In a room reminiscent of a magician's study, the King, dressed in a cloak as Friar Bacon (a necromancer of popular fable), evokes visions of the royal power while the brazen head speaks. Each vision is represented by a large medallion inscribed, "Constitution," and shows a different balance of power between the king and both houses of Parliament. On the left, Fox, Burke, and North, peek in through an open door, appearing alarmed. On the right, a number of men walk down the "back stairs." The first of them, carrying a conspirator's lantern and led by the devil, is Lord Temple
Description:
Title etched below image., Printmaker from British Museum catalogue., Sheet trimmed within plate mark., and Mounted to 28 x 41 cm.
Publisher:
Pubd. March 3d, 1784, by W. Humphrey, No. 227 Strand
Subject (Geographic):
Great Britain
Subject (Name):
George III, King of Great Britain, 1738-1820, Fox, Charles James, 1749-1806, Burke, Edmund, 1729-1797, North, Frederick, Lord, 1732-1792, Buckingham, George Nugent Temple Grenville, Marquess of, 1753-1813, Bacon, Roger, 1214?-1294., and Pitt, William, 1759-1806.
Subject (Topic):
Politics and government, Wizards, Magic, and Devil
Manuscript on paper of a private compilation. The two well known works entered into the codex deal with magical properties ascribed to certain gems and the supernatural significance of the carving of stones. Together with these formal texts are found other extremely varied materials: procedures for restoring wine which has suffered various accidents, for making glass of different colors, for the early ripening of grapes, for making an ass bray loudly, for frightening dogs, and so forth
Description:
In Latin and Italian., Watermark: unidentified flower-petal., Script: Probably written by a single hand, employing a Gothico antiqua on ff. 1-11r, with a less formal treatment of the same elsewhere, and more cursive writing for the passages in Italian; the writing relatively careful at the beginning, progressively less so until the end., Red ink for most headings, red capitals and paragraph marks, except on f. 11v-12r and 16v-17r, which are without color., Lower margins affected by damp throughout and partly repaired with blank paper., and Binding: Nineteenth century. Paper boards, more recent gilt-stamped label on backstrip.
Grant, C. J. (Charles Jameson), active 1830-1852, printmaker
Published / Created:
[approximately 1833]
Call Number:
Folio 75 G750 833 Copy 2 (Oversize) Box 2
Image Count:
1
Resource Type:
still image
Abstract:
"Politician enclosed in a magic circle trying to take away monsters, witches, skeletons and animals with politicians' features."--British Museum online catalogue
Alternative Title:
Municipal scarification incantation, to prevent Lord John's operation of his charmed purgation ...
Description:
Title from item., Attributed to Charles Jameson Grant in the British Museum online catalogue., Date of publication from the British Museum online catalogue., Wood engraving with letterpress text., Imperfect; sheet trimmed with loss of imprint and series statement. Missing text supplied from impression in the British Museum., Numbered "94" in brown ink in lower left corner of design., Mounted on blue paper backing., and No. 94.
Publisher:
Printed and published by G. Drake, 12, Houghton Street, Clare Market
"A bogus wizard stands raising his wand while a grotesque figure, in answer, snorting fire, emerges in clouds of smoke from a rectangular aperture in the floor (left), dagger in one hand, cup of 'poison' in the other. The dupe, an ugly man in old-fashioned dress, watches terror-struck, while a woman picks his pocket from behind a curtain. A magic circle, with toad, skull, &c, a cat, a book with cabalistic signs, a stuffed crocodile suspended from the ceiling, give the required atmosphere."--British Museum online catalogue
Alternative Title:
Raising the devil
Description:
Title etched below image., Temporary local Medical Library subject terms: Devils & demons -- Cabalism., 1 print : etching and aquatint ; plate mark 29.7 x 34.6 cm., and Hand-colored.
