FR EN
1 / 4
a black and white image of a book with an image of people in a gardenan old book with a picture of a man and a woman in the wateran old book with a picture of two naked men standing next to each otheran old book with a red cover sitting on top of a white surface
ALDE

114 - MAIER (Michael). *Atalanta fugiens, hoc est, emblemata nova …
See original version (French)

Estimate €20,000 - €30,000
Sale commission
Description
MAIER (Michael). *Atalanta fugiens, hoc est, emblemata nova de secretis naturæ chymica*. Oppenheim, Hieronymus Galler for Johann Theodor de Bry, 1618. Small quarto, red vellum, plain, unmarked spine (contemporary binding). An extremely rare first edition of the *Atalanta fugiens*, a masterpiece of alchemical literature and emblem books. It is ‘the rarest, and indeed the most sought-after, of Maier’s works’ (Caillet). A physician and private secretary to Emperor Rudolf II, whom he was elevated by to the rank of Count Palatine, Michæl Maier (1569–1622) was one of the great scholars of the Rosicrucian brotherhood. Most of his books deal with alchemy, which he regarded as the science par excellence. The text consists of fifty discourses in Latin and an equal number of epigrams, printed in Latin and in German translation. The illustrations, which are particularly intriguing, consist of a frontispiece and 50 half-page emblems finely etched in aquatint, each offering an allegorical representation of alchemical processes. The drawing and engraving of these illustrations are attributed to the work’s publisher, the engraver Johann Theodor de Bry (1561–1623), probably assisted by his son-in-law Matthäus Merian (1593–1650). ‘The Atalanta fugiens is generally regarded as Maier’s rarest work and it is also the most sought-after, for the splendid engravings which are among the finest examples of hermetic illustration’ (Duveen). The primacy of the image over the text, as demonstrated in this work, continued in treatises on Hermetic philosophy until the publication of the *Mutus Liber* in 1677, a book consisting solely of alchemical images and devoid of text. The *Atalanta fugiens* represents one of the earliest attempts at a ‘total work of art’, combining esoteric imagery, poetic writing and music—which plays an important role in the work in the form of a three-part canon corresponding to the three tonalities and the three principles of the alchemical process. Notated music is rare in emblem books, so Landwehr describes the *Atalanta fugiens* as ‘one of the few emblem books with fugues and of an alchemical nature. ’ Four copies bearing the date 1617 are known to exist. This one is dated 1618, but shares with the first-printing copies the peculiarity that the author’s portrait was not printed on p. 11, which has remained blank. A very attractive copy in contemporary red vellum, the most desirable condition for this book. It shows no signs of restoration. Minor marginal water stains, scattered light foxing, a faint mark on the engraving on p. 33, a tear with no loss on p. 85. Caillet, no. 6988 – Duveen, 381 – Ferguson, II, 62 – Van Lennep, 175 – Praz, 410 – Landwehr, German, no. 409 – MacPhail, no. 76 – Wellcome, no. 3980.
See original version (French)
Auto-translation. Refer to original language for legal validity.
About the sale Antique books – Alchemy & the occult sciences
Auction location
Auction time 11/04/2026 at 2:00 PM
Pictures credits:
ALDE
See original version (French)
You may also like