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Libra Esoterica

[Alchemical and medical compilation]

Author not recorded

  • First published:
  • 18th century
  • Languages: French, Greek, Italian, Latin, Spanish
  • Content type: ManuscriptPrimary source
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Description

Description from Colenda Digital Repository — University of Pennsylvania Libraries (opens in a new tab)

Collection of instructional works bound together concerning alchemy, divination, medical remedies, and anatomy. Includes a partial alphabetical index (f. i recto-v verso). Instructions include details on alchemical procedures such as calcination, distillation and transmutation (f. 105r) including how to turn lead into gold (f. 114v) and sapphires into diamonds (f. 115r). An entire section is devoted to the properties of salt (f. 48r). Other practical instructions include a section on military stratagems (f. 35v) and remedies for wounds such a rabid dog bite (f. 45v).

Provenance

Why this book is in the catalog

Included because retained bibliographic metadata links this work to Alchemy and Hermeticism, Divination and oracles, and Occultism and esotericism.

  • Occultism and esotericism

    Controlled discovery queries from colenda matched “Occultism”. Retained metadata contains “Occultism” in the subject metadata and “occult” in the cataloging notes.

    • “Occultism”· via Colenda Digital Repository — University of Pennsylvania Libraries
    • “Occultism”· in subject
    • “occult”· in cataloging note
  • Alchemy and Hermeticism

    Controlled discovery queries from colenda matched “Alchemy”. Retained metadata contains “Alchemy” in the description, “Alchemy” in the subject metadata, and “alchemist” in the cataloging notes.

    • “Alchemy”· via Colenda Digital Repository — University of Pennsylvania Libraries
    • “Alchemy”· in description
    • “Alchemy”· in subject
    • “alchemist”· in cataloging note
  • Divination and oracles

    Retained metadata contains “Divination” in the description.

    • “Divination”· in description

Membership records how this book met the catalog’s discovery criteria — relevance to a tradition, not a judgment of the book’s claims.

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Editions

One edition cataloged here.

University of Pennsylvania digitized manuscript

163 leaves : paper ; 302 x 210 mm bound to 315 x 215 mm + 2 notes; Binding: Contemporary parchment. Some staining of paper due to mold and moisture damage. Several leaves are completely detached.; Decoration: Circular foldout diagram (f. 93r); pen and ink drawings of alchemical apparatus (for example, f. 4r) and several circular diagrams (f. 31r, 122v).; Foliation: Paper, i (contemporary paper) + 168 + i (contemporary paper); [i-v, 1-163]; modern foliation in pencil, lower right recto. Irregular contemporary foliation and pagination in ink, upper outer corners. All references in this record are to modern foliation. A number of leaves have been cut out, occasionally resulting in a loss of text (for example, f. 14-15). Several folios are completely detached (f. 33-35).; Latin, Italian, and Spanish, with some French and occasional words in Greek.; Ms. codex.; Origin: Written in the 18th century[?].; Purchased with support from the B. H. Breslauer Foundation.; Script: Written in various cursive scripts by many different hands.; Title supplied by cataloger.

1750—French, Greek, Italian, Latin, Spanish—Public download

Subjects

4 subject headings

Identifiers & provenance

How this record was assembled, and the authority identifiers it carries.

Identifiers

Colenda
  • ark:/81431/p3hx15s0q

Cataloged from

Cataloging notes

  • Colenda collection: Charles Rainsford Collection of Alchemical and Occult Manuscripts (University of Pennsylvania)
  • Penn Libraries catalog identifier: 9962935443503681
  • Physical location: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, Manuscripts, Oversize Ms. Codex 1676
  • Provenance: Formerly housed in the library of the Jesuit College of Naples (note, f. v verso).; 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.; Northumberland, Hugh Percy, Duke of, 1742-1817, former owner.; Owned by the 2nd through 12th Dukes of Northumberland, ms. 587, Alnwick Castle, Northumberland, 1809-2014 (bookplate, inside upper cover; stamps throughout).; Rainsford, Charles, 1728-1809, former owner.; Sold at auction at Sotheby's (London), 15 July 2014, as part of Lot 411.
  • Rights: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/NoC-US/1.0
Catalog id
colenda:81431-p3hx15s0q
Edition coverage
Multi source partial
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