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A putto pours a phial into a dragon's mouth, pumping a bellows with his other hand; representing the fixing of volatile matter in the alchemical process. Watercolour painting by E.A. Ibbs.

A crowned alchemical flask containing a young king, dressed in red, representing the culmination of the alchemical process. Watercolour painting by E.A. Ibbs.

A moon above a queen dressed in blue, and a sun above a king dressed in red; representing two alchemical principles: the dissolving 'lac virginis' (mercury) and the coagulating masculine principle (sulphur). Watercolour painting by E.A. Ibbs.

Hennig Brand, the German alchemist, discovering phosphorus. Etching, 19th century.

An alchemist reading a book; his assistants stirring the crucible on the other side of the room. Engraving by P.F. Basan after D. Teniers the younger.

A red-faced sun rises above a city; stunted trees stand in the foreground; representing either the culmination of the alchemical work or the star of hope that inspires the alchemist through his tribulations. Watercolour painting by E.A. Ibbs.

A scholar in a surgeon's workroom with a jar of spirits containing Saint Michael defeating a dragon with a barbued tonge; representing the scholar's knowledge of chemistry enabling surgeons to heal, by setting the beneficent force of alkalis against the noxious force of acids. Etching by P.P. Bouche, ca. 1686.

Three-tiered symbolic diagram of the art of alchemy: top level, symbols of the states of matter; middle level, cabalistic diagrams; lower level, the two techniques of alchemy: distillation and calcination. Engraving by R. Custos, 1616.

Chemists and workers operating distilling apparatus in a laboratory. Engraving by P. Galle (?) after J. van der Straet.

A three-headed eagle in a crowned alchemical flask, representing mercury sublimated three times. Watercolour painting by E.A. Ibbs.

A young alchemist works a bellows at his furnace. Etching by T. Major, 1755, after D. Teniers the younger.

A chemist gives a demonstration involving arsenic to an audience. Coloured lithograph by H. Daumier, 1841.

The public image of chemistry / edited by Joachim Schummer, Bernadette Bensaude-Vincent, Brigitte Van Tiggelen.

Nouveau cours de chymie, suivant les principes de Newton et de Sthall [sic] Avec un discours historique sur l'origine et les progrez de la chymie ... / [Jean Baptiste Sénac].

The disappearing spoon : and other true tales of madness, love, and the history of the world from the periodic table of the elements / Sam Kean.

Mediaeval Arabic bookmaking and its relation to early chemistry and pharmacology / Martin Levey.

Affinity, that elusive dream : a genealogy of the chemical revolution / Mi Gyung Kim.

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Chemistry - History

Images from the collections

Images about Chemistry - History

Works from the collections

The public image of chemistry / edited by Joachim Schummer, Bernadette Bensaude-Vincent, Brigitte Van Tiggelen.

Nouveau cours de chymie, suivant les principes de Newton et de Sthall [sic] Avec un discours historique sur l'origine et les progrez de la chymie ... / [Jean Baptiste Sénac].

The disappearing spoon : and other true tales of madness, love, and the history of the world from the periodic table of the elements / Sam Kean.

Mediaeval Arabic bookmaking and its relation to early chemistry and pharmacology / Martin Levey.

Affinity, that elusive dream : a genealogy of the chemical revolution / Mi Gyung Kim.

Chemistry - History

Images from the collections

Images about Chemistry - History

Works from the collections

The public image of chemistry / edited by Joachim Schummer, Bernadette Bensaude-Vincent, Brigitte Van Tiggelen.

Nouveau cours de chymie, suivant les principes de Newton et de Sthall [sic] Avec un discours historique sur l'origine et les progrez de la chymie ... / [Jean Baptiste Sénac].

The disappearing spoon : and other true tales of madness, love, and the history of the world from the periodic table of the elements / Sam Kean.

Mediaeval Arabic bookmaking and its relation to early chemistry and pharmacology / Martin Levey.

Affinity, that elusive dream : a genealogy of the chemical revolution / Mi Gyung Kim.

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