacket. (Dust jacket a bit chafed and rubbed, a few creases to edges, not price clipped). (34004) Please check our website for current availability.
Charles Webster, From Paracelsus to Newton. Magic and the Making of Modern Science. New York: Barnes & Noble, 1996. Reprint. Hardcover. 8vo. [vi] 108pp. White cloth spine with white papered boards with gilt titles to spine, illustrations, index. The Eddington Memorial Lectures, delivered at Cambridge University, November 1980. The author argues that an artificial division has been created between 'magicians' like Paracelsus and 'scientists' such as Newton, and suggests that the rise of the mechanistic conception of nature and the decline of magic are interpretations which are tenable only in a more restricted sense than is generally believed. An important study. Chapters on Prophecy - Spiritual Magic - Demonic Magic. Top edge dusty, otherwise Fine in lightly rubbed Near fine dust jacket. (34021) Please check our website for current availability.
Jay Weidner, and Vincent Bridges. Monument to the End of Time: Alchemy, Fulcanelli, and the Great Cross (The Cross at Hendaye). Mt. Gilead, NC: Aethyrea Books, 1999. Second US Edition. Softcover. 4to. 304pp. Oversized wraps. b&w illustrations. Appendixes, biblio and index. An unusual study which starts with the Cyclic Cross at Hendaye as a focal point, and broadens out to suggest that one of the functions of the alchemical transmutation is the transformation of time itself. Well reviewed by Joscelyn Godwin who is quoted as saying "The authors, by their brilliantly contrived mix of alchemy with astrophysics, have breathed new life into the Fulcanelli enigma." Covers lightly rubbed, pages very lightly thumbed, otherwise a tight, clean Near fine copy. (34048) Please check our website for current availability.
David Gordon White, The Alchemical Body: Siddha Traditions in Medieval India. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 1996. First Edition. Hardcover. 8vo. xviii + 596pp. Original gold cloth with black titling to spine. Notes, Select bibliography and index. A serious, scholarly study of the medieval Indian Siddha, and the methods, some analgous to Western alchmecial practice, by which they they sought transmutation and transfromation. Light bruising to lower spine otherwise Fine in very lightly rubbed Near fine dust jacket. (34015) Please check our website for current availability.
Frances A. Yates, Lull & Bruno. Collected Essays. Volume 1. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1982. First Edition . Hardcover. large 8vo. xii + 280 pp. Black cloth with gilt title, etc. to spine, b&w plates and illustrations, notes and index. Collected essays on Raymond Lull and Giordano Bruno by the erudite Dame Frances Yates. Upper edge dusty, otherwise Fine in VG dust jacket. (Lightly faded, and with some very faint scratches and scrapes on the front panel). (33602) Please check our website for current availability.
Frances A. Yates, Ideas and Ideals in the North European Renaissance: Collected Essays. Volume III. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1984. First Edition Thus. Hardcover. Large 8vo. xii + 356. Original black cloth with gilt titling to spine, b&w illustrations, notes and index. Papers and Reviews by Dame Frances Yates. Includes essays, "Did New Connect His Maths and Alchemy?" and "The Hermetic Tradition in Renaiisance Science," as well as a number of essay length reviews of works on John Dee, Agrippa, etc. etc. A few light scratches to cloth otherwise Fine condition in Near fine dust jacket. (34024) Please check our website for current availability.
'The Great Alchemical Work,' An Important Recent Publication.
Rubellus Petrinus, The Great Alchemical Work of Eirenaeus Philalethes, Nicholas Flamel and Basil Valentine, Modern Magistery: an imprint of Salamander and Sons, Brisbane, AU, 2007. First English language edition. Softcover. 8vo. 128pp. Stiff card covers with printed inner flaps. In addition to the text, a glossary, and bibliography, it includes 2 pages of full color photographs of alchemical equipment and procedures, 4 plates pages (1 in color) of alchemical designs by Basil Valentine, as well as numerous illustrations in text. Cover art is a detail of the first illustration from the Speculum veritatis series, hand coloured by Adam McLean.
