De la vraie connaissance de la nature

DE la vraie connaissance de la nature et de la recherche de ses Secrets. [Followed by] Oeuvre sur la première matière, and various notes and extracts on Alchemy. P.47 contains pen-drawings of retorts, etc. Contents: Pp. 1-27 De la vraie connaissance de la nature [etc.]. A copy of this MS. is recorded in W. J. Wilson's 'Catalogue of Latin and Vernacular Alchemical Manuscripts in the United States and Canada' ['Osiris', Vol. VI, 1939], pp. 343, where it is entered as MS. 40. It is at Harvard University Library, and forms the second edition of their MS. 24226.296. In our MS. at the end of the text it is stated to be 'extrait du Mte. No. 2.' Pp. 29-44. Oeuvre sur la première matière qui se trouve dans les terres argileuses dont il y en a de 4 sortes, de la blanche, de la rouge, de la rougeâtre, et de la grise qu'on appelle proprement pyrites partout. Stated to be 'du Mte.23.' Pp. 44-End Extracts and notes from MSS. and printed books on Alchemy. P. 84/85 Contain notes by the hand of Albert Poisson [1868-1894], who has also made some marginal annotations.

c. 1850

1 volume 2 ll. last bl.. + 84 [should be 85] pp. 8vo. 17 x 101/2 cm. Modern boards. A leaf has been cut out after p. 83/84 the lower half of which has also been cut away. The last leaf of text has been wrongly numbered.

Purchased 1933.

Database description transcribed from S.A.J. Moorat, Catalogue of Western Manuscripts on Medicine and Science in the Wellcome Historical Medical Library (London: Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine, 1962-1973).