Flamel, Nicolas (1330-1418)

Livre des Lavûres [etc.]. Ff. 2-94 Livres des Lavûres. 95-115 [Anon.]. Introduction à la Philosophie hermétique où l'on donne une juste idée des principes de cette Science et de leur préparation. À Trévoux. M.D.CC.XX. Fol. 116 Épitaphe que Flamel a fait poser sur le Tombeau de Me Canches dans l'Église de Ste. Croix d'Orléans. At the end of the first work the Transcriber states that 'Ce traité Des Laveures a été copié mot à mot sur un manuscrit écrit de la propre main de Flamel, qui est conservé à la Bibliothèque de St. Germain des Près, No. 2705 des manuscrits françois ...' In the inner margin of the first leaf of text is an inscription: 'Ex Libris Petri Thomae Antelmy' (i.e. Pierre Thomas Antelmy [1730-1783]), Mathematicien, who may have been the copyist of this MS. There are a few marginal notes in pencil, some perhaps by Pierret, and others certainly written by Poisson.

c. 1775

1 volume 118 ff. (last 2 bl.). 4to. 241/2 × 18 cm. Modern half-calf gilt binding.

Purchased 1936.

In reference to this MS., Albert Poisson [1868-1894] in his monograph on Nicolas Flamel (Paris, 1893) states that it is now No. 19978 in the Bibliothèque Nationale. After a long description of its contents, he comes to the conclusion that this work 'n'est qu'une copie d'un traité antérieur à Flamel' (op. cit.) p. 137), though it has been wrongly attributed to him. Poisson also states (op. cit. p. 132) 'Pierret le dernier des alchimistes parisiens en possedait aussi une [copie] qu'il a cédée au Marquis de Villeplaine'. On the verso of the first leaf of our MS. is a list of contents headed 'No. 8 J.P.P. Above this, written in red ink by a 19th cent. hand, is the name 'Remi Pierret', who is Rémy Louis François Pierret [1820-1893].

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).