catalogue library michael innes (1897 - 1980) - Warburg Institute

697 Pages·2014·10.29 MB·English

A
CATALOGUE
OF THE
LIBRARY
OF
MICHAEL I N N E S
(1897 - 1980)
A collection of works, printed books and manuscripts, on
Alchemy, Hermetism, Rosicrucianism, Kabbalah, and related
subjects from the 16th Century to the present day in Latin,
English, French, German, Dutch and Italian; also works from
other sources, including non-European, which are relevant
to a study of the history and nature of the subject.
MICHAEL INNES LIBRARY
C 0 N T E N T S
An appreciation by H.A.Feisenberger - The Library of Michael Innes
Further notes by Marie Innes iv
The arrangement of the catalogue ix
Main Index A Page 1
B 41
c 91
D 129
E 148
F 162
G 191
H 224
I 247
J 249
K 257
L 270
M 301
N 344
0 355
p 362
Q 417
R 419
s 439
T 491
u 520
v 522
w 537
X y z 558
Separate Sections Manuscripts
Ancient Egyptian
Christianity, Orthodox Christianity
Freemasonry
Judaism
Buddhism, Tibetan Buddhism
Far East - China and Japan
Hinduism
Islam
Miscellaneous
THE LIBRARY OF MICHAEL INNES
AN APPRECIATION BY H.A.FEISENBERGER
The library formed by the late Michael Innes just before the
1939-45 war and mainly in the fifties and sixties is the
collection of a scholar with a philosophical and historical mind;
at the same time Mr. Innes was a bibliophile, as is shown by the
fact that the early books - with a few exceptions - are complete
and in good condition.
It contains approximately 4,000 works. This includes 23
MSS and about 420 books of the 16th and 17th centuries, many of
which contain a number of titles. The largest part of the
library is of the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries and much of it
is in French. The early books are in Latin, English, French,
Italian and German, the last being in the minority as Mr. Innes
was not a German scholar, French together with English being his
natural language. There are also a small number of books in
Hebrew and in Arabic.
The theme of the collection is in the first place alchemy;
but it includes the Hermetic literature, gnosticism,
Rosicrucianism, the Kabbalah and related subjects, often rather
unfortunately termed the .. occult.. sciences. The other great
alchemical library formed in our lifetime, that of Denis Duveen
(now in the University of Wisconsin) was that of a practising
chemist who regarded the alchemical literature as the forerunner
of modern chemistry, the alchemists having made a number of
discoveries and isolated some of the elements. Mr. Innes's
collection illustrates that among all the strange symbolism and
curious language - both in words and pictures - there is hidden a
metaphysical doctrine and a practice founded on the classical
traditions from Egyptian and Greek sources, and on the Jewish
Kabbalah. Many of the books are also of the highest interest
as they illustrate the survival of the ideas of the antique world
into the Renaissance. The early books in the library are a
remarkable collection for by their nature many of these books
are now extremely rare.
The 23 MSS are of the 17th and 18th centuries. As is usual
in this field, some contain texts which are known, such as
Lullius, Basil Valentine, Arnoldus de Villanova, Philaletha etc.,
but some certainly are of texts which have not been printed, e.g.
by Vicot, Legros Parmy, Nicolas de Valois. Several are well
illustrated with drawings, some in colour. One of the most
fascinating is undoubtedly a beautifully written and illustrated
Rosicrucian manuscript of the 18th century in German, a quite
extraordinary rarity.
-i-
Practically all the collections of the early texts are
present, which are quite indispensable in this field, for it
would be impossible to gather together individual editions of
all these works. They include: Lacinius, Pretiosa Margarita
Novella printed by Aldus in 1546 and the second edition of 1557;
Artis Aurifera, 1593; a complete set of the Theatrum Chemicum
in six volumes, 1659-61, which is the last and fullest edition;
the works of Paracelsus, 1658, and a magnificent copy of the
comprehensive collection of most of the early texts compiled
by Mangetus in 1702 in its two vast volumes.
Among the 16th century books are two by Reuchlin, the German
humanist and Hebraist: De Verbo Mirifico, 1506, the second
edition, a treatise containing much on the Kabbalah and an
attempt to reconcile the mysteries of faith with science, and De
Rudimentis Hebraicis, 1506, the first edition, a most important
work containing the Hebrew grammar and lexicon. There is a copy
of the very rare Giorgio (Francesco) De harmonia mundi, 1525
(together with a French edition of 1579), Benedetto Varchi's
copy, a very important philosophical and mystical work still
much in the mediaeval tradition, but with valuable sections on
man as microcosm and on the significance of the metals. It is
an uncensored copy and extremely unusual as such. The first
French edition of Colonna's Hypnerotomachia, 1561, with the
superb woodcuts based on the original 1499 Venice edition, is
present in a fine copy, even if in modern vellum, and also the
1600 edition of the same work with its important introduction
by Beroalde de Verville which places the work in the literature
of alchemy. Another great rarity is the original edition of
Trismosin, Aureum Vellus, Rorschach, 1598-99, with its remarkable
illustrations, coloured by hand.
