1662 Basel Edition ,
DE SECRETIS LIBRI XVII “BOOK OF SECRETS”: NATURAL MAGIC, ASTROLOGY, DEMONOLOGY & MEDICINE
Major early-modern encyclopaedia of “secrets of nature” with extensive Index, diagrams, and woodcut device/initials.
By Johann Jacob Wecker
Author Bio: Johannes Jacob Wecker (1528–1586) was a Swiss physician and philosopher. He worked as a doctor from 1566 and wrote a number of works about medicine, some of which were in both French and Latin. His works occasionally attracted controversy typical of early modern ‘books of secrets’ and natural magic. Wecker moved to Basel after having published Les Secrets de Wecker. For a number of years, he worked as a professor of logic at the local university.
Synopsis: A substantial 17th-century “book of secrets” (Secreta) compiling practical and philosophical material “ex variis authoribus” into seventeen books. Wecker’s De secretis is far more than a recipe collection: it presents “abstrusa veritatis arcana” (hidden truths) across theology, natural philosophy and the operative arts, combining discussion of angels, demons and their powers (with extended demonological index entries), astrology (De astris, including the sun and moon), and natural-magical / chemical experiments (including mixtures said to ignite with water), alongside medical and household knowledge. The volume includes a large index, extensive lists of authorities drawn upon (including classical and Renaissance authors such as Aristotle, Hippocrates, Galen, Avicenna, Albertus Magnus, Agrippa and Della Porta), and striking typographic diagrams mapping the universal “dispositio” of the whole work and its classification of knowledge and the mechanical arts.
Format: Hardcover, Crown octavo (8vo 5+3⁄8 × 8 137 × 203)
Collation: [preliminary leaves], 667 pp., [index leaves]. Two blank leaves preceding title-page; title-page verso blank. Main text begins at leaf signed A; final leaf signed X3.
Language: Latin
Published By: Sumptibus Johannis Regis (Johann König); excudebat Johann Rudolph Genath, Basel
Condition Report:
Dust Jacket: No Jacket, Dust Jacket Condition: No Jacket
Good - Shelf wear and bumping to spine and boards. Some age related yellowing of pages. Some marginalia. Illustrated throughout with woodcuts (device on title page, Johann König / Johannis Regis, and numerous woodcut initials/figures).
17 cm. (8vo).
Note: Format/size selection follows standard bibliographic conventions and is approximate; exact measurements may vary. Please see photos as part of condition report
SKU: BTETM0002004
Shipping Info: Approximate Package Dimensions H: 12.5, L: 30, W: 25 (Units: cm), W: 2Kg
Tracked Shipping, Insurance Coverage as per Customer Request
1662 Basel Edition ,
DE SECRETIS LIBRI XVII “BOOK OF SECRETS”: NATURAL MAGIC, ASTROLOGY, DEMONOLOGY & MEDICINE
Major early-modern encyclopaedia of “secrets of nature” with extensive Index, diagrams, and woodcut device/initials.
By Johann Jacob Wecker
Author Bio: Johannes Jacob Wecker (1528–1586) was a Swiss physician and philosopher. He worked as a doctor from 1566 and wrote a number of works about medicine, some of which were in both French and Latin. His works occasionally attracted controversy typical of early modern ‘books of secrets’ and natural magic. Wecker moved to Basel after having published Les Secrets de Wecker. For a number of years, he worked as a professor of logic at the local university.
Synopsis: A substantial 17th-century “book of secrets” (Secreta) compiling practical and philosophical material “ex variis authoribus” into seventeen books. Wecker’s De secretis is far more than a recipe collection: it presents “abstrusa veritatis arcana” (hidden truths) across theology, natural philosophy and the operative arts, combining discussion of angels, demons and their powers (with extended demonological index entries), astrology (De astris, including the sun and moon), and natural-magical / chemical experiments (including mixtures said to ignite with water), alongside medical and household knowledge. The volume includes a large index, extensive lists of authorities drawn upon (including classical and Renaissance authors such as Aristotle, Hippocrates, Galen, Avicenna, Albertus Magnus, Agrippa and Della Porta), and striking typographic diagrams mapping the universal “dispositio” of the whole work and its classification of knowledge and the mechanical arts.
Format: Hardcover, Crown octavo (8vo 5+3⁄8 × 8 137 × 203)
Collation: [preliminary leaves], 667 pp., [index leaves]. Two blank leaves preceding title-page; title-page verso blank. Main text begins at leaf signed A; final leaf signed X3.
Language: Latin
Published By: Sumptibus Johannis Regis (Johann König); excudebat Johann Rudolph Genath, Basel
Condition Report:
Dust Jacket: No Jacket, Dust Jacket Condition: No Jacket
Good - Shelf wear and bumping to spine and boards. Some age related yellowing of pages. Some marginalia. Illustrated throughout with woodcuts (device on title page, Johann König / Johannis Regis, and numerous woodcut initials/figures).
17 cm. (8vo).
Note: Format/size selection follows standard bibliographic conventions and is approximate; exact measurements may vary. Please see photos as part of condition report
SKU: BTETM0002004
Shipping Info: Approximate Package Dimensions H: 12.5, L: 30, W: 25 (Units: cm), W: 2Kg
Tracked Shipping, Insurance Coverage as per Customer Request
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