A Dictionary of Alchemical Imagery

A 1999 Dictionary of alchemical symbolism from the early centuries AD to the late-twentieth century.

Lyndy Abraham (Author)

9780521000000, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 8 February 2001

272 pages, 50 b/w illus.
24.7 x 17.5 x 1.7 cm, 0.474 kg

'Beautifully produced and a credit to both Cambridge University Press and to its indefatigable author.” Australian Book Review

This 1999 Dictionary documents alchemical symbolism from the early centuries AD to the late-twentieth century, for use by historians of literary culture, philosophy, science and the visual arts, and readers interested in alchemy and hermeticism. Emphasising literary and intellectual references in the Western tradition written in or translated into English, the Dictionary focuses most closely on works current in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries when alchemy captivated the minds of figures such as Sir Walter Raleigh and Isaac Newton. Each entry includes a definition of the symbol, giving the literal (physical) and figurative (spiritual) meanings, an example of the symbol used in alchemical writing, and a quotation from a literary source. Drawing from the holdings of the Ferguson Collection at the University of Glasgow, the Dictionary offers a representative selection of fifty visual images (graphic woodcuts, copperplate engravings, hand-painted emblems), some of which have not been reproduced since they first appeared.

List of figures
Acknowledgements
Abbreviations
Introduction
A dictionary of alchemical imagery
Bibliography
Index of alchemical and literary authors.

Subject Areas: Language: reference & general [CB], History of art / art & design styles [AC]