Item #60603 The Crowning of Nature. The Doctrine of the Chief Medicine, Explained in Sixty Seven Hieroglyphics; ( Magnum Opus Hermetic Sourceworks series ). ANONIMUS the Cabalist, Edited and, a, Adam McLean, Edited.
The Crowning of Nature. The Doctrine of the Chief Medicine, Explained in Sixty Seven Hieroglyphics; ( Magnum Opus Hermetic Sourceworks series )
The Crowning of Nature. The Doctrine of the Chief Medicine, Explained in Sixty Seven Hieroglyphics; ( Magnum Opus Hermetic Sourceworks series )

The Crowning of Nature. The Doctrine of the Chief Medicine, Explained in Sixty Seven Hieroglyphics; ( Magnum Opus Hermetic Sourceworks series )

Scotland: Magnum Opus Hermetic Sourceworks, 1984. Limited edition. Hardcover. Octavo. 138pp. Hand bound in brown faux-leather, b&w illustrations. Edition limited to 250 numbered copies. Signed by Adam McLean. This copy has ALL 67 PLATES COLORED BY HAND. Magnum Opus Hermetic Sourceworks series No. 3. "One of the most enigmatic of all alchemical works, The Crowning of Nature is a detailed description of the alchemical process, through a series of 67 stages which are pictured as taking place in retorts. The Crowning of Nature, which was well known in the late 16th and early 17th centuries, was never published as a printed book, but was widely circulated in manuscript form. For this first edition of the work, Adam McLean has consulted seven manuscript versions, and includes an English text that accompanies some versions. The Crowning of Nature provides a link between the soul development of Alchemy and the work of the physical process, as these illustrations are descriptive of both of these realms. The set of basic symbols undergoes a metamorphosis of form and colour, through a series of cycles, that unfolds in the 67 illustrations. An Introduction surveys the history and assesses the importance of the work against the background of the alchemical tradition. Adam McLean provides a commentary on the process pictured in the series of illustrations and suggests some ways in which we can approach the spiritual ideas woven into the patterns of symbolism." Various states of this book exist, printed on different paper stocks, bound in different materials, some with the illustrations hand-coloured (as this copy), a few with a set of loose facsimiles of the plates. This volume is in the textured brown binding typical of the earlier issue states of works in the Magnum Opus Hermetic Sourceworks series. The text is printed on thick white paper, and the volume has plain endpapers. Covers lightly rubbed, and with a few small black smudges (possibly offsetting from another volume to which it sat adjacent in the shelves). Endpages darkened by a chemical reaction to the glue used in the binding (this is typical of the earlier issues of McLean's publications). Edges darkened - especially the top edge - which is quite heavily foxed. Very faint damp browning through a number of pages (perhaps the artefact of a spill during the painting process), occasional light foxing, and some offsetting of the text onto adjacent blanks or illustrations. Still overall a tight, clean VG or better copy and very unusual with the hand-colored plates. Item #60603

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