The Little Mystic - Magic Picture Book. For the industriously practicing Abecedarian of the Fraternity of the Rose Cross.
Chicago: The Aries Press, 1937. First English edition. Hardcover. Large octavo. (i - xii) 19 - 231pp. Original green publisher's cloth with silver gilt titling etc. to spine, with 211 b&w illustrations. All page except the preface are paginated and printed on the rectos only. The first English language edition of the great alchemical / emblem book of Daniel Stoltzius von Stoltzenberg, "The Chemical Pleasure-garden," taken from the first German-language edition: the "Chymisches Lustgärtlein" (Frankfort, 1624) which was in turn translated from the Latin edition "Viridarium chymicum" of the same year. This edition is complete, comprising a reproduction and translation of the original title-page, Stoltzius' address to the reader, and the 210 alchemical designs and accompanying text. A pagination error results in page numbers 40 and 42 not present, but the volume is complete with all illustrations and text, the book designer evidently just skipped two numbers when numbering the pages likely in error and not by intention (all copies seen are thus.) The margins of p.41 are trimmed half-an-inch tighter than the rest (as also in all copies)- but it is properly aligned and there is no loss to text. It was obviously issued thus, although whether it was by design, or another error, we have no idea. Cloth lightly rubbed and darkened with some light rubbing to all edges, corners and spine ends lightly bumped and chafed, page edges darkened, owner's name on front blank and front pastedown, pages evenly toned but bright and clean. Overall a tight, unmarked VG copy (no dust jacket if called for). Item #62557
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