Alchemy Astrology & Occult

antiquariaat FORUM & ASHER Rare Books
Alchemy, Astrology & Occult

Alchemy, Astrology & Occult
e-catalogue
Jointly offered for sale by:
Extensive descriptions and images available on request
All offers are without engagement and subject to prior sale.
All items in this list are complete and in good condition unless stated otherwise.
Any item not agreeing with the description may be returned within one week after receipt.
Prices are EURO (€). Postage and insurance are not included. VAT is charged at the standard rate to all
EU customers. EU customers: please quote your VAT number when placing orders. Preferred mode of payment:
in advance, wire transfer or bankcheck. Arrangements can be made for MasterCard and VisaCard.
Ownership of goods does not pass to the purchaser until the price has been paid in full.
General conditions of sale are those laid down in the ILAB Code of Usages and Customs,
which can be viewed at:
New customers are requested to provide references when ordering.
Orders can be sent to either firm.
Antiquariaat FORUM BV
Tuurdijk 16
3997 ms ‘t Goy – Houten
The Netherlands
Phone: +31 (0)30 6011955
Fax: +31 (0)30 6011813
E–mail: info@forumrarebooks.com
Web: www.forumrarebooks.com
www.forumislamicworld.com
ASHER Rare Books
Tuurdijk 16
3997 ms ‘t Goy – Houten
The Netherlands
Phone: +31 (0)30 6011955
Fax: +31 (0)30 6011813
E–mail: info@asherbooks.com
Web: www.asherbooks.com
cover image: no. 3
v 1.0 · 10 Aug 2016

Key work of Arabic astrologer
1. A LBUM A SA R (Abu Ma’shar al-Balkhi Ja’Far ibn Muhammad).
Introductorium in astronomiam Albumasaris abalachi octo continens
libros partiales.
(Colophon: Venice, Giacomo Penzio for Melchiorre Sessa, 5 September
1506). 4to (21×15 cm). With woodcut illustration on title-page, Sessa’s
woodcut crowned cat and mouse device below colophon, 8 woodcut planet
and 12 woodcut zodiac figures in the text (plus 21 repeats), a woodcut
astrological diagram, another diagram made of rules and letterpress text),
numerous woodcut decorated initials (3 series). Set in 3 sizes of rotunda
gothic type, that of the main text with planet symbols. Mid-19th-century
sheepskin, gold-tooled spine. € 25.000
An early and attractive edition of a key astrological work. Of all the Arabic writers
on astrology, the most imposing is Ja’far ibn Muhammad Abû Ma’shar al-Balkhî
(ca. 787–886), known in the West as Albumasar. The present 12th-century
Latin translation by John of Seville of his “al-Madkhal al-kabir ilá ‘ilm ahkam
al-nujum” (Great introduction to the science of astrology) was first published at
Augsburg in 1489.
Small early ink stamp on title-page, early manuscript index at end, written on
endleaves from the first binding; some early marginalia and underlinings in two
different early hands. From the library of Nicolas Yemeniz (1783–1871), with
pencilled lot number 969, and with the large armorial bookplate of William
Stirling-Maxwell (1818–1878). Binding slightly dirty, occasional insignificant
mark internally; overall a very good copy.
Adams A567; Cat. de la Bibl. de . N. Yemeniz, Paris, 1867, lot 969 (this copy); Isaac 12913; Gaselee, Early
printed books in Corpus Christi Cambridge, 166; Edit 16, CNCE 822.

Using optics to explain how people see ghosts
2. BROWN, J.H. Brown’s kleurvisioenen met een woord ter
aanwijzing en verklaring.
Leeuwarden, Hugo Suringar, [1866]. 4to. With 16 numbered lithographed
plates (13 hand-coloured) lithographed by Morriën & Amand,
Amsterdam. Original illustrated green cloth-backed boards, flyleaves
with publishers advertisements. € 1.750
Rare first edition of the Dutch translation of J.H. Brown’s Spectropia, or surprising
spectral illusions (1864), using the 19th-century knowledge of optics
to explain how people see ghosts. A second edition was published ca. 1870.
As described in the (original) introduction: “ To see the spectres, it is only
necessary to look steadily at the dot, or asterisk, which is to be found on
each of the plates, for about a quarter of a minute,.. Then turning the eyes
to the ceiling… of a darkened room (not totally dark), and looking rather
steadily at any one point, the spectre will soon being to make its appearance,
increasing in intensity, and then gradually vanishing, to reappear and vanish
again.”
Some occasional spots, book block nearly detached and wrappers slightly
soiled and rubbed. Good copy.
Landwehr, Plezier met papier 315; cf. NCC (5 copies of 2nd edition).

