Search

1.
  • Le secret des secrets, Brittany, ca. 1425-50.

Curatorial Notes:
In this Middle French version of the Secret of Secrets, a miniature shows the author or translator presenting a book to the enthroned King of France. This pseudonymous treatise is framed as a letter from Aristotle to his pupil, Alexander the Great, in which the philosopher offers advice on such secret topics as alchemy and the art of kingship. This subject matter made the text particularly appropriate as a gift for royalty, often in elaborate presentation copies.
Credit Line:
Gift of Robert Garrett, 1942, Manuscripts Division, Department of Special Collections, Princeton University Library
Publisher:
[France] : [producer not identified], [between 1425 and 1450]
View in catalog:
https://catalog.princeton.edu/catalog/99113442483506421

2.
  • Monas hieroglyphica, 1564

Curatorial Notes:
The Elizabethan mathematician and alchemist John Dee used his alchemical knowledge on multiple occasions to solicit patronage in England and abroad. This is the Monas hieroglyphica, Dee’s only printed treatise on alchemy, written during his early travels in Europe and dedicated to the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian II. Later, in England, Dee discussed the book in person with Queen Elizabeth I. He later presented a copy to Maximilian’s successor, Rudolf II, during a private audience in Prague.
Credit Line:
Rare Books Division, Department of Special Collections, Princeton University Library
Creator:
Dee, John, 1527-1608
Publisher:
Antwerp : G. Silvius, 1564.
View in catalog:
https://catalog.princeton.edu/catalog/9924804113506421

3.
  • German alchemical manuscript, 17th century

Curatorial Notes:
Alchemical books passed in and out of royal and aristocratic collections, such as this manuscript, once owned by Johann Adalbert, Prince of Buchau. The first part, including technical drawings of apparatus, was probably completed in early 17th-century Bohemia, written in German and Latin, with many references to “Theophrastus”, better known as Paracelsus. The manuscript was continued in the 18th century, entering Johann Adalbert’s collection by 1743. By 1751 it was in the hands of another collector, who added annotations.
Credit Line:
Manuscripts Division, Department of Special Collections, Princeton University Library
View in catalog:
https://catalog.princeton.edu/catalog/99111747353506421

4.
  • Alchemical Experiment Prepared for the Marquise d'Urfé, c. 1744

Curatorial Notes:
Jeanne de La Rochefoucauld (née Camus de Pontcarré), Marquise d’Urfé (1705-75), was an enthusiastic patron of alchemy. After the death of her husband the Marquis, she carried out experiments in a private laboratory, later described in the memoirs of Casanova. This undated recipe was presented to her by the German-born alchemist Jean Grosse, a member of the French Académie royale des sciences. Grosse outlines an alchemical experiment in nine steps, intended to produce gold.
Credit Line:
Manuscripts Division, Department of Special Collections, Princeton University Library
Creator:
Grosse, Jean
View in catalog:
https://catalog.princeton.edu/catalog/99117804283506421

5.
  • Edward III gold half-noble, 1369–77, Calais

Curatorial Notes:
“Alchemical” silver could be sold to the Mint for coining into groats (worth four pence). The Edward III noble (worth six shillings and eight pence) was the first widely-circulated gold coin struck in England. In later legends, Edward III obtained the gold from metallic transmutation, after recruiting the alchemist Ramon Llull. In fact, a chronic shortage of bullion during the 15th century did prompt royal interest in transmutation—linking alchemy to the coinage in the popular imagination.
Credit Line:
Numismatic Collection, Department of Special Collections, Princeton University Library

6.
  • Edward III silver groat, 1356–61, London

Curatorial Notes:
“Alchemical” silver could be sold to the Mint for coining into groats (worth four pence). The Edward III noble (worth six shillings and eight pence) was the first widely-circulated gold coin struck in England. In later legends, Edward III obtained the gold from metallic transmutation, after recruiting the alchemist Ramon Llull. In fact, a chronic shortage of bullion during the 15th century did prompt royal interest in transmutation—linking alchemy to the coinage in the popular imagination.
Credit Line:
Numismatic Collection, Department of Special Collections, Princeton University Library

7.
  • Edward III silver groat, 1356–61, London

Curatorial Notes:
“Alchemical” silver could be sold to the Mint for coining into groats (worth four pence). The Edward III noble (worth six shillings and eight pence) was the first widely-circulated gold coin struck in England. In later legends, Edward III obtained the gold from metallic transmutation, after recruiting the alchemist Ramon Llull. In fact, a chronic shortage of bullion during the 15th century did prompt royal interest in transmutation—linking alchemy to the coinage in the popular imagination.
Credit Line:
Numismatic Collection, Department of Special Collections, Princeton University Library

8.
  • Edward III gold noble, 1363–69, Calais

Curatorial Notes:
“Alchemical” silver could be sold to the Mint for coining into groats (worth four pence). The Edward III noble (worth six shillings and eight pence) was the first widely-circulated gold coin struck in England. In later legends, Edward III obtained the gold from metallic transmutation, after recruiting the alchemist Ramon Llull. In fact, a chronic shortage of bullion during the 15th century did prompt royal interest in transmutation—linking alchemy to the coinage in the popular imagination.
Credit Line:
Numismatic Collection, Department of Special Collections, Princeton University Library