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BIBLIOTHECA CHEMICA
THIS CATALOGUE OF CHEMICAL BOOKS HAS BEEN PRINTED FOR
PRIVATE DISTRIBUTION BY HIS FAMILY, IN ACCORDANCE
WITH THE INSTRUCTIONS OF THE LATEJAMES YOUNG,Esq.
Fho : n iJraTUTF iy Aiman i S ms
Bibliotbeca Cbemica:A CATALOGUE OF THE ALCHEMICAL, CHEMICAL AND PHARMACEUTICAL BOOKS IN THE COLLECTION OF THE LATE JAMES YOUNG OF KELLY ANDDURRIS, ESQ.,LL.D.,F.R.S.,
F.R.S.E.
BY
JOHN FERGUSONM.A., LL.D.,
HONORARY MEMBER OF THE IMPERIAL MILITARY ACADEMY OF MEDICINE, ST. HETEKSUURG MEMBER OF THE GERMAN SOCIETY FOR THE HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND THE NATURAL SCIENCES FOREIGN MEMBER OF THE SOClfiTE FRANCAISE d'aRCHEOLOGIE REGIUS PROFESSOR OF CHEMISTRY IN THE UNIVERSITY OF GLASGOW
'
VOLUME
I
JAMES MACLEHOSE AND SONSPUBLISHERS TO THE UNIVERSITY
1906
zPi
25(5^
SEP 2 4^''.,,>,..,
1971
AOV.^V
GLASGOW
:
PRINTED At the university PRES^
BY ROBERT MACLEHOSE
AND
CO. LTD.
tbe flDemorif of
Ikto
wbom
alone(t
ia
owtnapossess
wbatever merit
ma?
tbis Catalogue is
beMcateb
bie
53f
'To
the
man who
aspires to know,
no man who has been
the meanest student of knowledge should be unknown.'
Zanoni, Book
III.,
Chapter
iv.
IntroductionDr.
James Young/ under whosetolearn
directions
theIn
presenthis
collection
of books was made, was a native of Glasgow.set
youth he wasCollege
a
trade, but
having
entered
Anderson's
whenthere,first
Thomas Graham,
afterwards
Master of the Mint, was professor
and was commencing those researches which have put him
in the
rank of experimental chemists, he studied chemistry under Graham, and
by a succession of events cameindustry in Scotland.participationin
to be the originator of the paraffin oil
In after years,
when he hadof his
retired
from active
business, not
unmindfula
own
early drawbacks
and
difficulties,
he
established
Chair
of
technical
chemistrythe
in
Anderson's
College,
which
has
been
incorporated
with
recently
created institution called the Glasgow andCollege.his
Westin
of Scotland Technicalto thelibrary,
Furthermore, he erected a statue
Glasgowpresent
memorywhich
of
teacher,
Graham, and he gatheredwas begunplain
the
he
bequeathed to the Chair which he had endowed.
Thecentury,
collection
by himself about the middle ofhe took muchinterestit
last
and
it
is
that
in
the history
of chemistry and
must have discussed the study of
with his friend,
the
Angus Smith of Manchester, who also was a collector and was desirous of seeing more attention devoted to it. Dr. Smith'slate
Dr.
idea of reprinting epoch-making books and papers was long after carried
out in part by the Alembic Club in Edinburgh, and on a more generalplan by Ostwald, in his series of chemical and physicalclassics.
^Dr. Young was born on July 13, 181 1, and died May 13, 1883. For details about his life and career there may be consulted the article by P. T. Hartog in the Dictionary of National Biography, 1900, Ixiii, p. 376, with the references there given, the obituary notices of him in the Proceedings of the Societies with which he was connected, and a brief estimate of him bymyself, with a portrait, inii.
Memoirs and Portraits of One Hundred Glasgow Men, Glasgow, 1886,
p.
341, No.
100.
BIBUOTHECA CHEMICAOf moreGermanyfor
living
importance, however,
is
the
recent
movement,
in
especially,
which has led
to
the
formation
of the
Society
the
History of Medicine and the Natural
Sciences, to
the estab-
lishment of courses of lectures on that subject and to the recognition
of
it
as an important
branch
of knowledge by both the InternationalCongresses.
Historical
andhas
the
Medicaltakenin
Astheare
yet
no
action
in
this
direction
been
Britain
;
history
and
evolution
of
chemical,
natural,
and
physical
science
ignored
by the
British
Association, of
medicine
by the Medical
Association,
and
theStill
Antithere
quarianis
Societies
have their attention
otherwise occupied.is
not wanting proof that even in this country there
interest in thisit.^
section of history
and that there are some who pursuethis
Perhaps
if
the few
who do
could combine theircultivation
efforts,
a stimulus might be
given to a s)^stematic
of the
subject.
Dr.