Standard work on iatrochemistry,
helping to make a science of alchemy
3. CROLL , Oswald. Basilica chymica continens. Philosophicam
propria[m] laborum experientia[m] confirmatam descriptionem et
usum remediorum chymicorum selectissimorum é lumine gratiae et
naturae desumptorum.
Including: CROLL , Oswald. [Divisional title:] Tractatus de signaturis
internis rerum, ...
Frankfurt am Main, Godfried Tampach, [1611]. 2 parts plus laudatory
verses in 1 volume. 4to. With a richly engraved general title-page
by Aegidius Sadeler including the portraits of 6 famous alchemists:
Hermes Trismegistus, Geber (Jabir ibn Hayyan), Roger Bacon,
Paracelcus, Ramon Llull and Morienus Romanus of Jerusalem.
17th-century vellum. € 3.000
Rare second(?) edition by the original publisher and in the original Latin, of
the most important work of the chemist, alchemist and physician Oswald
Croll (1580–1609). It mixes chemical and spiritual means of healing,
following Paracelsus both by supporting the theory that man is a microcosmos
incorporating the universe, and by the 80-page second part on the
doctrine of signatures, which suggests that herbs resembling parts of the
human body can be used to treat ailments of that part. The Basilica chymica
provides the reader with a large number of secret alchemical recipes and
information about curative objects. The Basilica chymica quickly became
and remained the standard scientific work on iatrochemistry, a branch of
both chemistry and medicine, rooted in alchemy and seeking to provide
chemical solutions to diseases and medical ailments.
With owners’ inscriptions and early manuscript notes. Slightly browned,
with chips in the fore-edge of the first two leaves, occasional minor stains
and spots, but otherwise in good condition. Binding with stains and a
couple cuts but structurally sound. An essential work for both alchemy and
the birth of modern medical chemistry.
Duveen, p. 150; Partington II, pp. 174–177; cf. Thorndike V, pp. 649–651; for Croll:
DSB III, pp. 471–472.

The conjuror unmasked
4. DECR EMPS, Henri. La magie blanche dévoilée, ou explication des tours surprenans qui sont depuis peu l›admiration de la capitale & de
la province.
Paris, Liège, Brussels, F.J. Desoer, 1789–1791. 5 volumes. 8vo. With 2 engraved frontispieces, 3 frontispieces with letterpress text and a woodcut,
184 woodcuts (several full-page) in the text and 2 folding tables. 3. Near contemporary green half sheepskin, gold-tooled spines. € 4.500
Rare complete set (second edition?) of Decremps’s popular
work on conjuring and physics tricks, first published in
1784. Henri Decremps (1746–1826), a Parisian lawyer and
amateur conjuror, sought to unmask Giovanni Giuseppe
Pinetti, the most celebrated magician of the 18th century.
Pinetti had gained fame as a flamboyant performer, but
Decremps considered him a charlatan who cheated people
for personal profit. In the first volume Decremps unveils
several of his most famous tricks, including one named
“Theophrastus Paracelsus”, involving a pigeon supposedly
being beheaded, a mechanical singing bird, an automaton
chess-player and a dancing egg that jumps out of a hat. The
frontispiece in vol. 1 shows the magician throwing a deck
of cards in the air and nailing shooting a card with a pistol.
As a reaction to Decremps’s attack Pinetti published his
own instruction book, Physical amusements, and prepared
a new show. Decremps then published a supplement
revealing Pinnetti’s latest tricks, followed by three subsequent
volumes almost entirely devoted to physics tricks:
Testament de Jérome Sharp, Les petites aventures de Jérome
Sharp and finally Codicile de Jérome Sharp. Decremps’s
work proved very popular: it was reprinted and translated
numerous of times. Sets comprising all five volumes are
rare.
In very good condition. A rare complete set of an important
conjuring book, in lovely uniform near contemporary
bindings.
Cf. Caillet 2861–2864 (first eds); Hall, Old Conjuring Books, pp. 156–158, 174;
Christopher, Magic: a picture history, pp. 28–31.

