Alchemy and the Occult A Catalogue of Books and Manuscripts from the Collection of Paul and Mary Mellon Given to Yale University [Complete Four-Volume Set]

Witten, Laurence C. & Richard Pachella, Pearl Kibre, William McGuire

Published by New Haven: Yale University Press, 1968; 1977

About this Item

Alchemy and the Occult is an essential bibliographic reference that catalogs one of the most comprehensive private collections of alchemical and occult literature ever assembled. The work, spanning four volumes, meticulously documents rare books, manuscripts, and printed materials related to alchemy, esotericism, astrology, magic, and early chemistry. The Mellon Collection, housed at the Yale University Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library, is one of the most prestigious collections of its kind, featuring hundreds of primary texts from the medieval, Renaissance, and early modern periods. The catalogue serves as both an academic resource and a historical record, providing scholars with insights into the intellectual traditions of alchemy and occultism. Bound in full two toned cloth with leather labels at spine. Folio: in orig. slipcase, usual external wear but still VG, internal condition excellent. Only 500 sets were published. Complete copies such as ours are now scarce on the market. Of considerable bibliographic and historic interest, this impressive achievement minutely describes 160 printed works (Vols. 1-2) and 149 manuscripts in the collection, beginning chronologically with Apollonius (circa 1225), and ending with Thomas Taylor (1790). A splendid catalogue that includes detailed bibliographical descriptions for each of the 160 printed books; each is described with painstaking accuracy, and appears with illustrations. In Vols. 3-4, the 149 manuscripts are minutely described (most of these were purchased by Mellon from Denis Duveen). These four volumes represent some of the "crown jewels" in the kingdom of hermetic bibliography, and continue to inspire and inform students and scholars of Witchcraft, Wicca, Pagan Ritual, Occult, folklore, anthropology, primitive races and customs, Mythology, Ancient Magical Practices, Ritual and Initiation, Secret Societies, Rosicrucian Egyptology, Ancient Magical practices, Aleister Crowley, Andrew Chumbley, Ceremonial and Black Magic, Grimoire, O.T.O. Golden Dawn, Alchemy Hermetics, Freemasonry, Kabalah, Cabala, Kenneth Grant, Austin Osman Spare, Chaos Magick, Church of Satan, Anton LaVey, Michael Aquino, Temple of Set, Demonology, Satanism, and more. From the famed B.H. Breslauer collection (sale of the Bibliotheca Bibliographica Breslaueriana at Christie's New York, 27 June 2005, lot 1582), with letterpress bookplates loosely inserted into each volume.

Seller Inventory # EBS100172

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Alchemy and the Occult A Catalogue of Books and Manuscripts from the Collection of Paul and Mary Mellon Given to Yale University [Complete Four-Volume Set]
• Publisher: New Haven: Yale University Press, 1968; 1977
• Language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Condition: Very Good
• Dust Jacket Condition: No Jacket
• Seller catalogs:
  • Alchemy