Young'shis
pre-
science was exhibited in various ways, but in none
was
breadth of
view and foresight more conspicuously displayed than when, long beforethis
movement had begun, he was makingscience,
provision
for
the
study
and teaching of the history of thepractically
which he had cultivated
and
technically with such success.
The founder
of a great
industry, which haslife,
added so much to the comfort, and even luxury ofin
immersed as he was
the mechanical and chemical details of the
process, engrossed in business transactions, distracted
by the worries ofof his invention,
competition, and
by attempts
to minimize the merit
was hardly the personthe
whom
one wouldold,
have expected to undertake
formationthe
of a
library
of
neglected,
and out of;
the
books ondidthis
practically
extinct
topic
of alchemyas
yet
Dr.
way Youngto
becausethe
he
perceived
that
alchemy
happensa
be
oneofit
ofis
phases
which
chemistry
formerly
presented,
survey
indispensable for completing the history of the whole science.
Hethe
did
not
collect
for
one
of
the
bibliophile'sfor
reasons
:
becausereason:
books
were
rare
and
curious,
but
the
student's
because they were needed for research, and because no collection of
themChair.
was
accessible
to
the
student
here
in
connection
with
his
England the only original contribution which has been made in recent years to the any part of physical science is the edition of Gilbert's book on the Magnet, with the accompanying notes and various biographical papers and essays by Professor Sylvanus Thompson. This is as fine a piece of work as could be desired.^
In
history of
INTRODUCTIONThecollection thusbut, as a
and volumes,
made by him consists of about 300 pamphlets good many volumes contain several tracts boundi
together, the actual
number
of separate items
may
reach 1350 or 1400.printedlibrary.
This number, however, includes only the works and does not represent the whole contents of thebesides,
separately
Thereprinted
are,
writings
which
do not seem ever to have beenIf thesewill
by
themselves, but only in the collected editions which form a characteristicfeature of alchemical literature.distinct
be
included
the
number ofconsiderable
and independent
articles
be increased by a
amount.One, indeed, couldlibrary
have wishednot
that
the
lines
upon which the
was begun, hadattention
beengiven
departedto
from quite so much, and
that thetained.
originallyis
English
works had been maincollection
That
desire
intensified
by knowing that when the
was making, these books couldhavefear
still
be purchased, whereas now theyit
disappeared
altogether
;
and
may
be
said,
without
much
of contradiction, that they will
hardly be seen again.
An oddsome ofit
specimenas
may makeare
its
appearance from time to time, but the booksto
a
class
no
longer
bein
had.
It
is
fortunate that
these
exceedingly rare treatises;
English were secured before
was
too late
they are so
much
gain to the library.the greatidea
Considering what influencefor the
of supplying
material
study of the
history of chemistry exercised
upon Dr. Young,doneafor his
one
can
imaginehe
how
much
more
he
wouldso
havefull
library
had
lived
longer.
Having made
gathering
of
the alchemical writings, he might have got together even more of the
works by the chemistshas been done.in the origins
in
the latter half of the eighteenth century thaninvaluable to those interested
They would have beenit
of modern chemistry.
This period has not been forgotten
by any means, butof those beforeItit.
has not been so elaborately worked out as some
may
afford a
the chief authors in
more exact view of the extent of the library, if the different periods, whose works have been here
brought together, be enumerated.
Whenor
one considers that speculationsproperties of matter have beenthird
and operationsin
relative to the chemical
vogue certainly from the second
century of our era, and
that the alchemists and chemists were diligent
composers of books,
it
BIBLIOTHECA CHEMICAwill rare,
be
easily understood
that
the
literature
is
extensive, as well as
and much beyond amassin
the
power of anyone,Young'sis,
however
eager
and
persistent, to
his life-time.
In fact even the largest librariescollectionis
exhibit
deficiencies.
Nowas
Dr.it
noteworthy
in
being
so
comprehensiveof the
and
containing
so
many
of
the
writings especially
Germanhewill
alchemists
of the seventeenth andstill
eighteenth
centuries.
Thethat
student will not find everything, andget
less every edition
for
nowhere
butearlier
he
will
have
ample materialscience.
for acquiring a
knowledge of the
phases of the
Theperiods1.
history of chemistry
presentsit
various
aspects
for
treatment,in
but, for our:
present
purpose,
may be
arranged
broadly
three
The
period of belief in theearliest
transmutationdateof
the
alchemical periodis
which
begins at
which
there
a
record
and
stretches
down
to the
commencement of
the nineteenth century, with
sporadic survival to the present time.
Along with the notion of transmutation there existed the preparation
and employment
of various
kinds
of
bodies
in
pharmacy andarts.
medicine, and practical applications of substances in the technical
These were empirical, but frommentalstill
both
a considerable body
of experi-
facts
of important
practical
use was
brought together, though
without anything of a guiding principle.2.
