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Newsletter No. 2 of alchemy and hermetic books
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ALCHEMY AND HERMETIC MAILING LIST
NEWSLETTER No 2 - March 1997
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The Hermetic Research Series
During 1983 and 1988 Adam McLean published this series of six
paperback books. Most of the early titles are no longer in print.
Over the next months this series will be revived and there are currently
a further four titles actively being prepared - and the first new book in
this series to be issued is the 'Sketches of Scottish Alchemists'. This
series is intended to produce lower priced books to complement the
hardcover Magnum Opus series. They will not be available in book-
shops but can be purchased only by mail order. Although these are
in paperback format, they are specialist items produced in very small
batches, so it is not possible to price them as mass market paper-
backs. However, they will provide some interesting hermetic material
at prices about a third of that of the hardbound Magnum Opus editions.
In general, the series will include essays and new research on hermetic
subjects, and collections of hermetic texts. In order to try to recover my
costs quickly, I am offering for a limited period these two books at the
special discounted price (as below) to people on my mailing list.
The price will have to increase in April.
You can buy copies direct from my web pages using your credit card -
http://www.alchemywebsite.com/bookshop/hermetic_research.html
or e-mail me at
of payment - though Bankers orders, personal cheques etc., will
generally be more expensive.
The response to the first newsletter in which I announced the availability
of the Dee 'Five Books' and 'Heptarchia Mystica', and the 'Steganographia',
has been excellent and there are only a few copies now remaining. I am
planning to produce a further small batch of these in a few months time.
The next newsletter will announce some new developments in the Magnum
Opus series.
Adam McLean
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H.R.S. No. 4. A Compendium on the Rosicrucian Vault
Edited by Adam McLean
This series of eight essays and two source texts on the theme of
the vault of the Rosicrucians, was published in 1984 to mark the
500th anniversary of the symbolic founding of the vault of C.R.
in 1484 as recounted in the Fama fraternitatis. The essays are
entitled:-
The Great Work in the Theatre of the World
Some Remarks on the Vault of Christian Rosenkreutz
The Symbolism of the Rosicrucian Vault
The Rosicrucian Vault as Sepulchre and Wedding Chamber
The Rosicrucian Vault - An Interpretation of the 'Fama fraternitatis'
The 'Naometria' of Simon Studion: Parallels with the symbolism
of the Vault
Michael Maier's 'Atalanta fugiens' emblems: links with the archetypal
symbolism of the Vault.
130 pages. 34 Illustrations. A5 paperback.
£15.00 (including air mail postage)
£13.50 (including surface mail, Europe or UK postage)
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H.R.S. No. 7. Sketches of Scottish Alchemists
Edited by Adam McLean
These biographical sketches of Scottish alchemists were originally written
in 1875 by John Small. He describes in turn:-
Michael Scot;
King James IV's court alchemist who in addition to his alchemical experiments
attempted to fly with artificial wings from the ramparts of Stirling Castle;
Sir George Erskine, privy counsellor to King James VI, who made a extensive
collection of alchemical texts;
John Napier, 'miraculous Merchiston', inventor of logarithms and the computing
device 'Napier's bones', who also actively sought the philosophers' stone;
Sir David Lindsay, who had a great interest in alchemy and Rosicrucianism;
Alexander Seton, the Scot who performed a number of transmutations in the
opening years of the 17th century;
Patrick Ruthven, one of the alchemists imprisoned in the Tower of London
during the Jacobean age;
Patrick Scot, writer of the 'Tillage of Light'.
57 pages. 3 Illustrations. A5 paperback.
£12.00 (including air mail postage)
£11.00 (including surface mail, Europe or UK postage)
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