1. I would urge that you read the Using the bibliography page.
2. If you cannot find what you want, email me at and I will try to include any relevant material in the next update.

Background to the web site and bibliography

The purpose of this site is to compile and publish a second edition of my bibliography on alchemy which was first published in 1980 as Alchemy: a bibliography of English-language writings. The bibliography was originally compiled for my Library Association (now the Charted Institute of Library and Information Professionals) Fellowship thesis. The Fellowship was awarded with Distinction. The published bibliography was awarded the Besterman Medal for the best bibliography of 1980 and was well reviewed in the academic press. It has been out of print for quite some time.

I have been interested in alchemy for nearly 50 years, and the bibliography is something I am proud of. It seemed, therefore, to be an interesting project as I am nearing retirement to attempt to bring it up to date - hence these web pages.

The bibliography is very much an ongoing work and will initially be compiled from the use of the Internet. I no longer live near London and it is therefore more difficult to actually consult the book and journal literature. The Internet has been the major development in the course of my working life, and it seems appropriate to capture the wealth of alchemical information and reprints that exist. The advantage of the Internet is the way in which alchemical literature has been made available much more widely. The two main disadvantages are the ephemeral nature of some web sites and the lack of academic rigour applied to the texts that are published. Having entered that caveat, there are of course many good sites, and Adam McLean's  Alchemy web site and virtual library ranks as the best of all and a superb site on any topic. More details will be found in the bibliography.

Why alchemy?

I may develop this theme onto a separate page, but here are some of the reasons that I find alchemy a fascinating topic, in no particular order: 

• The illustrations in alchemical works are some of the most interesting and beautiful ever produced. In my view they are just as good as the better-known Books of Hours.
• the intellectual influences on alchemy itself are extremely interesting.
• the intellectual and cultural influences OF alchemy (either direct or indirect) on the world are even more interesting and extensive. This is really what much of the bibliography is about - documenting the influence of alchemy on the development of science, the Royal Society (Newton & Boyle especially), psychology (Jung), art, literature (from Chaucer to Harry Potter), the history of science, history of chemistry, medicine, music, on Freemasonry, the Rosicrucians, and on many spiritual and religious writers (Boehme, Steiner, etc).
• It contains a fascinating mixture of writers from the occultists to academics (e.g. Dobbs, Principe, Westfall and many others). 
• Just look at the way in which just the word is used as shorthand either for transformation and improvement or for early or primitive. It is a key part of the intellectual baggage of the Western world (it may be for other cultures as well). Search Amazon for the word and look at the contexts in which the word 'alchemy' (and its derivatives) are used: The alchemy of finance: the new paradigm (George Soros); Added value: the alchemy of brand-led growth; The alchemy of policymaking: political manipulation of science; From alchemy to IPO: the business of biotechnology. To quote but a few out of the 617 books that have alchemy in their titles.
• spiritually, it seems that is unusual in being a close combination of the physical and the mystical. I'm no expert, but I believe that this combination is unique amongst all Paths. Concentration on one aspect or another leads to a distortion of the nature of alchemy - either leading to 'puffers' or to mystical speculation not rooted in reality. The physical aspect of alchemy can be seen as a symbol of spiritual transformation, and it is probable that the physical Work cannot be achieved without a spiritual change. The two are intimately linked.
• I came across the following in the paper by Karpenko in Hyle 4 (1988). It seem to summarise alchemy precisely:

One of the problematic issues in alchemy is its definition. The most acceptable seems to be the one proposed by Sheppard [Sheppard, H. J.: 1986, 'European Alchemy in the Context of a Universal Definition', Wolfenbütteler Forschungen, Bd. 32, 13 - 17]: "Alchemy is the art of liberating parts of the Cosmos from temporal existence and achieving perfection which, for metals is gold, and for man, longevity, then immortality and, finally, redemption. Material perfection was sought through the action of a preparation (Philosopher's Stone for metals; Elixir of Life for humans), while spiritual ennoblement resulted from some form of inner revelation or other enlightenment (Gnosis, for example, in Hellenistic and western practices).”

Can you help?

I would welcome help in the following areas:

• Any offprints, reprints, unpublished papers on any aspect of alchemy and its influences.
• If any publisher could supply copies of books, these would be gratefully received.
• Any information on published or unpublished material would be welcome - as complete references as possible to journal articles, books, pamphlets, etc.
• If you see missing or incomplete bibliographic details please let me know.

Finally

The bibliography is very much an ongoing work and will be changing frequently. Bookmark this page and visit it regularly.

Copyright

The bibliography is copyright © Alan Pritchard 1980-2007.

I am happy for users to download the bibliography and make a single copy for their own private study or research. It is not to be placed on any other web site or otherwise distributed without my written permission.

If you want to contact me email me at alan.pritchard@gmail.com

Alan Pritchard

27 May 2007

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