The
iatro-chemical period, which began in the sixteenth century,
and died out about the close of the seventeenth century.3.
The
period of scientific chemistry, which began in the seventeenthbeforeor
century shortlypresent moment.
about
Boyle's
time,
and
continues
to the
These aims of chemistry,plantedalchemical
therefore, for a time ran parallel with each
other and materially influencedideasinto
each other. medicineimportantdoctrines
The
iatro-chemists trans-
andofof
pharmacy,Boyle's
and
on
thehis
other handcriticism
one of the mostthe
labours
wastheory
of
then
current
elements, and
of
composition.It
belongs to history to trace and explain the processes by whichatlast
each period was modified, absorbed, andtoallot
replaced by another,for
to
the
various
labourers
their
due
praise
what they
INTRODUCTIONaccomplished, andto
record
the"^
acquisitions
of
fact
which
remain
established to this day.
As
it
is
solely from the literature
which has descended toduring these periodsallis
us, that
insight into the state of the
science
obtained,aspects,
an ideal
historical
library should
representall
periods andI
all
and should contain the works ofsuch a library exists.Itis
authors.
am
not aware that
only an approximation to this ideal that
any
collection
can
offer.
We may
now
see
what the present one
embraces.I.
As
the alchemical books in the library are
much
the most abundant,
they
may
be taken
first,
and roughly
in
chronological order.
Thein theselves,
earliest portion is that of the Greeks,
beginning with Democritus
second or third century A.D.
Apart from the Greek MSS. themcertain
which are attainable only
in
European
libraries,
the
first
access to their contents
was through the
translation of a portion of1
them
by
Pizimenti.
There
is
a copy of the rare reprint of
7
1
7 in the library,
so that the student can thus start from the very oldest records.
Next
comes
the
Arabic
epoch
represented
by the works of Geber, Kalid,
Rhazes, Avicenna.
This
is
followed by the productions ascribed to Morienus, Hortulanus,v.
Arisleus, Artephius, Ferrarius, Petrus
Zalento,
Haimo and
the pseudo-
Merlin.
Most of these personages are more orin
less
shadowy, but writings
their
names are extant, and
it
rests
with the historian to appraise
their claims to acceptance as genyine.
The
authors of the thirteenth century areto
better
known than
the
preceding, but there are doubts as
some of the alchemical
writingssaid to
which pass
for their composition.
Such as they are these are
be by Albertus Magnus,
Thomas Aquinas, Michael
Scotus, Christophorus
of Paris, Roger Bacon, Arnaldus de Villa
Nova, Richardus Anglicus,
Guido de Montanor.
The next centuryXXII., Jean de Meun,
furnishes a
list
of notable people
:
Pope John
Raymundwriters
Lully, Cremer of Westminster, Pietro
Bono, Antonio de Abbatia, Odomar, Rupescissa, Ortolanus, Flamel.
As time goes on moreJoannesof Tetzen,Isaac
on the subject appear.
In the
first
half of the fifteenth century there are the reputed Basilius Valentinus,
Hollandus, Lasnioro, Lambspringk, and,
in
zii
BIBLIOTHECA CHEMICAsecondhalf,
the
Bernard of Trevisan, Ficinus, Trithemius, Poyselius,
Vincent Koffsky, George Ripley, Thomas Norton, Trissmosinus.In the early part of the sixteenth century one meets with Augurello,
Picus de
Mirandula, Pantheus, Lacinius, Bracesco, Grewer, Paracelsus,
Agricola, Denis Zachaire, Petrus Arlensis, Robertus Vallensis, Alexander
von Suchten, Phaedro, Wenceslaus Lavinius.In
the latter part flourished
Thurneysser, Nazari, Carerius, Quad-
rammi da Gubbio, Blaise de Vigen^re, Penotus, Barnaud, Balbian, Edward Kelley, Dr. Dee, Francis Antony, Robert Fludd, Beuther,Sebald Schwertzer, Wittestein, and the two Khunraths,
The
seventeenth
century
is
perhaps
the
most
prolific
of
all
in
alchemical writers,plished, in
and
richest inin
narratives of
transmutations accomart,
books written
explanation and defence of theit.
as well
as in those
by others who doubted
It
opens with the adventures
of Alexander Seton the Cosmopolite, followed by the romantic episode of the Rosicrucian Society, and
amongLibavius,
the
crowd of alchemists andCrollius,
chemists
may
be
mentioned
Figulus,
Pontanus,Billich,
Grasshof, Schaubert,
Rhenanus, Gerhard, Michael Maier,
Birelli,
Johannes de Padua, Angelo Sala, Guibertus, d'Espagnet,Potier,
Nuysement,
Castaigne, L'Agneau, Palmarius, Drebbel,;
Hoghelande,be found
Samuelthe
Northon
though
some of these
are
also
to
among
iatro-chemists.