Faulhaber’s mystical arithmetics,
pyramidal numbers as key to biblical prophecies
5. FAULHABER, Johann. Andeutung, einer unerhörten newen Wunderkunst.
Welche der Geist Gottes, in etlichen Prophetischen, und Biblischen Geheimnuss
Zahlen, bis auff die letzte Zeit hat wöllen versiegelt und verborgen halten.
Ulm, Lorentz Miller; Nuremberg, Abraham Wagenmann, 1613. 4to. 19-century half
cloth. € 3.750
First edition of one of the mystical arithmetic works by the well-known German mathematician
and alchemist Johann Faulhaber (1580–1635). A Latin translation appeared in the
same year. Faulhaber’s earlier attempts to interpret the Bible with mathematics caused him
to be thrown in jail, after he wrongly predicted the ending of the world in 1605. He was soon
released and published several other works with a similar approach, including this one where
he concludes that pyramidal numbers are the key to God’s biblical prophecies.
With the 20th-century bookplate of Karin Figala. Reasonable copy, with the first and last
page slightly soiled, a small restoration to the title-page, some foxing, minor stains and a few
marginal annotations.
BLC STC German (17th cent.) F-234; DSB IV, pp. 550; WorldCat (4 copies); cf. Koetsier & Bergmans, Mathematics and
the divine, pp. 311–328.

Important theosophical work by a leading follower of Böhme,
with 5 figures in 4 plates
6. GICHTEL , Johann Georg and Johann Georg GR A BER. Eine kurtze Eröffnung und
Anweisung der dreyen Principien und Welten im Menschen, in unterschiedlichen Figuren
vorgestellet: ...: abgemahlet und vorgestellet ..., im Jahr Christi 1696.
[Leiden or Leipzig?], 1736. 8vo. With 4 engraved plates (1 double-page with 2 figures, often
counted as 2; 1 folding). The plates hand-coloured as published, and highlighted with gold or
copper. 19th-century boards. € 1.750
Second edition in the original German of an important theosophical work, containing Gichtel’s views
on cosmology, the influence of the planets and the four elements on the human body, and the changes
brought about by the redemptive work of Christ on these relationships. Three of the plates show 4
beautifully engraved, nearly naked male figures representing the different “regiments”, with mystical
symbols on their bodies. The folding plate shows the (Böhmian) wheel of birth.
Johann Georg Gichtel (1638–1710) was a German mystic and a critic of Lutheranism and is usually
regarded as the principal author, although the title-page gives Graber’s name before his. Gichtel edited
the 1682 critical edition of Böhme’s works.
Book block separated in quire D and D2-7 detached with 1 plate, a small hole in 1 leaf, some soiling
and minor marginal defects, but otherwise in good condition. Important work by one of the most
important followers of Böhme.
Brüning, Bibl. alchem. 4251; Caillet II, 4522?; cf. Bibl. Esoterica 1861.

Johann Hollander and the philosopher’s stone
7. HOLL A NDUS, Johannes Isaac. Opera mineralia, sive de lapide philosophico, omnia,
duobus libris comprehensa.
Middelburg, Richard Schilders, 1600. 8vo. With dozens of small woodcut illustrations in the
text. Contemporary vellum; in modern green half morocco slipcase and green cloth chemise.
€ 5.000
The first edition of any work by the mysterious Johannes Isaac Hollandus, a Latin translation of a
German manuscript of his treatises on mineralogy, alchemy and the philosopher’s stone, and especially
on the use of metal oxides to colour stones and crystals to make fake gems and precious stones.
The charming little woodcuts show distilling and other equipment.
Little is known about Johannes Isaac Hollandus (active 1572–1610?), but the Görlitz astronomer
Bartholomeus Scultetus had a German manuscript of some of his treatises on mineralogy that survives
in the form of a copy made in Prague in 1572 and Ben Jonson’s 1610 play The Alchemists refers to him
apparently as still living. His name suggests he was a Dutchman living abroad, but if his father was
called Isaac Hollandus, as has been claimed, he may have been born abroad in a Dutch family.
With the red morocco bookplate of Robert Honeyman IV. In very good condition, with only a
minor transparent stain at the head of the last few leaves and a small marginal rust hole in 1 leaf.
Contemporary binding also very good.
Duveen, p. 300; Honeyman 1761 (this copy); Partington II, pp. 203–208 & item 1; STCN (5 copies).