From the Publisher: "The Great Alchemical Work is an important contribution to the study of alchemy. In the first English language edition of this 'little work,' Portuguese alchemist Rubellus Petrinus presents a sincere and invaluable guide to the operative laboratory tradition that gave birth to the Art of Hermes and its vast literature. Taking as his starting point the classic works of three well-known Adepts – Eirenaeus Philalethes, Nicholas Flamel and Basil Valentine – Rubellus offers aspirants a clear explanation of these highly cryptic, often deliberately misleading, texts. According to Frater Parush (A.H.S.), in his preface, 'the interested student will find herein one of the best publications now available of the accurate and proper understanding of some important pieces of classic alchemical cypher. Rubellus removes a good portion of the veil from the writings of Flamel, Valentine and Philalethes concerning the Great Work, and thereby opens the door to a wider understanding of other related literature.' Drawing upon his more than thirty years of discipline and experience, Rubellus generously shares his knowledge which has had "all that is superficial removed from it," and daringly exposes the facts of the secret processes of the Art.
Rubellus Petrinus was born in Bragança, Portugal, on 25 March 1931. As a young man, he traveled to Angola where he worked in telecommunications and pursued his hobby as a ham radio operator. After reading Le Matin des Magiciens by Louis Pauwels and Jacques Bergier, he became determined to experience and understand alchemy. Although far removed from the hub of European alchemical activity, he continued his studies by reading the works of Fulcanelli. As Angola moved towards independence, he returned to Portugal and settled in Queluz, near Lisbon. For the next three decades he continued his pursuit of the Great Work, studying operative alchemy in France, Spain and his native country with the Master Solazaref, Simón H. and Roger Caro. Having made substantial progress on numerous paths – including the Dry Way, the Wet Way and the way of Kamala Jnana – he continues towards the realisation of the Philosopher's Stone, and the fulfillment of a lifetime of study and practice. NEW book. Fine condition.
(33290) Please check our website for current availability.
Alchemy on a Budget. Books Priced at Twenty-Five Dollars or Less.
Elias Ashmole, Theatrum Chemicum Britannicum. Kila, MT: Kessinger Publishing Company, 1991. Facsimile edition. Softcover. sm.4to, 494pp. Oversized printed wrappers. Facsimile of the 1652 edition. A large format, cheaply produced, but serviceable, reprint. Spine and outer margins of covers darkened, very light foxing to page edges, otherwise a tight, unmarked VG+ copy. (34068) Please check our website for current availability.
Robert Allen Bartlett, Foreword by Dennis William Hauck. Real Alchemy: A Primer of Practical Alchemy. Quinquangle Press, 2006. First Edition. Softcover. Large 8vo. 212pp. Illustrated in black & white. Very light rubbing to edges, corners and spine ends, otherwise Near fine condition. (34054) Please check our website for current availability.
Titus Burckhardt, Translated by William Stoddart. Alchemy. Science of the Cosmos Science of the Soul. Dorset: Element Books, Ltd. 1987. Second Impression. Softcover. 8vo. 206pp. b&w illustrations. One of the better modern broad-ranging studies. Light crease at spine, covers lightly rubbed, page edges lightly foxed, otherwise VG+ condition. (34043) Please check our website for current availability.
Evan S. Connell, The Alchymist's Journal. San Francisco, CA: North Point Press, 1991. First edition. Hardcover. large 8vo. 214 pp. Scarlet cloth with gilt titling to spine, illustrated. "In a fictional tour de force of rich historical re-creation and spectacular prose, the author imagines the journals of seven alchemists..." Spine ends lightly bumped, otherwise Fine in very lightly chafed Near fine dust jacket. (34018) Please check our website for current availability.
Genevieve Dubois, Translated by Jack Cain. Fulcanelli and the Alchemical Revival: The Man Behind the Mystery of the Cathedrals. Rochester, VT: Destiny Books, 2006. First English Language. Softcover. 8vo. xiv + 178pp. b&w illustrations, index, list of related books of interest. An interesting historical study of Fulcanelli and the esoteric millieu in fin-de-siecle and early twentieth century France. Very light rubbing otherwise Fine condition. (34053) Please check our website for current availability.
John Ferguson, Some English Alchemical Books. Being an Address delivered to The Alchemical Society on Friday, October 10th, 1913. Edmonds, WA: Alchemical Press, 1989. Reprint. Softcover. 8vo. 20pp. Printed stapled wrappers. Spine slightly browned, otherwise Near fine condition inside and out. (34073) Please check our website for current availability.
