Toux, Jean Louis Lucas de (& others)

Collectanea, versiones et scripta rarissima, a quodam Theophilo, Hermeticae Philosophiae scrutatore sedulo, hoc in libro propria manu referta et multis elucidata, cujus nomen sub anagrammate 'Vocavi Sol candens exulto divus (i.e. Joannes Ludovicus Lucas de Toux) anno ... MDCCXXX. With additions in Russian, Latin, French and German, by Theodor Karzavin. On fol. 17v is a circular 'Schema elementorum philosophorum' in yellow and black, and on p. 237 a pen-drawn symbolic figure: the alchemical signs on pp. 238-243 are in black and yellow. Spaces have been left in No. 29 for the illustrations. No. 1 is written on the rectos only. Titles of the separate treatises translated into Russian are on small inserted slips.

1762

1 volume 3 ll. + 17 ff. + pp. 18-453. folio. 291/2 × 181/2 cm. Original calf binding worn.

Purchased 1935.

In the lower margin of p. 452 'Ex bibliis Car[zh]avinianis [Karzavinianis]'. The name of 'Theodore Karjavine' in Roman capitals is stamped in red on the title-page: also that of 'Sulakadzev. 1771' in Cyrillic characters in red. The latter is repeated on ff. 39, 152, 382, 452. In the lower margin of the title-page is a Russian inscription in red ink stating that this MS. was acquired in 1812 for 700 roubles. Pasted inside the lower cover is the book-plate of V. I. Klotchkov, antiquarian book-seller of 55 Liteyny Prospect, St. Petersburg.

Database description transcribed from S.A.J. Moorat, Catalogue of Western Manuscripts on Medicine and Science in the Wellcome Historical Medical Library (London: Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine, 1962-1973).

There is an account of the Rosicrucians in Russia in A. E. Waite's 'Brotherhood of the Rosy Cross', 1924, Ch. xix, but it deals mainly with the spread of Freemasonry in that country, and for a period later than that of this MS.