Rare edition of two medical works,
on the mystery of the golden tooth and sleepwalking
8. HOR STIUS, Jacob. De aureo dente Maxillari Pueri Silesii, primum,
utrum eius generatio naturalis fuerit, nec ne; deinde an digna eius interpretatio
dari queat.
Including: HOR STIUS, Jacob. De natura differentiis et causis eorum, qui
dormientes ambulant, vigilantium opera, eaq.
Leipzig, Valentinus Voegelinus (colophon: printed by Michael Lanzenberger),
1595. 2 parts in 1 volume. Small 8vo (14×9 cm). With woodcut printer’s device
on title-page (repeated above the colophon). 19th-century half vellum.
€ 5.000
Rare first combined edition of two medical works by Jacob Horst (1537–1600), professor
of medicine at the Julius University in Helmstadt, first published separately by the same
publisher in 1593 and appearing here for the second time. The first work is of special
interest, being a rare early treatise on dentistry. In it Horst tried to solve the famous
mystery of the golden tooth. The second work is on sleepwalking, a subject which
from old seems to have greatly concerned parents and teachers, since much attention
was given to it in early medical and educational literature. There current publication
however seems to be largely overlooked in the literature.
With an owner’s inscription on title-page dated 1598. Browned throughout, with some
water stains, and a small hole in the gutter of 10 leaves in the second part; a fair copy.
Binding in good condition, worn spine with a small tear.
Crowley 7; Poletti, p. 105; cf. Adams H-997–998; Durling 2460.

Occult philosophy on the study of ancient secrets
9. JE SSEN, Johann. Zoroaster nova, brevis, veraq[ue] de universa philosophia.
Wittenberg, Ex officina Cratoniana (Johann Krafft), 1593. Small 8vo (16×10 cm). With an arabesque
woodcut decoration on the title-page. Late 17th – or early 18th-century stiff marbled-paper wrappers.
€ 1.750
A work of occult philosophy by the Silesian-born Johann Jessen (1566–1621), professor of anatomy at the
University of Wittenberg and later rector of Charles University in Prague. It is largely based on Francesco
Patrizi’s Nova de universis philosophia (1591), which emphasized the study of occult secrets hidden in sources
from the ancient world, but it gives a different orientation by placing the study of the order of the cosmos,
rather than the study of life, in the central position. It includes the author’s dedication to Friedrich Wilhelm
I, Duke of Saxony-Wiemar, his preface (referring to Egyptian hieroglyphs), and a laudatory verse by Salomon
Frenzel von Friedenthal (1564–1605). Jessen joined the anti-Hapsburg Bohemian Protestant revolt at Prague
in 1618 and was executed in 1621, soon after the Bohemian defeat at the Battle of the White Mountain.
Slightly browned but in good condition, with minor, mostly marginal water stains and a and a small abrasion
on the title-page, not affecting the text or ornament.
Caillet 5534; Thorndike XI, 11, p. 461; VD16 J237 (9 copies); Wellcome I, 3454; WorldCat (3 copies).

Alchemy and the occult
10. M ACPH A IL , Ian, Laurence C. W ITTEN and
Richard PACHELL A . Alchemy and the occult. A
catalogue of books and manuscripts from the collection
of Paul and Mary Mellon given to Yale University Library.
Volume One [-Four].
New Haven, Yale University Library, 1968–1977. 4
volumes. 4to. Cloth, in two cloth slipcases. € 750
First and only edition of a very detailed and luxuriously
printed catalogue of the books and manuscripts concerning
alchemy and the occult given by Paul and Mary Mellon to
Yale University Library. Volume 1 and 2 cover printed books
(1472–1623 and 1624–1790) and volume 3 and 4 manuscripts
(1225–1671 and1675-1922).
In very good condition; some minor stains on the slipcases
and the title-labels slightly rubbed.