The secondMiiller,
quarter of the century includes Sendivogius, Ambrosius
Grosschedel ab Aicha, Batsdorf, Rist, Johannes Agricola, Kessler,Benedictus, Conringius,
LiberiusZwelffer,
Peter
Faber,
Philaletha,
Starkey,
Zwinger.^^^
Between 1650 and 1675Snyder,Glauber,
the
names of Richthausen, MonteBlauenstein,
Harprecht,
Kircher,
Clauder,
Otto
Tachenius, Becher, Lowenheim, Drechssler, Albineus, Morhof, Borrichius,Helvetius,
Kerkring,
Vreeswyk,
Johnson,Borri.
Borel,
Germain,
Atremont,
Du
Clos,
de Comitibus, Ashmole,
In the last quarter are
W.
v.
Schroder, Seyler, Krohnemann, Cardilucius,Helbig, Orschall, Weidenfeld,
Balduinus, Kunckel, Wedel,
v.
Grummet,
Kirchmayer, Hannemann, Boyle, Dickinson, Mundanus, Colson, Headrich,Tollius,
Salmon, Gualdo, Lancilotti.eighteenth century also furnishes an abundance of names, buta marked change in the character of the writings.
Thethereis
There
may
INTRODUCTIONbe enumerated the followingDippel,:
xitt
Botticher, Caetano, Delisle, Paykul, Stahl,
Ettner
von
Eiteritz,Miiller,
Barchusen,
Manget,
Soldner,
Kellner,
Axtelmayer, Faustius,
Horlacher, S. Richter, Klettenberg, Roth-
Scholtz, Chymiphilus, Siebenstern,Keil,Creiling,J.
Hensing.
There were alsoDufresnoy,
Plusius,
Fictuld,
Richebourg,
Lenglet
Tharsander,
Jugel,
F.
Meyer, Wenzel, Schroder; and from 1775 to 1800, Semler,Indagine,
Wiegleb, ab
Adamah
Booz,
Herverdi, Giildenfalk,
Kortum,
Henckel, von Murr.Allit
these and
many moreseventeenth
less
prominent arelittle
in
the library, and
may
be said with some confidence thatin
of importance relatingis
to
alchemy,so,
the
century especially,
wanting.
Not
only
but certain books which are very scarce indeed, and are not
alluded to in
some of therunning
fullest
lists,
are here present.this
TheKopp's
bestlast
commentary on
division
of the library
is
work, Die Alchemie, and one might almost imagine that inif
writing the bibliographical appendix he had had access,collection, to
not to this
one similarly furnished.
But here again there are items
which have escaped Kopp's observation.
The onlyliterature,
other books to be considered are the collected editions ofI
alchemical tracts, which, as
have already
said, are characteristic
of the
even from the earliest times.
treatises
by
different
writers,
The Greek MSS. always contain ranging from four to as many as fiftythe tracts of Democritus, Synesius,together.
three
;
and
in Fizimenti's translation,
Pelagius, Stephanus
and Psellus are printed and when they were
Later
MSS.
in
Latin, of which various specimenssimilarly
have passed throughprinted,in
my
hands, are
made
up,
what they containedthe Vatican
was simply reproduced.
So
it
must have been
MS.
of
Geber
;
for,
not only his works, but tracts by Kalid, Avicenna, and others
are included in Silber's edition, printed atseveral of those
Rome
before
1520, and
in
which followed.
But from the sixteenth to the end of
the eighteenth century the practice of printing collected editions became
common, andthe libraryLacinius'
quite a
number appeared.
The most comprehensive
in;
may
be mentioned:
De
Alcheniia
Volumen, Petreius, 1541
1546; De Alchimia Opuscula, Doctrina, 1561 Erdffnete Geheimnisse 1550; Gratarolo's Verce AlchemicB des Steins der Weisen; Vellus Aureum; Ars Aurifera; Theatrum ChemiPretiosa
Margarita Novella,
;
cum; Manget's
Bibliotheca;
Museum
Hermeticuni; Gincsceum Chemicum,
xW1673 under
bibuotHeca chemica;
Albineus' Bibliotheca Chemica Contracta, and afancifultitles,
swarm of
others
which have been amusingly
classified
by Kopp.only,
Some
of the smaller ones
may
contain three or four tractsBibliotheca,
while the Tkeatrum Chemicum^ and Manget'slargest, contain
which are the
about two hundred and a hundred and forty respectively,length.is
some of considerableIn
French
there
the
Bibliotheque
Chitnique
of
'
le
Sieur
S.'
enlarged by Richebourg.In
German
there
is
the Vellus Aureum, Tancke's Promptuarium, the
translation of the Pretiosation of the
Margarita of Lacinius, Morgenstern's transla-
Ars Aurifera, Roth-Scholtz's Deutsches Theatrum Chemicumcalled
the
body of extracts
Hermetisches
A.
