London has it all, vampire bats, ghosts, magic and these can all be found in London's oldest occult bookshop. The Atlantis bookshop in Bloomsbury has been around for 90 years weaving their spells and magic.
Showing posts with label occult. Show all posts
Showing posts with label occult. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Nik the Vampire Bat
London has it all, vampire bats, ghosts, magic and these can all be found in London's oldest occult bookshop. The Atlantis bookshop in Bloomsbury has been around for 90 years weaving their spells and magic.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Item of the Month, June 2011 - "An important alchemical manuscript..."
This year's Manchester International Festival sees the premier of a new opera, based on the life of the Elizabethan mathematician, astrologer and alchemist, John Dee.
We've already tweeted about the Opera and flagged up some Dee-related items from our collections. We didn't highlight the following item however, saving it for a more detailed 'Item of the Month' post.
What you see here is a page from our MS.239, titled 'Practica et accurtaciones Georgii Ryplay et Raimundi' (in other words, notes on the alchemists George Ripley and Ramon Lull). It consists of 67 pages, in English and Latin, written in italic and in a secretary hand - the handwriting being that of John Dee himself.
The manuscript was purchased for Henry Wellcome on 17th February 1931 from an auction at Sotheby's, where it was described in the sale catalogue as "an important Alchemical manuscript...on the transmutation of metals and search for the Elixir of Life". Tha author of the sale catalogue was guarded on its provenance, stating it was "probably in the hand of John Dee" but noting the manuscript's "very detailed resemblances to the varied hand of Dee".
By the time the manuscript was catalogued by the Wellcome, cataloguer S.A.J. Moorat was more certain of Dee being its author, noting that "there seems little doubt that this MS. is by the hand of the famous astrologer and alchemist". Moorat noted the initials J.D. are found - identical with those in other authentic Dee MSS - on five of the manuscript's pages.
Also noted by Moorat - and visible on the image above - is Dee's small 'ladder sign' given as one of his attributable marks in the 1921 title Preface to the List of MSS. formerly owned by Dr. John Dee. This reference work was produced by the then Provost of Eton College, Montague Rhodes James - now remembered more for his seminal tales of the supernatural, than for his scholarly research.
It's rather fitting that Dee and James are linked by this manuscript: it's easy to imagine its occult contents - and the elucidation of them by curious antiquarians - to lie at the dark heart of one of James's stories.
For more on the possible influence of Dee on James's story 'Count Magnus', see this essay from the M R James site, Ghosts and Scholars
We've already tweeted about the Opera and flagged up some Dee-related items from our collections. We didn't highlight the following item however, saving it for a more detailed 'Item of the Month' post.
What you see here is a page from our MS.239, titled 'Practica et accurtaciones Georgii Ryplay et Raimundi' (in other words, notes on the alchemists George Ripley and Ramon Lull). It consists of 67 pages, in English and Latin, written in italic and in a secretary hand - the handwriting being that of John Dee himself.
The manuscript was purchased for Henry Wellcome on 17th February 1931 from an auction at Sotheby's, where it was described in the sale catalogue as "an important Alchemical manuscript...on the transmutation of metals and search for the Elixir of Life". Tha author of the sale catalogue was guarded on its provenance, stating it was "probably in the hand of John Dee" but noting the manuscript's "very detailed resemblances to the varied hand of Dee".
By the time the manuscript was catalogued by the Wellcome, cataloguer S.A.J. Moorat was more certain of Dee being its author, noting that "there seems little doubt that this MS. is by the hand of the famous astrologer and alchemist". Moorat noted the initials J.D. are found - identical with those in other authentic Dee MSS - on five of the manuscript's pages.
Also noted by Moorat - and visible on the image above - is Dee's small 'ladder sign' given as one of his attributable marks in the 1921 title Preface to the List of MSS. formerly owned by Dr. John Dee. This reference work was produced by the then Provost of Eton College, Montague Rhodes James - now remembered more for his seminal tales of the supernatural, than for his scholarly research.It's rather fitting that Dee and James are linked by this manuscript: it's easy to imagine its occult contents - and the elucidation of them by curious antiquarians - to lie at the dark heart of one of James's stories.
For more on the possible influence of Dee on James's story 'Count Magnus', see this essay from the M R James site, Ghosts and Scholars
Monday, May 10, 2010
Wellcome Library Insight - The Occult
This week's free Wellcome Library Insight session - on Thursday 13th May - explores the Library's collections relating to the Occult.
Our Insight sessions offer visitors to the Wellcome Library an opportunity to explore the variety of our holdings. Sessions are thematic in style, last around an hour and offer a chance to learn about our collections from a member of Library staff.
The session starts at 6.00pm, and tickets are available from the Wellcome Collection Information Desk from 4.30pm onwards. For more details, see the Wellcome Collection website.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Wellcome Library Insights: April - May 2010
Our popular Insight sessions offer visitors to the Wellcome Library an opportunity to explore the variety of our holdings. These free sessions are thematic in style, last around an hour and offer a chance to learn about our collections from a member of Library staff.The Spring 2010 series of Insights begins this Thursday afternoon (8th April) at 3pm, exploring how Native American cultures have been recorded, celebrated and misrepresented, using examples from the Library’s American collections. You can pick up your free ticket for this event from the Wellcome Collection Information Desk from 13.30 on the day. Tickets are issued on a first-come, first-served basis: for more details, see the Wellcome Collection website.
Our upcoming Insights sessions for April and May are:
Caricatures and Cartoons - 22nd April, 3-4pm
Anatomies of London – 29th April, 6-7pm
Fascinating Faces – 6th May, 3-4pm
The Occult - 13th May, 6-7pm
Madness - 20th May, 3-4pm
For more details on attending the sessions, please follow the links above to the appropriate pages on the Wellcome Collection website.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Wellcome Library Insight - The Occult
This week's free Wellcome Library Insight session - on Thursday 4th February - explores the Library's collections relating to the Occult.
Our Insight sessions offer visitors to the Wellcome Library an opportunity to explore the variety of our holdings. Sessions are thematic in style, last around an hour and offer a chance to learn about our collections from a member of Library staff.
The session starts at 3.00pm, there is no need to book but places are limited. For more details, see the Wellcome Collection website.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