Scaliger’s unsurpassed critical edition
of Manilius’s ancient astrology
11. M A NILIUS, Marcus and Joseph SC A LIGER (ed.). Astronomicon libri
quinque.
Including:
JUNIUS, Franciscus. In Manilii Astronomica variae lectiones.
SC A LIGER, Joseph. In Manilii Quinque libros astronomicon commentarius &
castigationes.
[Heidelberg], Officina Sanctandreana [=Hieronymus Commelin], 1590. 3 parts in 1
volume. 8vo. With woodcut publisher’s device (repeated on the title-page of part 3),
6 astronomical woodcuts and a few tables in text. 18th-century(?) stiff pasteboard
wrappers. € 1.750
True second edition of Scaliger’s Manilius, the oldest and most widely cited work on ancient
astrology, enlarged with commentaries by Franciscus Junius. “Perhaps no critic has ever
effected so great and permanent a change in any author’s text as Scaliger in Manilius’. … The
commentary is the one commentary on Manilius, without forerunner and without successor;
after the passage of 300 years, it is the only avenue to a study of the poem …” (Houseman, in
the preface to his edition of 1903).
“For the average reader, the Astronomica served as a literary introduction to heavens and an
advanced primer to astrology. Manilius’ masterpiece, a Latin didactic poem in five books,
unveils the cosmos in hexameter verse, explaining the celestial sphere and zodiac, ‘describing
the stars, constellations, and planets,’ and above all, providing a Stoic vision of the celestial
dance” (Hockey et al.).
From the library of Pietro Riccardi, a notable collector of mathematical books. Some browning
throughout and one page with its lower right corner torn off, but still a good copy and wholly
untrimmed, preserving all deckles. Binding also good, with upper part of the front hinge
restored.
Adams M362; Riccardi I, Manulius 44 (this copy); VD 16, ZV 10344 (6 copies); cf. Hockey et al., Biographical encyclopedia
of astronomers, p. 735.

Chemical miracles and medical mysteries
12. MÜ LL ER, Philipp. Miracula chymica, et mysteria medica.
Paris, Melchior Mondier, 1644. 12mo. With 12 woodcut illustrations in text. Contemporary mottled calf,
gold-tooled spine and binding edges. € 1.250
Rare fifth edition of Miracula chymica, et mysteria medica (“Chemical miracles and medical mysteries”) by the German
mathematician, chemist and physician Philipp Müller (1581–1659). “Of the five books into which the work is divided,
the first has chapters on instruments, with ten figures, on the material of the philosophers’ stone in general, on
mercury, … gold and silver …. Book Two is on particular transmutations, with a figure of a furnace. Book Three deals
with rarer preparations, especially from minerals, and has chapters on those from mercury, sulphur, vitriol, tartar and
arsenic. Book Four treats of more secret ways of making, from vegetable simples, extracts, distilled waters, balsams,
essences and salts philosophic. But its fifth and last chapter is on extraction of essences and tinctures from all sort of
stones. The fifth … is devoted to various rarer and more secret remedies for all diseases of the human body from head
to heel” (Thorndike).
Very good copy, with only a few minor spots. The binding with a few wormholes, rubbed along the extremities and
the spine chipped at the foot, but still firm.
Thorndike VII, pp. 163–165; WorldCat (5 copies).

Twenty of Nostradamus’s prophesies explained
13. [NOSTR A DA MUS, Michel]. Vingt prophéties de Michel de Nostradamus,
derniérement trouvées manuscrites dans une célèbre bibliotheque des Pays-Bas. Avec
explication et figures.
Liège, [ca. 1789]. 8vo. With 20 engraved emblems at the beginning of each chapter, several
by Pieter Balthazar Bouttats. Contemporary mottled tanned sheepskin, gold-tooled spine,
marbled edges. € 2.500
Rare first edition of a work containing 20 adapted prophecies of the French apothecary and seer
Michel de Nostradamus (1503–1566). Nostradamus’s predictions, first published in 1555 as Les proheties,
are here edited by an anonymous author, giving an explanation and opinion of each prophecy. Each
prophecy is preceded by an oval emblematic engraving, of which 6 are signed by the Antwerp-based
engraver Pieter Balthazar Bouttats (1666–1756). Since the engravings don’t relate to the text, they were
probably originally made to illustrate an earlier work, and were reused in the present work.
With bookplate. Browned, with some occasional small spots or stains, but otherwise in good condition.
Binding worn along the extremities, bottom of spine damaged.
Chomarat, M. & J.-P. Laroche, Bibliographie Nostradamus (Baden-Baden 1989) 372; WorldCat (6 copies).