B.
C, and Schroder's
Alchymistische Bibliothek.In English there are Salmon's translation of Hermes, Geber, Kalid,
Bacon, and Flamel, appended to his Medicina Practica, the CollectaneaChymica, and the Aurifontina Chymica,
These collected editionsthecatalogue,for,
haveit
impressedup,titles,its
a
distinctive
feature
on
in
drawingrespective
the
contents
haveitemor,
beenhas
duly
recordedenteredboth.
underunder
theirits
while
eachtitle,
been
author's
name, orin
own
maybe, under
This was a necessity,
order that no document bearing on the
subject should be2.
by any chance overlooked.thereality
But besides these authors who were concerned solely or mainly
with alchemy, there were others who, without questioning ofit,
employed
its
principles
merely
as
aof
guide,
andinto
instead
of
attemptingsilver,
to effect
practically the
change
metals
gold and
used, partly for medicine, partly for the practical arts, the
know-
ledge of substances accumulated by the alchemists and others.
This epoch was inaugurated by Paracelsus
in
the sixteenth centuryof medicine, and
by
his asserting that
alchemy was one of the
pillars
that
alchemy was not confined to transmutation of metals, but was thesubstances for medical use;
art of preparing
that,
in
fact,
it
was the
art
of the transmutation of every kind of matter.iatro-chemicalschool,
Paracelsus startedaswell
the
and
he
had
manyto
followers,
as
manybooks
opponents.
His
theories;
belong
the
history
of
medicine
rather than of chemistry
still,
his adherents
were chemists, and wroteopponents,in
on chemistry
for
physicians, while
his
order to
:
INTRODUCTIONcontroverthis
doctrines,science.
had
themselves
to
acquire
some
familiarity
with the
new
Of
the
iatro-chemical
school,
some supportingand
Paracelsus'
views,
others accepting
them with
reservation
criticism,
and
still
others
breaking away from them,
may
be mentioned Quercetanus, Thurneysser,Crollius,
Dorn, Rhenanus, Libavius, Beguinus,
Sala,
Polemann,
Potier,
Joannes Agricola, Pierre Faber,
v.
Helmont, Glauber, Lefevre, Glaser,Guibertus,
Lemery,
Rolfinck,
Tachenius,Bolnest,
Barchusen,Brendelius,
Ludolf,
Morley,
Sennertus,
Rivinus,
Charas,
Elsholtz,
Jungken,
Poppius, Hoffmann, Wedel, Mynsicht.3.
The epochfirst
of scientific chemistry began with two controversies.that
The
wasof
between
Conringof the;
and
Borrichius
as
to
the
antiquity
Hermes, the
reality
Hermetic medicine and thesecond wasthediscussion
soundness of Paracelsus' innovations
the
by Boyle of the elements or principles of the chemists and of theAristotelians.
Thisa
was
the
first
systematic
criticism
of
chemical
theory
from
purely
scientific
or
philosophical
standpoint,
and
it
gradually led to an observation ofto medicine, or arts, or alchemy.
phenomena apart fromThose who pursuedMarggraf,
applications
this course and,
so
to
speak
inaugurated
scientific
chemistry, were Becher andPriestley,Crell,
Stahl,
Lemery,Scheele,d'Arcet,
Boerhaave,Sage,
Weigel,
Rothe,
Lavoisier,
Baume,
Bergman,
Scopoli,
Achard,
Dandolo,Wiegleb,
Demachy,
Trommsdorff,
Spielmann,
Teichmayer,
Jacquin, Scherer, Fourcroy, Macquer, Claude de la Metherie, Morveau.
Without belonging
to
any of these
periods, as has been said above,
there are works in the library which, while involving a certain
amount of
chemistry, are concerned not with transmutation, or medicine, or theories
and
speculations, but with the needs of ordinaryscience.
life,
or with the positive
and technical side of the
AmongEncelius,
these are
the
miners and metallurgists; Ercker, Entzel or
George Agricola, Alonso Barba, Sir John Pettus, Webster, Gabriel Plattes, Lohnayss assayers as Schreitmann, Zimmermann, and;:
the
anonymous author of the ProbierNicols,
Biichlein:
;
the.Neri,;
mineralogists
Marbodaeus,
Henckel
;
technologistsall
as
Merrett
and
Haudicquer de Blancourt, wholished a little treatise
wrote about glassrosin,
Axt, who pub-
on the making of
wood\
tar
and charcoal
;
Caneparius, the author of the treatise de Atramentis
the compilers of
xvi
BIBLIOTHECA CHEMICAsecrets, as
books of practical receipts andLemnius, Wecker,
they were called, such as the
author of the Rechter Gebrauch d'Alchimei, Andriessen, Fioravanti, Alessio,
Hughin
Plat,
Kertzenmacher, Cortese, Schmuck.insightinto
In
some
respects,
as
giving
everyday practical
working,
these books are as interesting and important as any.
