Lives of Alchemystical Philosophers; with a Critical Catalogue of Books in Occult Chemistry and a Selection of the Most Celebrated Treatises on the Theory and Practice of the Hermetic Art.
London: John M. Watkins, 1955. Limited Facsimile Edition. Hardcover. Large octavo. 386pp. Original black cloth with gilt titling to spine. A facsimile reprint of the work originally published anonymously in 1815. Edition limited to 250 numbered copies. The Lives of the Alchemystical Philosophers" comprises an Introduction followed by three parts: a collection of short biographies of alchemical adepts through the ages, a list of alchemical books, and a collection of alchemical treatises. It was first published in 1814 under the title "Lives of the Adepts in Alchemystical Philosophy" although very few copies seem to have been released, and it was reissued the following year with a new title page bearing the slightly modified title "The Lives of the Alchemystical Philosophers." Although it did not have a wide distribution it was influential: thus it is known to have been one of the books used by Mary Anne Atwood when she was writing her "A Suggestive Inquiry into the Hermetic Mystery and Alchemy." It was later republished in a heavily revised edition by A. E. Waite in 1888. In this Waite revised many of the biographies, however he failed to make any real improvement to the often unreliable bibliography, and in the words of Waite's bibliographer, R. A. Gilbert "omitted altogether the most valuable part of the original text" - the collection of alchemical treatises that made up the third section of the original editions. The original edition, from which this facsimile is taken, contains many often significant variances from the Waite-edited revision.
Although the work was published anonymously it was later attributed - almost certainly erroneously - to Frances Barrett, apparently on no grounds other than a vague similarity of subject matter and the fact that both it and "The Magus" were published by Lackington, Allen & Co. This attribution was rejected both by Waite, and by Timothy D'Arch Smith, who edited the best modern edition of "The Magus." A recent analysis by the staff of the Ritman Library has revealed that many of the biographies in "The Lives" are drawn from the first volume of Lenglet du Fresnoy's "Histoire de la philosophie hermetique" (1742), a discovery that would seem to strengthen the argument made by some that the anonymous compiler might simply have been employed for the task by Lackington, Allen & Co.
Cloth lightly rubbed, corners and spine ends lightly bruised & chafed, top edge darkened and has a large spot of browning, very light foxing to endpapers, pages lightly toned - but clean and unmarked. Overall a tight, VG+ copy in Good dust jacket. (Dust jacket is lightly worn overall, all edges and extremities chafed & lightly chipped, cello tape shadowing from early reinforcement to all edges & folds [tape no longer present], price clipped. Now in removable mylar sleeve.). Item #68884
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