Alchemy Astrology & Occult

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.