Fulcanelli, Translated by Mary Sworder. Prefaces by Eugene Canseliet and Roy E. Thompson, Jr.; Introduction by Walter Lang. Le Mystère des Cathédrales. Esoteric Interpretation of the Hermetic Symbols of the Great Work. Albuquerque, NM: Brotherhood of Life, 1986. Reprint. Softcover, large 8vo, 186pp. White wrappers covers with gilt titling, frontis and b&w plates, index. The identity of the master alchemist who wrote under the pseudonym of Fulcanelli remains a mystery, but he is commonly regarded as one of the few genuine alchemical practitioners of the twentieth century's, and perhaps one of the few ever to succeed in accomplishing the Great Work. This particular work is his study of the hermetic instruction he felt was embodied in the structure of Gothic cathedrals. Covers very slightly yellowed with a few light marks, light rubbing, some foxing to page edges, bookshop sticker, otherwise a sound unmarked VG copy. (34056) Please check our website for current availability.
Cherry Gilchrist, Alchemy: The Great Work. A History and Evaluation of the Western Hermetic Tradition. Wellingborough, England: Aquarian Press, 1984. First Edition. Softcover. 8vo. 160 pp. b&w illustrations, index. Covers lightly rubbed at extremities, light foxing to page edges, bookshop label on inside from cover, otherwise condition is VG+. (34041) Please check our website for current availability.
Mark Graubard, Astrology and Alchemy. Two Fossil Sciences. New York, NY: Philosophical Library, 1953. First Edition. Hardcover. Large 8vo. xii + 382pp. Original blue/green cloth with gilt titling to spine, colored top edge, glossary and index. A critical history of Alchemy and Astrology. The author graciously defines both as "fossil sciences" ("fossils were once well adjusted to life, but in time lost that adjustment and perished") rather than as "human stupidity." Still an interesting history, albeit from a strictly rationalist perspective. Spine ends and corners lightly bumped and rubbed, paper very slightly darkened, otherwise a tight, unmarked VG+ copy in VG+ dust jacket. (Dust jacket chafed at edges with a few creases, tiny chips at spine ends, pen line through original price, not clipped). (34034) Please check our website for current availability.
Richard Grossinger, (Editor). The Alchemical Tradition in the Late Twentieth Century. Berkeley, CA: North Atlantic Books, 1983. Softcover. Large 8vo. 326 pp. Notes and b&w illustrations. A collection of texts and commentaries on alchemy, ancient and modern. Covers a little rubbed, very light foxing to page edges. Overall, a tight and unmarked VG+ copy. (34064) Please check our website for current availability.
Mark Haeffner, The Dictionary Of Alchemy. From Maria Prophetissa To Isaac Newton. London: The Aquarian Press, 1991. Softcover. 8vo. 248 pp + x pp advertisements. Printed wrappers; bibliography, b&w illustrations. Spine very lightly creased, pages a little browned, top edge lightly foxed. Otherwise, a sound unmarked VG+ copy. (34059) Please check our website for current availability.
Dennis William Hauck, Sorcerer's Stone: A Beginner's Guide to Practical Alchemy. New York: Citadel Press, 2004. First Edition. Softcover. 8vo. 276pp. Illustrated. An entertaining introduction to both practical and spiritual alchemy. Just a hint of rubbing, otherwise Fine condition. (34055) Please check our website for current availability.
Manfred M. Junius, Translated by Leone Muller. Practical Handbook of Plant Alchemy. How To Prepare Medicinal Essences, Tinctures and Elixirs. New York, NY: Inner Traditions Intl. Ltd., 1985. First US Edition. Softcover. Large 8vo. x + 264 pp. Notes, b&w illustrations, bibliography. Light general wear and rubbing, page edged lightly foxed. Overall, a tight and unmarked VG+ copy. (34063) Please check our website for current availability.
