Alchemical Hands in the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili

Marginalia, Scholarship & Reception

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C.60.o.12 MEDIUM

British Library, London (United Kingdom)

Edition: 1545 | Studied by: Russell 2014 | Dissertation references: 50 | Images in project: Yes

Description

1545 second Aldine edition. Two hands: Ben Jonson (Hand A) and an anonymous alchemist (Hand B). Purchased by Thomas Bourne in 1641. Photo-to-folio offset of 13 verified by visual inspection (photos 001-013 are front matter). BL matches now MEDIUM confidence with 27 pages visually verified.

Annotator Hands

HandAttributionDescription
ABen JonsonFirst hand in the BL copy, convincingly attributed to Ben Jonson. Composed a selective summary foregrounding large-scale visual monuments and vehicles suitable for stage design. Extensive grammatical
BAnonymous (possibly Royal Society circle) (alchemist) [Jean d'Espagnet (Enchiridion Physicae Restitutae)]Anonymous second hand in the BL copy. Inferred alchemical formulae beneath the narrative surface. Labelled passages and woodcuts with alchemical signs (gold, silver, mercury, Venus, Jupiter). Follower

Image Matches

39 images matched to dissertation references.