The Rosary of the Philosophers; ( Magnum Opus Hermetic Sourceworks series )
Edinburgh, Scotland: Magnum Opus Hermetic Sourceworks, 1981. Limited edition. Hardcover. Octavo. 130pp. Hand-bound in brown faux leather with gilt title to spine, hand-coloured plates. Edition limited to 250 copies. Signed by Adam McLean. Magnum Opus Hermetic Sourceworks series No. 6. This copy with the 20 illustrations hand-coloured by Adam McLean. Adam McLean's transcription of the Glasgow University Library MS Ferguson 210, an eighteenth century manuscript translation of the "The Rosary of the Philosophers." This work was originally published under the title "Rosarium philosophorum sive pretiosissimum donum Dei" as part II of "De Alchimia Opuscula complura veterum philosophorum" in Frankfurt in 1550. The "Rosarium philosophorum" is widely regarded as one of the most important early Renaissance European alchemical texts, and will be recognisable to many on account of its 20 woodcut illustrations, some of which have have been widely reproduced. The edition comprises the First English language edition of the text, reproductions of the illustrations, and an Introduction and Commentary by McLean. There were two main issues of this, the first edition of this book: most copies had the printed black and white illustrations (only) whilst a small percentage of the already small print-run had them hand-coloured by McLean. A few copies were also issued with additional loose playing-card sized black and white facsimiles of the plates. This copy is in the mottled browned binding typical of the earlier issue states of works in the Magnum Opus Hermetic Sourceworks series, and is printed on buff paper with matching endpapers. The illustrations are hand-coloured and it has "20 illustrations coloured by hand," printed on the limitation page. In common with all other copies seen it has the publication date 18th February 1981 handwritten on the limitation page (this was the actual publication date, even though the printed year on the verso of the title page is 1980). This edition is not to be confused with a later (1995/2006?) reissue that McLean did with revised text and printed rather than hand-coloured illustrations. This copy from the library of esoteric author Joscelyn Godwin, with his occult bookplate on front pastedown. Godwin worked with Adam McLean on a number of McLean's alchemical titles most notably the Magnum Opus Hermetic Sourceworks edition of Atalanta Fugiens. Covers lightly rubbed, chemical reaction between the endpapers and the binder's glue has caused considerable darkening to the outer margins of the pastedowns and endpapers - (as is quite common with these volumes), page edges a little darkened. Otherwise a tight, unmarked VG+ with an interesting provenance. Item #58856
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