MCLEAN, Adam, Edited and with a Commentary. Text by Anonimus the Cabalist.

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 - First Thus. Hardcover. Octavo. 138 pp. Hand bound in series brown faux-leather, b&w illustrations, medium brown endpapers. Edition limited to 250 numbered copies, signed by Adam McLean, this being copy No. 211. 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, a few with a set of loose facsimiles of the plates. This volume is in the mottled brown binding typical of the earlier issues of works in the Magnum Opus Hermetic Sourceworks series. It is printed on white paper stock, and has medium brown endpapers, the plates are black and white and it does not have the loose plates found in a small number of copies. Two small 3/16 inch cuts on top edge of boards near head of the spine - most likely an artifact of the binding process (see photograph), a light touch of browning to the endpapers as common with this serious. Else near Fine condition. Item #74066

Price: $250.00