La filosophia naturale di molti celebri et antichissimi.

Format:

Book

Manuscript

Contributor:

Rainsford, Charles, 1728-1809, former owner.

Northumberland, Hugh Percy, Duke of, 1742-1817, former owner.

Charles Rainsford Collection of Alchemical and Occult Manuscripts (University of Pennsylvania)

Language:

French

Italian

Subjects (All):

Alchemy--Early works to 1800.

Alchemy.

Magic--Early works to 1800.

Magic.

Occultism--Early works to 1800.

Occultism.

Talismans--Early works to 1800.

Talismans.

Genre:

codices (bound manuscripts)

diagrams

drawings (visual works)

manuals (instructional materials)

recipes

Manuscripts, Italian.

Manuscripts, European.

Penn Provenance:

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.

Owned by the 2nd through 12th Dukes of Northumberland, ms. 592.1 and 592.2, Alnwick Castle, Northumberland, 1809-2014 (bookplate, inside upper cover; stamps throughout).

Sold at auction at Sotheby's (London), 15 July 2014, as part of Lot 411.

Physical Description:

2 volumes (410, 416 leaves) : paper ; 210 x 160 (173 x 130) mm bound to 222 x 180 mm + 1 note

Production:

[Italy?], 1721.

Language Note:

Italian, with notes in French.

Summary:

Alchemical treatise that discusses calcination, distillation, and transmutation as well as practical instructions for experiments and medicinal recipes. The end of the first volume also has a sonnet about the philosopher's stone (V. 1, f. 408r). Includes indices that are organized by subject (V.2, f. v recto-xi verso, 355r-364r) and lists of contents (V. 1, f. i verso; V.2, f. xii recto-xv verso) written in French. The first volume contains a foldout diagram between f. 320-321 and there is a fragment of a printed leaf laid into the second volume between f. 7-8.

Notes:

Ms. codex.

Title from title page (V. 1, f. 1r).

Foliation: V.1: Paper, i (contemporary paper) + 410 + i (contemporary paper); [i, 1-2], 3-320, [i], 321-408, [i]. V.2: Paper, iii (contemporary paper) + 416 + iii (contemporary paper); [xl,1-2], 3-354, [355-376]; contemporary foliation in ink, modern foliation in pencil, upper right recto.

Layout: Written in 16 long lines.

Script: Written in a semi-cursive script by a single hand.

Decoration: V. 1 contains pen and ink drawings and diagrams of alchemical apparatus, pentacles, and talismans throughout; title page partially illuminated with gold paint (f. 2r).

Binding: Contemporary gold-tooled morocco. First volume has pink, yellow, and green silk ribbon bookmarks.

Origin: Written in Italy[?] in 1721 (v. 1, f. 2r).

Local Notes:

Purchased with support from the B. H. Breslauer Foundation.

Cited as:

UPenn Ms. Codex 1681.

OCLC:

913579883

Online:

Unique at Penn blog post