S. Mahdihassan, Indian Alchemy or Rasayana. In the Light of Asceticism and Geriatrics. Delhi, India: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers, 1991. Second Revised Edition. Hardcover. 8vo. xx + 148pp. Black cloth with gilt titling to spine, b&w illustrations. Light rubbing to edges, a few light spots to cloth, paper lightly browned with faint vertical crease to the preliminary pages. Overall a tight, bright VG+ copy in lightly chafed VG+ dust jacket. (34023) Please check our website for current availability.
Thomas Moore, The Planets Within. The Astrological Psychology of Marsilio Ficino. Great Barrington, MA: Lindisfarne Press, 1990. Revised. Softcover. Large 8vo. 228 pp. Notes, bibliography, index. A psychological reassesment of Ficino, his astrological thought, and the world-view it helped frame. Light rubbing to covers, lower corner bumped, light foxing to page edges. Still, overall a bright and tight VG+ copy. (34060) Please check our website for current availability.
Ronald Pearsall, The Alchemists. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, ND (Circa 1975). First Edition. Hardcover, 8vo, 186pp. Original black cloth, gilt titling to spine, b&w illustrations, index. A popular history of alchemy and alchemists, from the beginning until the late twentieth century. Light foxing to page edges, otherwise Fine condition in mylar protected Near fine dust jacket. (33998) Please check our website for current availability.
Eirenaeus Philalethes, With Dr. Francis Antony, Sir George Ripley et al. Collectanea Chemica: Being Select Treatises On Alchemy And Hermetic Medicine. Edmonds, WA: Alchemical Press, 1991. Reprint. Softcover. 8vo.160 pp. A facsimile reprint of the 1893 publication of this collection of Hermetic tracts, which was itself taken from a manuscript in the Hockley collection. Spine and cover edges slightly darkened, otherwise Near fine condition inside and out. (34040) Please check our website for current availability.
John Read, The Alchemist in Life, Literature and Art. New York, NY: Thomas Nelson and Sons Ltd., 1947. First edition. Hardcover. 8vo, xii + 100pp. Black cloth with gilt title, etc. to spine label, top edge gilt, color frontis, b&w illustrations. An authoritative study of the history and practice of alchemy, and the way in which it has been represented in art and literature. Light rubbing to lower edges, endpapers unevenly browned. Still a tight, clean VG+ copy in mylar protected lightly rubbed and creased VG+ dust jacket. (33999) Please check our website for current availability.
H. Stanley Redgrove, Bygone Beliefs. Being A Series Of Excursions In the Byways of Thought. Albuquerque, NM: Sun Publishing Company, 1981. Facsimile reprint. Hardcover. 8vo. xvi + 206 pp. Red printed wrappers, b&w illustrations, frontis. A delightful and well informed exploration of byways of hermetic thought. With chapters on The Belief in Talismans, Ceremonial Magic in Theory and Practice, Achitectural Symbolism, the Phallic Element in Alchemical Doctrine, etc. Cheap but serviceable reprint. Very light rubbing to edges, spine ends. Otherwise Near fine condition. (34072) Please check our website for current availability.
Israel Regardie, The Philosopher's Stone. A Modern Comparative Approach to Alchemy from the Psychological and Magical Points of View. St. Paul, MN: Llewellyn Publications, 1974. Reprint. Softcover. 8vo. 204pp. illustrated. Covers darkened at spine and outer edges, paper lightly browned. Still a sound, unmarked VG copy. (34069) Please check our website for current availability.
Alexander Roob, Alchemy & Mysticism. The Hermetic Cabinet. Köln, Germany: Taschen, 2005. First Edition Thus. Softcover, 8vo, 192pp. Pictorial card covers ('flexicovers'), well illustrated with color plates and b/w illustrations, index. A lovely collection of illustrations - with brief commentary - from the great pictorial and symbolic works of Hermetica. An "abridged" version of The Hermetic Museum by Roob, but complete in itself. Fine condition. (34067) Please check our website for current availability.
F. Sherwood Taylor, The Alchemists: Founders Of Modern Chemistry. London: The Scientific Book Club, nd (circa 1950). Hardcover. Small 8vo. x + 246 pp. Original maroon cloth with red title, etc. to spine, frontis, b/w illustrations, recommended reading list, index. A well illustrated, historical overview. The author, F. Sherwood Taylor, was a Director of the [London] Science Museum, with a passion for alchemy. He ensured that the Museum's first Exhibition of Books was devoted to the alchemical arts, and was himself the author of numerous books and essays on the history of alchemy. Cloth lightly chafed, spine a bit darkened and chafed with some light bruising to ends, light foxing and browning to page edges and endpapers. Otherwise a tight, internally clean VG+ copy. (no dust jacket) (34033) Please check our website for current availability.