In the 17th century there is Khunrath's Amphitheatrum
sapientiae internae, 1609, in two copies, one having inserted a
remarkable large folding plate "Scala ascensionis virtutum" by
J.Fr.Jungius, apparently hitherto unknown. The two astonishing
series of engraved alchemical plates: Michelspacher (Stephan)
Cabala, Speculum artis, 1667, and Altus, Mutus Liber, 1677, are
both present in fine copies. In this century alchemical literat
ure was widespread in Europe and there is a large array of these
books here, but special mention must be made of the fine collect
ion of the works of Michael Maier, that most erudite philosopher
and alchemist and a courtier in the extraordinary circle of
scholars with whom the Emperor Rudolph II surrounded himself at
Prague. Maier also visited England in 1612-1614, where he made
many contacts. Some of his books are particularly fascinating
for their remarkable illustrations. Of his 17 recorded works,
the Innes collection has no less than 14. There is a magnificent
copy of his first publication Arcana Arcanissima, 1614, copies
of which occur with varying dedications to Englishmen. This one
has a dedication, hitherto unknown, to Sir George Carew, the
statesman and antiquarian (1555-1629). Only two of Maier's books
were translated into English; both are here, but the Lusus
-ii-
Serius-Passetime, 1654, is of particular importance, because it
was Sir Isaac Newton's copy, hitherto unknown, and now added to
Mr. Harrison's catalogue of Newton's library. As is well known,
Newton was greatly interested in alchemy and he owned several
other books by Maier. To conclude the 17th century European
books, mention should be made of Knorr von Rosenroth, Kabbala
denudata, 1677-81, the great classic book on the subject, and
complete copies, like this one, are notoriously rare. There
is a small collection of books in Hebrew from the 16th century
onwards, which deal with the Jewish Kabbalah.
There are no less than 17 of the almost unobtainable and
mysterious early Rosicrucian tracts by J.V. Andrea and others,
ranging in date between 1617 and 1631.
There is a fine series of English 17th century alchemical
books, the most important of which is, of course, Ashmole's
Theatrum chemicum, 1651, containing a cancelled leaf, apparently
hitherto unnoticed; Ashmole's Fasciculus chemicus, 1650, is also
present, but not his Way to Bliss, though the fine portrait from
this book is inserted in the Theatrum. There is Cooper's Philos
ophical Epitaph, 1679, with his bibliographically important cata
logue of chemical books, Nicolas Culpepper's Aurum Potabile, and
works by Thomas Vaughan, George Starkey, George Ripley, and John
Dee's Monas Hieroglyphica, 1591, the second edition of one of
the most important and influential works of the period.
There are a good many works of the 18th century with a fine
series of the publications of Louis Claude de Saint Martin, but
at this period many of the books have become rather derivative,
simply repeating the ideas of earlier writers. The Age of
Enlightenment was not very sympathetic to the philosophy and
thoughts of the alchemists and hermetical philosophers.
With the 19th century a revival begins and in the Innes
collection the early literature is backed up by a wealth of
documentary and scholarly works of the period, mainly French.
The Innes collection is a tribute to a great book collector
and scholar, and illuminates extensively an aspect of human
thought and endeavour which is a reviving interest today and the
material for which is otherwise extremely difficult to find in
such comprehension.
December 1981 H.A.Feisenberger
-iii-
"He who shall be lazy in Reading, shall not be
ready in preparing Matters: For a Book is the
Key of another Book, a Word explains another
Word, and a Speech another Speech; because
what is wanting in one is made up in another.
He who goes to practice without Theory will
proceed like the Ass at a Supper, not know
what is fit to choose."
Arnoldus de Villanova, quoted in "Wisdom
Reputed Folly, Or the Composition and
Reality of the Philosopher's Stone" London,
?1726. Dedicated to the Royal Society.
-viii-
THE CATALOGUE
The catalogue is arranged in alphabetical order of writers,
or titles when the author is unknown. Under each author, the
works are also listed alphabetically, using the main title of the
work. In most cases the full title as on the title page is given,
and the practice of using capitals and underlining for italics
has been followed.
There are separate sections as follows:
MANUSCRIPTS
ANCIENT EGYPTIAN
CHRISTIANITY, including ORTHODOX
FREEMASONRY
JUDAISM including texts in Hebrew
BUDDHISM including TIBETAN BUDDHISM
FAR EAST China and Japan
HINDUISM
ISLAM including in Arabic
t~ts
MISCELLANEOUS
The books before 1800 have been checked (by H.A.Feisenberger)
with the British Library, and the B.M.catalogue number is given.
