ALDE
145
-
VALENTIN (Basile). Azoth, or the Method of Making the Hidden…
See original version (French)
145
-
VALENTIN (Basile). Azoth, or the Method of Making the Hidden…
See original version (French)
Estimate €500 - €600
Voluntary lot
Description
VALENTIN (Basile). Azoth, or the Method of Making the Hidden Gold of the Philosophers. Paris: Pierre Moët, 1659. 8vo, light brown morocco, triple gilt fillet, spine decorated with a mosaic design, gilt inner lace, gilt edges (Fechoz). Second edition of the French translation by David Lagneau, the author of *L’Harmonie mystique*. The first edition dates from 1624. Both editions are extremely rare.
It is adorned with an engraved woodcut on the title page and 14 curious hermetic woodcuts within the text.
*Azoth*, presented here on its own, forms the second part of a collection which also contains *The Twelve Keys of Philosophy* by Basile Valentin and, on occasion, a third text bound together with it, *The Treatise on the Nature of the Philosopher’s Egg* by Bernard le Trévisan, published by the same press.
This classic work on alchemy is said to have been written in Erfurt at the end of the 14th century by Brother Basile Valentin, a Benedictine monk. The word ‘Azoth’ is one of the most esoteric names for the One Thing, where the ‘A’ and the ‘Z’ refer to the Greek alpha and omega, the beginning and the end of all things. This word is intended to encompass the full meaning of the One Thing, which is both the chaotic Prime Matter at the beginning of the Work and the perfected Stone at its conclusion.
See Caillet 800–802; Guaita 2182; Dorbon 5029.
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:
You may also like