The books on pharmacyas they are,Praepositus,
also constitute a series
by themselves, but
with
one or two exceptions, such as the Dispensarium of Luminare Majus of Manlius de Boscho, Lumen Apothe-
cariorum of Quiricus, Thesaurus of Gesner,
comparativelymostwereait,
recent, they
dothe
not require specialItis
notice.all
an illustration of the persistence of an idea thatcentury toits
throughdis-
eighteenth
very close, when
important
coveries were
making andto
entirely
new
theories
advanced, thefact
controversy
as
the
rejility
of transmutation
as
and as a
theorythe
wasder
still
sustained.
At the opening ofit
in
1702, came
attack
by Soldnerreplied
as
is
said
in
the
Teutsches Fegfeuer der
Scheide-Kunst,
to;
in
the
Erlosung der Philosophen aus deinvindication
Fegfeuer
Chymisten
Creiling's
of
alchemy
in
Die
Edelgeborne
Jungfera
Alchymia,
1730,as
Lenglet
Dufresnoy'sFictuld's
Histoire,
1742,Stein,false
which1753,
must be regardedsort
unfavourable;dictionary theauthor's
Probier-
of
biographicalfor
of
genuine
andthan
alchemists,
moreas
remarkablesupplied;
judgmentsof
for
thein
information
the
curious
dictionarystrives
Pernety,
1753,
which
in
his
other;
work heWiegleb'slearned
to
interpret
thetruth
myths of antiquityof
as
Hermetic
onslaught
on
the
alchemy,
1777,
with
Kortum'softhe
andof
rather
dexterous
reply,
1789, and
the
collection
narrativesclosein
aboutthefor
transmutationcentury,
byto
Giildenfalk,
1784.
Then
at
1797time
1799,
appeared
Gmelin's
Geschichte,
which
the
first
the Subject was treated as a whole, andhistory,
as an independent branch of
without
bias,
and apart from controversy as to the truth orit,
reality of
any section of
but merely as a record of events, persons
and books.Inasthis,
All these, with others of less note, are in the library.toI
endeavouring
construct
the
catalogue
of
suchI
a
library
which labour
undertook at Dr. Young's request,it
considered
who werefor
likely to consult
and how best
it
could be n>ade serviceable
the
study of the
history
of chemistry.
The
persons
who may
INTRODUCTIONpossibly refer toare,init
besidesplace,
those
who
actually use the library itselfbooksellers,
the
first
librarians,
bibliographers,if
andin
collectors
of this branch of literature,
there be
any
such, and,
the second, students.
For the convenience of theconstructed on a moreliberal
first
group, the
catalogue
has
been
and elaborate
scale
thanlist
wouldof short
havetitles
been necessary, had the object been merely to make asufficienttitles
to
serve
as
a register for thefull,
library.is
Instead
of that the
are reproduced init
the particular copy
described,
and any
peculiarities
may
possess are noted, other editions
are
enumerated,in
and,
when
practicable,
an account of them,
too,
is
added, which
many cases has To the differentforis
been possible by inspection of the books themselves.classes offor
bookmen
these details
mayas
be
convenientliterature
reference,
and
comparison with
other
copies.far
The
scarce, obscure
and almost unknown, and, solists
my
experience
goes, while there areis
and enumerations of alchemical books, thereit.
no bibliography of any part of
More
particularly intended for the student,
who
is
concerned with
the contents rather than with the externals of the books, are the notes
which contain biographical and descriptive
details
and discuss doubtfulmatters.
or disputed points of chronology, authorship, and other
The
authors of most of these books are strangers
in
this
country and are
but
little
remembered, or thought
of,
in
their
own.
Someseemed
of them,
however, were amongst the foremosttheirlives,
men
of their day, conspicuousIt
by
learning,
discoveries
andI
writings.
desirable
therefore, in carrying out the plan
had drawn
up, to give the studentdifferent
some notion of thefar as lay in
position
and authority of therefer to
writers so
my
power, to
the questionsto
which have arisen
about them or
their
writings,
and
the
criticisms
and
judgments
which have been passed upon them.
As
it
was impossibleI
to accomplish this in
full
within
the
limitsI
of a catalogue,
have endeavouredassist
by
lists
of authorities,furtherin
whom
have been able to consult, tothe field for himself.
the student
surveying
In the authorities quoted others
will
be found,
andtill
in
these again others, and so the student can continue his researchliterature,
he has exhausted thefirst
and possessed himself of
all
avail-
able information at
hand.