Warding off demons, evil spirits and sorcerers
14. PER R E AUD, François. Demonologie ou traitte des demons et sorciers: de leur
puissance & impuissance. Ensemble l’ Antidemon de Mascon ou histoire veritable de
ce qu’un demon a fait & dit, il y a quelques années, en la maison dudit Sr. Perreaud à
Mascon.
Genève, Pierre Aubert, 1653. 2 parts in 1 volume. 8vo. Contemporary limp sheepskin
parchment. € 4.950
First edition of a curious work on demonology by François Perreaud, or Perrault (1572 or 1577–
1657), son of a protestant pastor, and himself a protestant minister in the French Bourgogne and
Gex region. The book is divided into two parts. The author starts adressing the readers who don’t
believe in demons or evil spirits, and proves their existance mostly with Bible-quotations. He then
describes in detail all vexations and nuisance caused by devils, spirits and sorcerers, also explaining
how a “ghost” can move objects in the physical world and giving tips on warding off demons.
The second part is devoted to one demon in particular, the so-called “tormentor” of Mâcon, who
caused trouble to the household of the author and to all inhabitants of the town of Mâcon.
With manuscript notes on pastedown and the title-page. Slightly browned and foxed, and lacking
opening flyleaf, otherwise a good copy.
Caillet 8530: “ouvrage curieux et rare, surtout en édition ancienne”; Coumont, Demonology and witchcraft P25.1.

Dutch translation of an immensely popular book of secrets
15. PIEDMONT, Alexis of (Girolamo RUSCELLI). De secreeten ... inhoudende seer
excellente ende wel geapprobeerde remedien, tegen veelderhande krancheden, wonden ende
andere accidenten: met de maniere van distilleren, perfumeren, confituyren maecken, te
verwen, coloeuren ende gieten.
Amsterdam, Hendrick Laurensz., 1636. 2 parts in 1 volume. 8vo. Modern sheepskin.
€ 600
Rare sixth edition of the Dutch translation of an immensely popular book of secrets, compiled by
Alexis of Piedmont. It is generally supposed that Piedmont is the pseudonym of the Italian humanist
Girolamo Ruscelli (1500–1566), since Ruscelli mentions in a later work that he and other humanists
had founded an “Academy of Secrets” that had published the Secreti. “Books of secrets and experiments
had been prominent in medieval manuscripts and were to flare forth again in the second
half of the [16th] century in the Secreti of Alessio of Piedmont, of which Ferguson listed 56 edition
between its first appearance in 1557 [in Venice] and the end of the century” (Thorndike). It gives
numerous “secrets”, ranging from how to dye leather, to how to cure sick horses, clean paintings and
whiten teeth. Besides these more convenient secrets, there are some occult passages, informing the
reader how to dream wildly or how “to write letters on someone’s skin that can never be removed”.
“No treatise better illustrates the popular or household practice of applied chemistry, of the arts, and
of medicine...” (Ferguson).
Somewhat browned, with a waterstain in lower right corner throughout, not affecting text, and some
occasional spots and ink blots. A good copy.
J. Ferguson, “The secrets of Alexis: a sixteenth century collection of medical and technical receipts” in: Proceedings of the Royal Society
of medicine XXIV (1930), pp. 225–246; STCN (2 copies); Thorndike V, p. 147 & VI, pp. 215–216; WorldCat (3 other copies).

