ALCHEMY - MEDICINE - KABBALAH. - Lot 31

Lot 31
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ALCHEMY - MEDICINE - KABBALAH. - Lot 31
ALCHEMY - MEDICINE - KABBALAH. An important bibliographic manuscript cataloging hermetic, chemical, medical, and kabbalistic treatises. Manuscript on paper, 4 folio pages, 17th–18th century. Neat handwriting. A comprehensive list of works devoted to alchemy, hermetic medicine, Kabbalah, natural philosophy, and the occult sciences. A few annotations regarding format and pagination. A rare working document constituting a genuine handwritten catalog of an alchemical library, bringing together numerous sought-after references from European hermetic literature. Among the works mentioned are, notably: Galen’s Pharmacy; The True Clavicles of King Solomon; Treatise on Operations on Zinc; Adam and Eve Washing the Body of Hercules; The Chemistry of Athanasius Kircher; The Chemical Kabbalah; Dufresne’s Ark, or Artificial Treasure of the Great Mysteries of Nature and the Chemical Kabbalah; Basil Valentin’s The Triumphant Chariot of Antimony; several treatises on transmutation, the philosophical metals, universal medicine, and the secrets of nature. The compiler frequently notes the format of the works, their volume, and their page numbers, suggesting either an inventory of a specialized library or the preparation of a sale of scholarly books. This document is of particular interest for the history of Western alchemy, the dissemination of hermetic texts, and the study of scholarly libraries of the 17th and 18th centuries. A valuable record of the circulation of Hermetic knowledge in the modern era, this manuscript brings together the most iconic titles of European alchemical and medical literature. *The Triumphant Chariot of Antimony*, *The Clavicles of King Solomon*, treatises on zinc, the chemical Kabbalah, and works attributed to Athanasius Kircher together form a collection that reveals the interests of an enlightened enthusiast of the occult sciences. More than just a bibliographic list, this document captures the intellectual world of a study where medicine, natural philosophy, nascent chemistry, Kabbalah, and alchemy intersect. References to formats and page numbers suggest a practical purpose, perhaps for organizing a specialized library or preparing for a sale. Handwritten inventories of this nature are rare on the market. They constitute primary sources for the history of private collections and scholarly reading in the modern era.
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