Basil Valentine, [Basilius Valentinius] With the Commentary of Theodore Kerckringius. Translated, with a Preface by A. E. Waite. Additional Corrections by Joseph Bouleur. The Triumphal Chariot of Antimony [Currus Triumphalis Antimonii]. Edmonds, WA: Holmes Publishing Group, 1992. Reprint. Softcover. large 8vo. 110pp. b&w Alchemical plates, index. A translation of the Latin Version published at Amsterdam in the Year 1685 with an Introduction by A. E. Waite. Covers slightly darkened at edges and spine, lightly rubbed at edges and corners, page edges lightly foxed, otherwise a tight, clean VG+ copy. (34047) Please check our website for current availability.
[Various] Frater Albertus, Introduces. Golden Manuscripts. Kila, MT: Kessinger Publishing Company, 1991. Reprint. Softcover. sm.4to. 54pp. Oversized printed wrappers. A collection of short works on alchemy by a variety of early authors: The Hermetic Art - The Teaching Concerning Atomic Transmutation; The True Book of the Learned Synesius a Greek Abbot Taken out of the Emperor's Library Concerning the Philosophers Stone; Circulatum Minus Urbigeranum, or the Philosophical Elixir of Vegetables with the Three Certain Ways of Preparing it Fully and Clearly set Forth in One and Thirty Aphorisms. This Kessinger reprint is essentially a nicely-produced, paper-bound photocopy of an earlier edition. Spine faded, a few light marks to cover, light rubbing, Overall VG+ condition. (34052) Please check our website for current availability.
Marie-Louise von Franz, Alchemy: An Introduction to the Symbolism and the Psychology. Toronto, Canada: Inner City Books, 1980. Softcover. 8vo. 280 pp + 4 pp of adverts. Index, b&w illustrations. A study of alchemy from the Jungian perspective, by Jung's life-long friend and co-worker Marie-Louise von Franz. Light rubbing, lower corner bumped, light foxing to page edges. Overall, a tight, unmarked VG+ copy. (34062) Please check our website for current availability.
Arthur Edward Waite, (Introduction by Paul M. Allen). Alchemists Through the Ages [Lives of Alchemystical Philosophers] From the year 850 to the close of the 18th. century, together with a Study of the Principles and Practice of Alchemy , including a Bibliography of Alchemical and Hermetic Philosophy. Blauvelt, NY: Rudolf Steiner Publications, 1970. Reprint. Hardcover. 8vo. 318pp. + 2pp adverts. Original blue cloth with gilt title panels to upper board and spine, b&w illustrations, appendix, index. A retitled reissue of Waite's Lives of the Alchemystical Philosophers, though this edition omits Waite's preface, replacing it with a new Introduction by Paul. M. Allen. Corners lightly bumped, light rubbing to edges, otherwise a sound and unmarked VG+ copy. No dust jacket as issued. (33994) Please check our website for current availability.
Michael White, Isaac Newton: The Last Sorcerer. Reading, MA: Helix Books, 1998. Second Printing. Hardcover. 8vo. vi + 404pp. Black cloth spine with plum papered boards, gilt titling to upper board, b&w illustrations, references, index. A new biography, that explores Newton as a practicing alchemist, with broader occult interests, rather than simply as a scientist alone. Light bruising to lower spine, otherwise a tight, bright Fine copy in lightly chafed Near fine dust jacket. (34025) Please check our website for current availability.
About This Catalog & How To Purchase From It.
This is Weiser's eighty-third year of business as specialist sellers of esoteric books. For many decades the company issued printed catalogs, however, the
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directly on to our own website. In January 2006 we began issuing a new series of on-line catalogues, of which this is the thirty-second. Whilst we will
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Our Previous Catalogs
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Please note that these are 'old,' out-of-date catalogs and are primarily stored for interest’s sake only. Most of the books listed in them have already sold.
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Last Updated Thursday April 3, 2008.