Manuscript on parchment and paper, written in two parts. Part I (parchment, written ca. 1490): 1) John of Rupescissa, De consideratione quinte essentie. 2) Descriptions of various herbs. Part II (paper, added ca. 1800): 3) Alchemy. 4) Recipes for making Prussian Blue, in Italian.
Description:
Binding: Late eighteenth century, probably French. Speckled calf, the sides undecorated, the repaired back in compartments with gilt tooling, the original title-stamping defective, speckled edges; restored by Carolyn Horton, November 1955., Part I: Headings in red throughout, that on f. 1r overwritten in an intense red ink covering earlier writing in pale red ink, the intense ink then used for the remainder of the headings in this portion of the codex, and the overwriting probably by the original scribe. Plain, small, roman capitals at beginnings of sections of the text in blue or green; a large initial "D" and a full border no f. 1r, as well as a smaller initial "L" at the beginning of the second book of text, foot of f. 25r, all finely illuminated in gold and colors in the "white-vine" style, the lower part of the border on f. 1r with a coat of arms consisting of a shield azure, a bear rampant or. Part II: Undecorated., and Script: Part I (ff. 1-40): Written by one hand in a neat, minute humanistic cursive. Part II (ff. 41-52): In an Italian hand.
Subject (Topic):
Alchemy--Early works to 1800, Formulas, recipes, etc, Herbs--Early works to 1800, Illumination of books and manuscripts, Medieval, Manuscripts, Medieval--Connecticut--New Haven, Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts in Beinecke Library, and Prussian blue
Manuscript on paper containing 1) Le veau d'or, an unidentified alchemy in French. 2) Le rosaire des philosophes, an unidentified text incorporating many borrowings from medieval alchemy. 3) W.R., Experimentum verae confectionis philosophorum lapidis, in Latin, partly extracted from Geber and Eirenaeus Philaletha.
Alternative Title:
Le veau d'or
Description:
Binding: Original mottled calf, the flat back divided into compartments by fold rules, floral ornaments gold-stamped in the compartments, modern leather title label on backstrip, original red edges; hinges, corners, and edges repaired., In French and Latin., Mellon MS 17, acquired with the Duveen collection. Gift of Paul and Mary Mellon, 1965., Script: Written in an elegant cursive sloping to the right with many words tied together by ligatures., and Watermarks: Paper of endleaves with unidentified armorial watermark and countermark "FIRAILLE (?) FIN BOURGOGNE 1742," unidentified; paper of the text with the Amsterdam arms and countermark "FIN DE LECHALLE (?)," unidentified.
Manuscript on paper containing 1) A short group of alchemical recipes. 2) Fasciculus chimicus, a title page and dedication dated 1620, possibly from a printed book, not clearly related to the following matter. 3) Sixty-five pen and watercolor emblematical drawings of alchemical processes occurring in flasks, with brief captions. 4) Artephius, Liber secretus. 5) Philipp Muller, De mercurio. 6) Christophorus Van(n), Notes on processes, one dated Rome, 1702.
Description:
Binding: Original binding of parchment over pasteboards, flaps at the fore-edges, six thongs sewn through hinges, flat back with early lettering in ink "Artefius [flourish]," speckled edges; the binding resembles that of MS 61 and is of almost identical height., Contains a series of drawings with symbolic depictions of alchemical processes taking place within flasks, originally extending to sixty-five, of which a few are now wanting. The series closes with some additional drawings of apparatus, which parallel those seen first in MS 50; see also MSS 52, 54, 71, 86, and 110., and Modern foliation in pencil begins with f. 2. However, f. 2 is the front free endpaper.
Subject (Name):
Artephius. and Müller, Philipp, b. 1585.
Subject (Topic):
Alchemy--Early works to 1800., Formulas, recipes, etc., and Illumination of books and manuscripts--Early works to 1800.
Blank pages not digitized. and Imperfect: some pages mutilated with loss of text.
Subject (Topic):
Alchemy--Early works to 1800, Formulas, recipes, etc, Herbs--Early works to 1800, Manuscripts, Medieval--Connecticut--New Haven, and Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts in Beinecke Library
Manuscript in an Italic hand of a satirical allegory on the events of the Russo-Turkish war, in which the various sovereigns are represented by animal figures. A key to the allegory follows the poem. The manuscript also includes a sonnet based on verse by Voltaire and a longer poem satirically comparing a poor student to a herring.
Description:
Purchased from Bennett Gilbert on the Laura K. and Valerian Lada-Mokarski Fund, 2002.
Subject (Name):
Voltaire, 1694-1778--Influence
Subject (Topic):
Allegory, Italian poetry--18th century, Russo-Turkish War, 1787-1792, and Verse satire, Italian