[.ca] Alchemy & Mysticism: The Hermetic Museum (ISBN 3822850381)

A Museum should have better reproductions.:
High praise that somebody said she owned two copies, one as a spare. I agree that this is a nice book to have as a reference, and I'm sure it must be the largest collection of "Hermetick" and "Alchymical" images presently available under one cover. That said, it's pretty small (although to produce this in a large volume would probably put its price out of the range of the average enthusiast), the colors are often badly reproduced, and the text is only excusable because nobody expects much in the way of text from Taschen. The main thing you have here is convenience. I have a large enough collection of books that I can track down superior examples of most of these images...but I have to track them down. With this book, I just flip through the pages. As a companion to this book I would suggest either (preferably, if you can find it) "Alchemy: the Medieval Alchemists and Their Royal Art" by Johannes Fabricius, or (failing that) "The Golden Game: Alchemical Engravings of the Seventeenth Century" by Stanislas Klossowski de Rola, for a better look at the engravings specifically. Also, "Art and Symbols of the Occult" by James Wasserman has the best color reproductions I've seen of the lavishly-painted sixteenth-century alchemical manuscript "Splendor Solis," amidst many other amusing curiosities.

Breathtaking Beauty:
This is an extraordinary collection of art - comprehensive and diverse, spanning a significant portion of human history. Brief descriptions and explanatory text are sprinkled about but the greatest pleasure, in my opinion, derives from the gorgeous reproductions of art related to alchemy and mysticism. I actually own two copies of this book. One that I peruse regularly and another that I shall keep as a spare should my first wear out. It is an excellent gift - very uplifting and immensely inspiring. The subject of alchemy has been somewhat cheapened in our time - reduced to a few basic - often misrepresented - ideas and thrown about by simple minds with incoherent ideas. Few people have encountered the breadth of the subject and the contributions it has made to human civilizations. The inspiration it has provided artists and scientists is immense and this book captures quite a bit of this significance. The author neither advocates existing belief in alchemy and mysticism, nor denies it. It is a historical perspective - largely relayed through imagery - celebrating the great beauty of the subject and the complexities it once contained.

Well worth the price:
I'm not recommending alchemy to anyone. Nevertheless, this book is quite noteworthy for its many, many quality images of alchemical paintings. It's art and it's education; it's beauty and meditation.