Collection ID: 0002 | Metadata type: TEI | TEI XML | Data

Title

Alchemical compendium.

Authors

• Charles Rainsford Collection of Alchemical and Occult Manuscripts (University of Pennsylvania)

Other related names

• Rainsford, Charles, 1728-1809, former owner
• Northumberland, Hugh Percy, Duke of, 1742-1817, former owner (http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/nr93028960)

Call number

Ms. Codex 1665
(3420 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104-6206, University of Pennsylvania, Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts)

Alternate identifiers

• bibid: 9962934963503681
• http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/898485743
• https://colenda.library.upenn.edu/catalog/81431-p3fn1181f https://repository.upenn.edu/uniqueatpenn/23/

Publisher

University of Pennsylvania

Language

French, with occasional Latin words and phrases

Origin

Date

between 1750 and 1799

Place

France?

Summary

Collection of treatises on Hermetic works, the philosopher's stone, with instructions for the transmutation of metals, creating artificial diamonds, and alchemical recipes for powders, elixirs, and occasional medicinal remedies. Includes a table of contents (p. iii-x).

Notes

• Title supplied by cataloger.
   
• Ms. codex.
   

Extent

134 leaves : 186 x 113 (169 x 104) mm bound to 191 x 115 mm

Foliation

Paper, i (contemporary paper) + 134 + i (contemporary paper); [xiv], 1-163, [164-176], 177, [178-188], 189, [190-192], 193, [194-196], 197, [198], 199, [200], 201-207, [208-210], 211-214, [215-216], 217, [218-228], 229, [230], 231, [232], 233, [234-238], 237, [238-243], 244-245, [246], 247-251, [252]; contemporary pagination in ink, modern pagination in pencil, upper center. Back pastedown has come loose from lower inside cover.

Support

Paper

Binding

Contemporary leather. Upper outer corners are fragile due to moisture damage and many leaves are detached or deteriorating resulting in some loss of text.

Layout

Written in 25-29 long lines.

Script

Written in a cursive script, possibly by multiple hands.

Provenance

• Formerly owned by Charles Rainsford (British army officer, fellow of the Royal Society, and alchemist); bequeathed by Rainsford to Hugh Percy, Second Duke of Northumberland.
   
• Owned by the 2nd through 12th Dukes of Northumberland, ms. 576, Alnwick Castle, Northumberland, 1809-2014 (bookplate, inside upper cover; stamps throughout).
   
• Sold at auction at Sotheby's (London), 15 July 2014, as part of Lot 411.
   

Subjects topical

• Alchemy
• Alchemy--Early works to 1800
• Occultism--Early works to 1800
• Occultism

Genres

• Codices
• Drawings (visual works)
• Manuals (instructional materials)
• Recipes
• Manuscripts, European
• Manuscripts, French
• Treatises

Licenses

• Text

  These images and the content of Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts Ms. Codex 1665: Alchemical compendium. are free of known copyright restrictions and in the public domain. See the Creative Commons Public Domain Mark page for usage details, http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/.

  URL

  http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

• Text

  Metadata is ©2023 University of Pennsylvania Libraries and licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License version 4.0 (CC-BY-4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode. For a description of the terms of use see the Creative Commons Deed https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

  URL

  https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode

Table of contents

• iii — Table des matieres
• xiii — Stella Matutina
• 39 — Les quatre Elemens philosophiques
• 127 — Procedes dur les matiere du grand oeuvres
• 151 — Au nom du pere et du fils et du saint esprit
• 163 — Ouvrage de N. Flamel