BIBLIOTHECA CHEMICAThe authorities are not all of equal value for while some supply much sound information, others furnish an irreducible minimum. Nor;
do they always agree as to dates and other matters ofadefect,
fact,
which
is
andwhich
theiris
criticisms
and decisionsimportance;
also
are
sometimes
at
variance,
of
very
little
but
this
uncertaintyorigin-
adds to theality
liveliness
andlong
zest of the
inquiry,
and stimulatespart,
and independence of judgment on the student'shis
for
he mustif
lay
account
for
and sometimes
baffling
investigation
he
want toI
arrive at the truth.
have also endeavoured to give him some hold upon the authoritiesfar
by arranging them asis
as
mayin
be
chronologically.
An
advantage
that
if
they be examined
this
sequence,
the
statements
made,
whether accurate or inaccurate, can be traced to their sources, and thus
by
careful
examination
"
and
comparisonare
it
can
be
decidedcopyists.
who
are
original
authorities
andis
who
compilers
and
Another
advantage of the
lists
that from their extent and
the status of the
persons composing them, an inference can be drawn as to the import-
ance and interest surrounding any particular writer, from his own timeto the present.
Allis
theaffair
rest
is
for
the
studentfacts,
of theto
history
himselfthe
to
do
;
it
his;
to
examine thewhatifis
doubts,correct
difficulties,is
the
errors
to
confirm
correct,
what
faulty
and
wrong, to throw light
possible on confusedreconcile
and debateable problems,averments andIn the present
and to confessopinions,
his
inability tofor
contradictoryfailed
when the meanswill
doing so have
him.
work he
find
plenty of opportunities
for
expending labour and
exercising his critical faculties.
Nor docorrect
I
presumefinal.
to think thatis
what
I
have said
is
in
every case
and
There
too great a want of agreement
amongst
the authorities foras
any
one, at this
time of day, to do more than get
near the truth as possible through the mists of defective recordsdiscordantresults.
and
Theliable
brief
abstracts
and
accounts
which
I
have given are therefore
to
such modification, or correction, as
further examination of the existing authorities, ornecessitate.
new
discoveries,
may;
There
isI
no weed which spreads so quickly as errorhave introduced aslittle
I
can only hope thatments.
One, however, cannot escape
the
may be common lot,as
in
my
state-
but
one can
INTRODUCTIONperhapsaliquid
xix
plead,
with Lactantius, thesit
common
imperfection
:
" est
enim
medium quod
hominis, scilicet scientiasuccess this work
cum
ignorantia con-
juncta et temperata,"
WhatI
may
achieve will depend
on the proportion of those constituents, and how they are combined.
The inducement whichis
have had to go into the matter
in
detail,in
simply the want of a book of any kind whatever on the subject
English, while those which exist in other languages, ininstance,
German
for
do not cover
this
ground.in
With the exception of Ladrague,75copies,is
whose work, printedreproduces the
at
Moscowfull.
about as rare as a
manuscript, no one supplies eventitles
the pagination, and
no one
at
all
in
The
compilationit
of the present work,
therefore, afforded an opportunity,
which
behoved
me
not to neglect, not
merely of making a catalogue, but of attempting to begin a bibliography,at all events within the limitsfilling
which the collection allowed, and of thus
a gap in the literature of the history of chemistry, while the
addition of the biographical notes and the references to the authoritiesconstituted
a guide to the relative
literature.
In
no better way,
it
seemedIf,
to me, couldfor
the purpose of the founder be attained.in
such flaws
the plan andI
its
execution as use
mayI
reveal,
an apology be necessary,
can use the words of Pliny, without,:
hope,
being charged with presumptionpraiterierint.
"
nee dubitamus, multa esse, quae et noset
Homines enim sumus,ista
occupati
officiis
:
subcisivisque
temporibus
curamus,
id
est,
nocturnis, ne quis
vestrum
putet his
cessatum
horis."
Atwhich
the conclusion of a work like the present, one can hardly refrainit.
from contemplating the theme ofis
It deals
with phases of a science
of active interest and
influence justas to
now
certainly,
but
is
as
different
from
its
former condition
views, aims, methods, and
results, as if there
never had been any connection between them.
Yet
the chemistry of therapid development
moment is also merely a phase, and by its so much less stable than that of three hundred the books Still years ago, when discovery made slower advance. enumerated here, unattractive as they are even unintelligible, maybe record the thought and experience of many men, some of them amongis
more
the most skilful and far-seeing of their time.
But
their
labours have
disappeared astheir
if
they had never been, their controversies are forgotten,
discoveries
have
long
ago
been
assimilated
into
common
;
XX
BIBLIOTHECA CHEMICAwhat was right"
knowledge was
;
in
their
work
has, as far as they are con:
cerned, shared the fate of what wastheirs.
wrong
it is
not even;
knownaway
that
it
The
chiefs of other times are departed
they have gonepass;
without their fame.
