The Last Will and Testament of Basil Valentine

Valentinus, Basilius/ Basil Valentine

Edité par S.G. and B.G. or Edward Brewster, London, 1671

A propos de cet article

Supposedly a German Benedictine monk born at Mainz in 1394, Basil Valentine (anglicized version of Basilius Valentinus) is said to have been a member of St. Peter's in Erfurt in 1413 and to have been elected prior of the same monastery the following year. There is no contemporary evidence for any of the facts relating to Basil Valentine and, indeed, the works attributed to him refer to events that occurred after his death (for example, the discovery of America). During the 18th century it was suggested that the author of the works attributed to Basil Valentine was, in fact, Johann Thà lde, a salt manufacturer in Germany who lived roughly 1565 to 1624. Thà lde published the first five books under Valentine's name. Whoever he was, Basil Valentine had considerable knowledge of chemistry and was one of history's most important alchemists. There are long lists of chemical recipes to be found throughout the Basilian corpus, and it is evident that the author was aware of methods for the preparation of the three mineral acids. He discussed the then known metals as well as preparations that might be made from them, and he gave special attention to the precious metals that he believed could be produced through the transmutation of the less perfect metals. He demonstrated that ammonia could be obtained by the action of alkali on sal-ammoniac (ammonium chloride), described the production of hydrochloric acid by acidifying brine of common salt (sodium chloride), and created ethyl chloride and sulfuric acid, among other achievements. This 1671 copy of The Last Will and Testament of Basil Valentine, has some very interesting illustrations of a variety of imaginative animals including one of a very dramatic dragon. This book is not what one ordinarily thinks of when considering legal documents called last wills and testaments. Instead, it is actually a compilation volume of alchemical texts attributed to Basil Valentine. This was the first translation of Valentine's work into English. An important aspect of this book is the listing of alchemical symbols - a periodic table of sorts well before the work of Mendeleev. These alchemical symbols are carefully tracked by groups interested in alchemy including the Rosicrucians. A recent project at the University of Indiana notes the overlap between Valentine's symbology and that of Sir Isaac Newton. The offered first edition is relatively rare. USTC lists fifteen copies of this book in U.S. libraries and forty-two copies in any library worldwide. RBH lists five sales of this title in the current century. This is the second issue of the third English edition, although USTC identifies only three copies of any prior edition in any library. This book is rebacked, new boards, missing last leaf (perhaps 1 page of text); Also lacking pp 313-342 (but this is also lacking in Mellon copy and other copies). This book is discussed in Neville's Historical Chemical Library p. 89; Read, pp. 193-211 and Partington's A History of Chemistry in some detail. Further discussion is in "A Bibliography of the History of Science" formed from ISIS Critical Bibliographies 1, 90. 1913 to 1965, Magda Whitrow, ed., 2 vols. (London, 1971). Other references include Cushing B150; DSB XIII 560; Duveen 49; Edelstein 157; Ferguson I, 82; Hall, 35; Mellon 129, Wellcome II, 111; Wing, B1018.

N° de réf. du vendeur EBS100126

Détails bibliographiques

• Titre: The Last Will and Testament of Basil Valentine
• Éditeur: S.G. and B.G. or Edward Brewster, London
• Date de parution: 1671
• Reliure: Hardcover
• Édition: 1st Edition.
• État de l'article: Very Good
• État de la jaquette: Very Good
• Catalogues du vendeur:
  • Chemistry
  • Alchemy