Informative and anecdotal
introduction into alchemy
16. [SCHRÖER, Samuel?]. Curieuse Untersuchung etlicher
Mineralien, Thiere und Kräuter, insonderheit derer sich die
Sophisten in praeparirung des Lapidis bedienen, ...
[Jena?], 1703. 8vo. With a double-page engraved frontispiece,
showing the portraits of Basilius Valentinus and Paracelsus.
Modern brown sheepskin. € 750
Second and revised edition of an anonymously published treatise on
the alchemical ingredients for the Philosopher’s Stone. According
to 18th-century sources, it was probably written by Samuel Schröer
(1679–1716), an obscure physician and alchemist from Leipzig. This
revised second and last edition contains a frontispiece that is identical
to that of the first edition of 1702. Besides giving an introduction
in the alchemical elements, the book is also rich on stories of “true”
transformations, including the story of a stranger in an inn near
Salzburg. After staying there for a few days, teaching the innkeeper’s
wife to make several curiosities of candy and dried confit in the
Italian manner, the stranger wasn’t able to afford his lodgings. He
then threw a rag into a fire, sprinkled it with some red powder and it
subsequently turned into gold.
The engraved frontispiece mounted, the outer margins of E4-E6
strengthened, browned throughout and some spots; a good copy.
Brüning 3086; Ferguson I, p. 193; Otto, Oberlausizischen Schriftsteller III, p. 207.

One of the earliest books
against the polular belief in witchcraft
17. SCOT, Reginald and Thomas and Govert BA SSON (translators).
Ondecking van tovery.
(Colophon: Leiden, Willem Christiaens, 1637). 8vo. With an engraved title-page by
Experiens Sillemans, and 2 full-page engraved portraits of Jeanne d’Arc. Contemporary
vellum. € 4.950
Second and enlarged edition of the rare Dutch translation of one of the most famous and
earliest books against the popular belief in witchcraft. “It was England’s first major work
on demonology and witchcraft and it was unashamedly and unapologetically sceptical. But
paradoxically, the comprehensive account of magic, witchcraft and legerdemain contained
in The discoverie of witchcraft fostered European demonologies in England, helped the spread
of indigenous witchcraft traditions, and inaugurated the English tradition of secular magic
and conjuring” (Almond). Scot stated that belief in witchcraft was both irrational and irreligious,
explaining and unmasking many old conjuring tricks, and was far ahead of his
time by stating that spiritual manifestations were either willful imposture or due to mental
disturbance.
A small stain in the margin of the title-page, a minor waterstain in the gutter of the last 50
pages, and some occasional small spots. Otherwise a very good copy.
P.C. Almond, England’s first demonologist (2015), p. 2; Coumont, Demonology and Witchcraft S38.14; STCN (7 copies);
Thorndike VI, pp. 529–531; WorldCat (1 other copy).

Unicorns, bezoar stones, emeralds & pearls
for medicinal use
18. SILVATICUS, Joannes Baptista. De unicornu, lapide bezaar, smaragdo,
& margaritis: eorumq. in febribus pestilen. usu tractatio.
Bergamo, Comino Ventura, 1605. 4to. With title-page in red and black with a
woodcut publisher’s device, 5 decorated woodcut initial letters (plus 2 repeats)
and 5 woodcut decorations used as head – and tailpieces (plus 2 repeats). 17th – or
18th-century sprinkled calf, gold-tooled spine. € 2.500
Very rare first and only edition of a detailed Latin treatise on unicorns, bezoar stones,
emeralds and pearls, with the emphasis on their medical uses. The result is an extraordinary
mixture of medicine & pharmacology, natural history and alchemy & the occult.
The book is not recorded in any of the major subject bibliographies in any of these fields.
Nearly half the book is devoted to unicorns, especially the use of unicorn horn to cure
many diseases including plague.
With a cancelled library stamp (ca. 1800) on the title-page. Foxed, but otherwise very
good, with only a few minor marginal water stains. The binding is cracked at the hinges
and the binder burned the leather with his overenthusiastic use of chemicals. A very rare
medical-pharmaceutical account of unicorns and lapidotherapy.
BMC STC Italian (17th cent.), p. 851; ICCU (1 copy); KVK (5 copies); WorldCat (1 copy).