The
sons of future years shall
andhis
another race
arise."
Let
not the modern student of science imagine
that he
and
workmostwill
will
escape the universal doom.
His discoveries,
his theories, thelater
recent, the
most comprehensive and progressive, sooner orSuch, at
become mererulein
archaeological data, to be included, or, just as likely,least,
omitted, in a historical review of this time.
has beenthere
theis
chemistry for the last eighteen hundred years, andits
no sign of"
being
suspended
in
favour
of
any chemist of
to-day.
Thus times db
shift
;
each thing his turne do's hold
NewItis
things succeed as former things grow old."
this
phenomenon which
stimulates to the writing of historyit
and to the antiquarian research on which
rests,
the passing, namely,
of the generations with their ideas and pursuits.inevitable,
But change
itself
is
and as the past conditions cannot be recalled or reproduced,most that can be doneis
either in the individual or the race, the
to
record something of them.
The
history of chemistry, as indeed of
all science, is
but a succession
of epitaphs
upon forgotten men and forgotten discovery.to
Whatand
thenin
do these men not owedoing
him who gathers uphuman,
their works,lift
so
recalls their achievements,
and thus labours to
that icy pall ofit
oblivion which descends on everything
just because
is
human,
imperfect, temporary, and has to be forgotten toelse?
It
was to mitigate that
fate as far as
make way for something human effort can, when it
has to strive with the eternal law and necessity of change, that thisgathering of the writings of bye-gone thinkers and workers was made.
That they were struggling with error-obscuredof reality should
vision towards the light
cause
not neglect of them and contempt for their
shortcomings
and
failures,
but
should
arouse
the
fellow-feeling
and
interest of those
who
at the presentfor
momentis
are engaged in theis
sameDr.foster
struggle,
and whose turn
neglect
and contempthis effort to
coming.
Young
realized this,
and the library
awaken and
such sympathy and remembrance.
INTRODUCTIONWhether or notcontemplated asof Dr.I
have
succeededit
by the present cataloguefor
in
carrying out his wish to
makeit
as
instructive
the
purpose he
may
be,is
is
impossible forI
me
to say.
The
decision;
Youngshould
himself
what
should have
pre-eminently desired
andin
I
have prized the judgment of one other, whose interest
the catalogue was to
me
its
inspiration,
and whose verdict atstill.
its
close
would have beenfriends
my
reward.
But these voices are nowin
Toby
who have
assisted
me
various ways,for
by loans of books,difficult,
references to authorities
to
which access
me wasI
by
revision with
me
of certain portions of the work,
desire to tender
my
warmest thanks.Firstfor
and
last
I
have read the proofs, andexist.
amI
alone responsible
whatever errors and misprintsthis
May
ask those
who may
have to consultat the
book not
to overlook the additions
and corrections
end of the second volume ?
So, in the old-fashioned words of old Jean
Rey
:
"
Le
trauail a este
mien,
le
profit
en
soit
au lecteur, et a Dieu seul
la
gloire."
JOHN FERGUSON.Glasgow, 13 Newton Place,2yrd January, 1906.
CATALOGUE
CATALOGUEA. (A).
Naturalium Cultor.
Gliicks-Ruthe zu Paracelsi
Chymischem
Schatz.
See MERCURll Zweyfacher Schlangen-stab, 1679.
A.
(J.).
M.D.
See DARIOT (CLAUDE).
AALBERT.De wonderbare Geheymen, van denGedruktto
Groote en Klyne Aalbert,to
in 3
Deelen.
te Parys, I n't Jaar 100,000.8.
Small
Title leaf; Part;
I., sigs.
A^
C
C
in eights [pp. 3-48]
Part
III.,
sigs. A.^ to
in eights, or pp. 3-48 Part II., sigs. A, n eights, or pp. 3-44 the last two;
C
;
leaves are blank.
This chap-book contains three tracts with separate and pagination. Each tract seems to have had originally a title-page, but these have been cancelled and the above general title substituted. The book is one which, from its false date and almost certainly false place, and from its having been sewn up at the top and outer margin, has been sold under some kind of restriction.signatures
The
first tract is
taken mainly from the Physio-
nomia of Michael Scotus. The second is called Het Profyt der Vrouwen, and contains remedies
The third is a miscelfor feminine complaints. laneous collection of receipts, medical, culinary, The book is not a reproduction physiological, etc. The of either Albertus Magnus or Parvus. receipts contain nothing distinctively chemical oralchemical.
ABBATIASendSee
(Antonius
de).
Brieff
von Verwandelung der Metallen.vortreffliche. ..
DREY
^^