The main bibliographies referred to, and page references given,
are J.Ferguson, Bibliotheca chemica, D.Duveen, Bibliotheca
alchemica et chemica, Albert L.Caillet, Manuel Bibliographique
des Sciences Psychiques ou Occultes, and F.Leigh Gardner,
A Catalogue Raisonne of works on the Occult Sciences vol.l
Rosicrucian Books. References are also given in some cases to
Dorbon, Bibliotheca Esoterica, to Jouin, Bibliographie Occultiste
et and to the catalogue of the library of s. de Guaita.
Ma~onnique
For more modern works reference is given to Alan Pritchard,
Alchemy, A Bibliography of English-Language Writings. References
to J.B.Craven are given for Fludd and Maier, and to Gerhard
Scholem, Bibliographia Kabbalistica, for the Hebrew books. All
these bibliographies are in the library.
Only a few references are made to bindings, and those only
when they represent some special feature of interest or are
"fine" bindings. Evidence of ownership is given, and where there
are ms. notes, or dedications, these are recorded.
My thanks are due to Professor Trapp of the Warburg Institute
who showed me how to approach the question of cataloguing; to
Mr.H.A.Feisenberger, of Sotheby's and a long-standing friend of
my husband, whose painstaking work on the early books I cannot
acknowledge too warmly; to David and Irene Cockroft who added
their skill on the wordprocessor and their interest in the
project. Their patience with my many alterations and emendations
was exemplary. To these and other long-suffering friends the
credit; the mistakes are mine.
-ix-
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ABARBANEL, JUDA
(ABRAVANEL)
See LEON HEBREU
ABATIA, ANTONIUS DE
EPISTOLAE DUAE ANNOTATIONES
See MAGNI PHILOSOPHORUM ARCANI REVELATOR
ABBADIE, JAQUES
L'ART DE SE CONNOITRE SOY-MEME ou La Recherche des Sources
De la MORALE Par JAQUES ABBADIE Docteur en Theologie &
Ministre du St. Evangile. PREMIERE PARTIE
A ROTTERDAM Chez PIERRE VANDER
SLAART M.DC.LXXXXII
SECOND PARTIE (P.205)
Caillet 13 12mo Pp.(S) 494, (6)
2 parts in one volume
1st edition
Another edition Troisi erne edition
A LAHAYE Chez GUILLAUME
DE VOYS M.DCCCXI
12mo Pp.(l6) 492
-1-
ABRAHAM ELEAZAR
R.AQRAHAMI ELEAZARIS Uraltes Chymisches Werk, welches
ehedessen von dem Autore thei1s in Lateinischer und
Arabischer, theils auch in Chald~ischer und Syrischer
Sprache geschrieben, nachmals von einem Anonyma in unsere
deutsche Muttersprache ubersetzet, nun aber nebst
zugeh~rigen Kupfern, Figuren, Gefassen, Oefen, einer kurzen
Vorrede, nothigen Registern, wie auch beygefugtem Schlussel
derer in selbigem vorkommenden fremden Worter, ing1eichen
einigen philosophischen Regeln von dem Steine der Weisen
zu Nutz und Gebrauch aller Liebhaber der edlen Hermetischen
Phi1osophie, in II. Theilen zum offtenlichen Druck befordert
worden durch IULIUM GERVASIUM SCHWARTZBURGICUM, P.M.& I.P.E.
Zweyte Auflage.
Leipzig, in Lankischens Buchhandlung
Duveen P.r. 1760
(1735 edition)
Ferguson I, P.2. Bvo Pp.(28) 122, Register (14)
Caillet No.31 Frontispiece and seven other
engravings, many woodcuts in text.
The second part has a separate title page.
DONUM DEI SAMUELIS BARUCH, Des Juden RABBI, Astrologi und
Philosoph!, gebohren aus dem Stamm Abrahams, Isaacs, Jacobs
und Juda, welcher erlernet das grosse Geheimnis des grossen
Meisters Tubalkains aus dessen Tabell, gefunden von ABRAHAMO
ELEAZARE, dem Juden. I.N.U. CXI.
Bvo Title, vocabulary, preface
Pp.(14) 104, Register (12)
8 plates, woodcuts in text.
The first edition was 1735.
The engravings are signed by
J.E.Boeck, Weymar, but the engraver
seems to be unrecorded.
ADAM, PAUL
'
COLLECTION LA PHALANGE DIRECTEUR JEAN ROYERE
PAUL ADAM DIEU PRE~F ACE DE JEAN ROY~E RE
PARIS ALBERT MESSEIN 1924
sm Bvo Pp.122, 1 leaf Table de
matieres.
Ms. page of extracts from letters
from Paul Adam to A V M.
-2-