Austrian folk medicine and magic, covering
about 400 ailments in horses and about 50 in people
19. Wolfgang S. Ein Gerecht und Wohl Aprobierte Haus Apodeken oder Pferd
Artznei Buch.
With: (2) Eine Agadami dass ist Artzney Mittel vor Menschen zu gebrauchen.
[Upper Austria, part 1 of 1st work dated 1812 at end]. 2 works in 1 volume, the 1st in 2
parts. Folio (35×22.5 cm). A practical manuscript handbook in brown and black ink on
paper, written in German in a German gothic hand and with numerous headings and
paragraph openings in a variety of decorated gothic styles. With an elaborately decorated
main title-page in at least 6 colours, the title-page of part 2 of the main work with decorative
lettering and flowers in brown and red with a half-page colour drawing of a bleeding
horse in the foreground of a landscape with a partly ruined castle, a church, a stone entry
and other buildings, and the title-page to the 2nd work with decorated lettering and a
crowned figure of death (a skeleton with scythe and hourglass). Further with drawings
of 2 magical signs to protect people and livestock, and a vase of flowers and a scene with
2 buildings as tailpieces. Contemporary blind-tooled half calf. € 14.000
A remarkable Austrian manuscript in German, richly and elaborately decorated in numerous
colours, devoted primarily to veterinary medicine and pharmacology for the treatment of horses,
but also discussing the treatment of other livestock and with the second (shorter) work devoted
to the treatment of humans. It gives instructions for preparing and using many medicines, the
main work covering about 400 ailments and the work for human medicine about 50. The slightly
primitive landscape on the title-page of part 2 shows a horse standing in the foreground with
what appears to be blood streaming from 12 points on his body. Several headings toward the
end of part 2 announce sections on ailments caused, cured or warded off by magic, including
“Zauberische Kranckheiten der Roß” (p. 110) and “Ein bewertes Styck [= Stück] vor Zauwerey
fur Menschen und Viech dieses bey Sich zu Tragen, und den Vuch im Stall Angenagelt” (p. 117).
The latter includes two drawings of the signs that are to be carried around or nailed up[?] in the
stall. They look rather like alchemical signs.
With one or a few small and unobtrusive worm holes near the foot of the page through most
of the manuscript, some stains and restorations in the gutter margin of the first few leaves and
an occasional minor stain or smudge on other leaves, but still in good condition. The binding is
worn and shows some restorations. A fascinating and elaborately decorated manuscript devoted
primarily to the treatment of medicine ailments in horses, mixing folk remedies with magic.

The secrets and rituals of the freemasonry revealed
20. WOL SON, Thomas. De metselaar ontmomd, of het rechte geheim der vrye metselaren ontdekt, in allen deele oprechtelyk en zonder
achterhouding, door een gewezen vryen metselaar. ... Derde druk.
Arnhem, Jacob Nijhoff, 1753. 8vo (16.5×10 cm). With a woodcut freemasonry device on title-page and 3 folding engraved plates. Contemporary
marbled paper wrappers. € 950
Third edition of the very rare Dutch translation a work
on freemasonry by the former freemason Thomas
Wolson, revealing the secrets of the masonry rites and
rituals. Wolson starts with the origin and history of
the brotherhood, and narrates his own experiences as a
freemason: the inauguration oaths and rituals, speeches
by other freemasons, meals at lodges etc. Of particular
interest are Wolson’s descriptions and illustrations of
various (secret) symbols, the freemason’s alphabet, the
attributes which can be found in a lodg and the interior
of the temple. Instead of depicting the freemasonry of its
day, the illustrations curiously enough formed the origin
and the basis for actual and practical use of the alphabet
and several ceremonies in the following centuries.
Paper wrappers damaged on spine and corners dogeared.
Many leaves dog-eared, edges somewhat frayed,
and some occasional stains. Overall a good copy, wholly
untrimmed.
STCN (1 copy & 1 of the 2nd ed.); WorldCat (4 other copies).

More books, maps, manuscripts and prints
related to Alchemy, Astrology & the Occult
available at:
https://www.forumrarebooks.com/category/
science_technology/alchemy_astrology_occult.html
http://www.asherbooks.com/category/
science_technology/alchemy_astrology_occult.html

Previously published
and available for download
Hard copies free on request at:
info@forumrarebooks.com
info@asherbooks.com
Fishing & Whaling
Asia, Australia & the Pacific
Botany II Zoology I Scandinavia & the Arctic North America & Mexico