A gray-bearded scholar in a red cap writes at his desk with a quill. Scattered in front of him are fabric-covered ceramic jars, a celestial globe, glass jars stoppered with twists, and a pipe. Illumination floods the…

Second edition Magnes Sive (Cologne, 1643), by Athanasius Kircher (1602–1680), a German Jesuit scholar who published many extensive works on scientific, religious, and other subjects. Dubbed the “Master of a Hundred…

Two, first edition volumes bound together. Written by the English scientist, physician, alchemist, and Rosicrucian, Robert Fludd (1574–1637), this encyclopedic work is broadly themed upon the macrocosm and microcosm,…

A collection of alchemical works containing the first appearance of the supposed biography of alchemist Nicholas Flamel (c. 1340-1418). Flamel was a French scribe and manuscript-seller. Flamel and his wife, Perrenelle…

Copy of an early text from the Pseudo-Lullian alchemical corpus, assembled before the sixteenth century from two independent manuscripts. This manuscript is noteworthy for its illustrations, tables, figures, and…

A collection of four alchemical works ascribed to Ramon Llull (c. 1232-1316), of which three are printed here for the first time: Apertorium, Magia Naturalis, and Tertia Distinctio. The fourth treatise, De secretis…

Khunrath Heinrich's (1560-1605) Amphitheatrum Sapientiae, purportedly one of the most significant books of theosophical alchemy and the occult sciences. Though the title page reads 1602, the book was not published until…

An etching depicting the execution of the alchemist, Georg Honauer (1572-1597) on the specially erected "Iron Gallows" in Stuttgart, April 2nd, 1597. The engraving shows a portrait of Honauer with inscription on the…

Handwritten manuscript containing notes for making aqua fortis, (or nitric acid), and refining silver. Includes a basic sketch of the apparatus used in the procedure. Written by John Conduitt (1688-1737), Sir Isaac…

Written in Isaac Newton's hand, Roth Mallor’s Work consists of extracts from the work of Erasmus Rothmaler, a German alchemist about whom essentially nothing is known. Text found on verso is two unrelated chemical…

Geared towards young readers, The playbook of metals is an informative and entertaining volume on all aspects of the history, mining, smelting, and metallurgy of the metals then known. The author, John Henry Pepper…

The Testamentum Theorica is the earliest work in the Pseudo-Lullian Alchemical corpus, a large collection of as many as 143 different texts that circulated as the work of Raymond Lull (Ramon Llull or Raimundus Lullus;…

This manuscript is an important miscellany of practical and theoretical alchemical texts with a full-page drawing of alchemical instruments reflecting the activities of a fifteenth-century alchemist. The manuscript was…

In the center of a large room, a surgeon in a red cap and apron kneels to apply a leech to the foot of his bearded patient. Scenes of bloodletting and leechcraft are common in such images of doctors' surgeries. The…

This manuscript is a diverse and well-organized recipe collection with more than 520 different recipes on topics ranging from alchemy and medicine to solutions for simple household problems such as fleas. A direct…

The Liber de secretis naturae seu de quinta essentia is the central work in the Pseudo-Lullian Alchemical corpus, a large collection of as many as 143 different texts that circulated as the work of Raymond Lull (Ramon…

A photographic reproduction of the replica of an alchemist's laboratory located in the Deutsches Museum in Munich, Germany. Various vessels for distillation can be seen along with two furnaces.

This plate is found…

A layman's introduction to topics in chemistry including a history of chemistry along with alchemy and the philosopher's stone; elements including organic, invisible, metals, acids, alkalies, and water; chemical changes…

The alchemist pauses in his work to glance over one shoulder at the distillation experiments in progress beside him. A multi-level furnace supports an alembic and receiver. A small text, perhaps a recipe collection or…

A studious, bearded alchemist in a red cap studies a book intently, one hand tracing the lines of text. Beside him, a brick furnace sits topped with glassware. A skull and hourglass rest on his table, reminding the…