Item #65921 Recuëil d'ouvrages chimiques ( An Eighteenth Century French Alchemical Manuscript ). Alchemy, excerpts from Philalethes Anonymous, etc. Possibly, Paracelsus, Antoine-Joseph Pernety. With the ownership signature of René Adolphe Schwaller De Lubicz.
Recuëil d'ouvrages chimiques ( An Eighteenth Century French Alchemical Manuscript ).
Recuëil d'ouvrages chimiques ( An Eighteenth Century French Alchemical Manuscript ).
Recuëil d'ouvrages chimiques ( An Eighteenth Century French Alchemical Manuscript ).
Recuëil d'ouvrages chimiques ( An Eighteenth Century French Alchemical Manuscript ).
Recuëil d'ouvrages chimiques ( An Eighteenth Century French Alchemical Manuscript ).
Recuëil d'ouvrages chimiques ( An Eighteenth Century French Alchemical Manuscript ).
Recuëil d'ouvrages chimiques ( An Eighteenth Century French Alchemical Manuscript ).
Recuëil d'ouvrages chimiques ( An Eighteenth Century French Alchemical Manuscript ).
Recuëil d'ouvrages chimiques ( An Eighteenth Century French Alchemical Manuscript ).

Recuëil d'ouvrages chimiques ( An Eighteenth Century French Alchemical Manuscript ).

NP, 1752. Hardcover. Quarto ( 9 1/4 x 7 inches). 326 pages (+vi, blanks) Quarter vellum binding: flat vellum spine with neat hand-written title in black ink over decorated paper covered-paper boards. Modern custom made paper-covered slip case. FRENCH LANGUAGE. A closely-written manuscript, dated 1752, with 3 pen drawings in the text, one of a chemical furnace, one of a talisman, and one (in four parts) of a "philosophical furnace" ("fourneaux philosophiques"). A significant eighteenth century manuscript covering all aspects, from the symbolic to the practical, of the Great Work. It is made up of a variety of texts,
or excerpts, many with comments and additions. A number are not readily identifiable but those that are include Trevisan's "Green Dream," an excerpt from Philalethes, the Alkahest of Paracelsus, etc. A loosely inserted three page note, in unidentified hand, attributes the manuscript to Antoine-Joseph Pernety (1716–1796), the French clergyman, writer and hermeticist, who in 1760 found the secret society of the "Rite hermétique" (also known as the Illuminati of Avignon). Unfortunately it does not give details of the reason for this attribution, other than that the manuscript was apparently contemporary with the period in which Pernety was most deeply engaged with Hermeticism. It is surely therefore only speculation, at least until further research can be undertaken. FROM THE LIBRARY OF RENÉ ADOLPHE SCHWALLER DE LUBICZ WITH HIS PENCILLED OWNERSHIP SIGNATURE AT THE HEAD OF THE TITLE PAGE. Schwaller De Lubicz (1887-1961), also known as René Adolphe Schwaller, was a French student of the hermetic mysteries who with Henri Cotton Alvart, Miloz, Louis Alain Guillaume, Pierre Loti, and Camille Flammarion was a member of the initiatic group, "Les Frères de l'Ordre Mystique de la Résurrection" formed within the "Groupe des Veilleurs." As an author De Lubicz popularized the use of sacred geometry in Egyptology, an aspect on which he had become focussed during his study of the art and architecture of the Temple of Luxor in Egypt. Proveance: sold at the auction: Alchimie. Livres et Manuscrits des XVIe - XVIIe et XVIIIe siècles sur le Grand Oeuvre - 19 novembre 1992, Paris, Drouot-Richelieu, Item No 32. (The original glossy printed sale catalogue is included). Most recently from the renowned alchemical collection of Gonzage de Marliave with his bookplate on the front pastedown. Loosely inserted three pages of notes (in French) in an unidentified modern hand (possibly that of de Marliave?). A little superficial wear. Overall VG antiquarian condition, an interesting and important work wih fascinating provenance. A large, heavy book which will require postage and insurance charges additional to those automatically quoted. Once we know the destination we will quote the appropriate extra amount needed. Item #65921

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