Prime Matter

Curatorial Notes:: The Latin Treasure of Euonymus, compiled by the Swiss naturalist Conrad Gesner, was one of the earliest printed collections of chemical remedies, which helped to popularize their use in England. These remedies included the “quintessence,” made by repeatedly distilling wine. Outside alchemy, distillation apparatus was widely used to make medicinal oils and waters. Here, the text instructs on the type of furnace required for these delicate operations.
Credit Line:: The Scheide Library, Princeton University Library
Creator:: Gessner, Conrad, 1516-1565
Publisher:: London : John Day, [1559].
View in catalog:: https://catalog.princeton.edu/catalog/9948510143506421

Curatorial Notes:: “Mercury” has many meanings in alchemy, describing not just metallic quicksilver, but a variety of alchemical products. Here, this diversity is illustrated in “Of the Great Stone of the Ancients,” a treatise attributed to a fictive adept, “Basil Valentine.” In Valentine’s alchemy, the serpent and eagle stand in for two salts: sal ammoniac and saltpeter. The raven, peacock, and swan allude to color changes in the work: black, multicolored, and white. Below, the selfless pelican nourishes its young.
Credit Line:: Rare Books Division, Department of Special Collections, Princeton University Library
Creator:: Basilius Valentinus
Publisher:: Strasbourg : G.A. Dolhopff & J.E. Zetzner, 1667.
View in catalog:: https://catalog.princeton.edu/catalog/9924798363506421

Curatorial Notes:: Ripley’s authentic writings describe two stones: a transmuting “mineral stone '' made by subliming mercury and green vitriol (modern iron sulfate), and a medicinal “vegetable stone” made from red lead (modern lead tetraoxide). Vitriol was an ingredient in the manufacture of mineral acids, used in goldsmithing and metallurgy. Red lead, or minium, was widely used as a pigment. In the Scroll, the two stones are represented by red and green lions, guarding the furnace mouth. English alchemists also interpreted the “green lion” as a gum made by dissolving lead and copper compounds in distilled vinegar—here recreated in a modern reconstruction.
Credit Line:: Courtesy of Lawrence M. Principe

Curatorial Notes:: The retort is one of the earliest pieces of chemical apparatus, used for distillation. The substance to be distilled is placed inside the rounded body of the vessel and heated until it boils. As the resulting vapors cool, they flow down the long, downward-pointing neck to be collected in another flask. A similar retort was used to make the “green lion” displayed below.
Credit Line:: Courtesy of Lawrence M. Principe

Through a Glass Darkly