Alchemical compendium

Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, LJS 403. Herat, Afghanistan, 1499. Working notes of an alchemist, who signs himself as the compiler and composer of the manuscript (f. 127v). Lacking at least one leaf at the beginning, if not more (early pagination begins at 2, f. 1r), with repairs on extant first and last leaves. Includes a commentary on an unknown text and references to the concept of balance found in the work of 8th-century alchemist Jābir ibn Ḥayyān and to Pythagoras. Many marginal notes. Penn Libraries Catalog: go to Franklin