Publisher:
Pubd. March 12, 1800, by R. Ackerman, No. 101 Strand
"A bogus wizard stands raising his wand while a grotesque figure, in answer, snorting fire, emerges in clouds of smoke from a rectangular aperture in the floor (left), dagger in one hand, cup of 'poison' in the other. The dupe, an ugly man in old-fashioned dress, watches terror-struck, while a woman picks his pocket from behind a curtain. A magic circle, with toad, skull, &c, a cat, a book with cabalistic signs, a stuffed crocodile suspended from the ceiling, give the required atmosphere."--British Museum online catalogue
Alternative Title:
Raising the devil
Description:
Title etched below image. and Temporary local Medical Library subject terms: Devils & demons -- Cabalism.
Publisher:
Pubd. March 12, 1800, by R. Ackerman, No. 101 Strand
Date of publication suggested by cataloger. Paul de Philipsthal's magic show, "Phantasmagoria" opened in London in 1801., Woodcut and title centered above text., Text begins: M. De Philipsthal takes the earliest opportunity of informing his patrons ... optical illusions and mechanical pieces of art ... The optical part of the exhibiton will introduce the phantoms or apparitions of the dead or absent, in a way more completely illusive than has ever been offered to the eye of the public theatre, as the objects freely originate in the air and unfold themselves in various forms and sizes ..., Mounted on leaf 15. Copy trimmed., and Bound in three-quarters red morocco leather with marbled boards, with spine title stamped in gold: Old English ballads, woodcuts, vol. 2.
Publisher:
s.n.
Subject (Geographic):
Great Britain. and Great Britain
Subject (Topic):
Magic, Magic shows, Magic tricks, Equipment and supplies, Seances, History, Spiritualism, Magical devices, Magicians, and Theatrical posters
Būnī, Aḥmad ibn ʻAlī, -1225 بوني، أحمد بن علي، -1225
Published / Created:
1874.
Call Number:
Arabic MSS suppl. 759
Image Count:
528
Resource Type:
text
Abstract:
Shams al-maʻārif al-kubrá (Larger Sun of knowledge), by Abū al-ʻAbbās Aḥmad ibn ʻAlī al-Būnī (died 1225), a well-known Ṣufī scholar from the city of Būnah (Bône), now ʻAnnābah (Annaba, Algeria), who died in Cairo. This work is designated "al-kubrá" (the larger) to distinguish it from the author's two other treatises: "al-wusṭá"́ (the middle) and "al-ṣughrá" (the smaller). It is also listed in the text under the title "Shams al-maʻārif wa-laṭāʼif al-ʻawārif" (Sun of knowledge and intricacies of diviners), a treatise on magic, alchemy, astrology, divination, Islamic occultism, the name of God (including 'al-Asmāʼ al-Ḥusná', the 99 beautiful names of God), the magical use of the Arabic Alphabet, and talismans. The present work is a lithographed edition, printed from an original copy from India, in four parts, as follows: al-Juzʼ al-awwal (Part one: Pages 1-132), al-Juzʼ al-thānī (Part two: pages 1-116), al-Juzʼ al-thālith (Part three: pages 1-124), al-Juzʼ al-rābiʻ (Part four: Pages 1-148), followed by an index of contents for the four parts (Pages 1-7). The work was printed on 20 Shawwāl, 1291 of the Hijrah (30 November, 1874). Place and name of the printer not mentioned
Alternative Title:
Shams al-maʻārif wa-laṭāʼif al-ʻawārif and شمس المعارف ولطائف العوارف
Description:
In Arabic., Title from cover., Romanization supplied by cataloger., Incipit: "Bismillāh al-Raḥmān al-Raḥīm. Shahādat azal, fa-min nūr hādhihi al-shahādah ightarafa al-muṣannifūn ʻilman. Fa-ifham dhālik. Wa-al-tartīb al-abadī fī al-shahādatayn al-muttaṣilatayn bi-al-malāʼikah al-kirām. Wa-awwal al-ʻilm fa-hādhihi shahādat al-abad. Fa-man fahima sirr hātayn al-shahādatayn shāhad al-malakūtayn wa-mā awdaʻāhu bi-sirr al-ittiṣāl bi-al-kashfīyāt ...", Secundo folio: Ammā baʻd, fa-lil-ḥaqq aʻlām., 16.5 x 23.5 cm; written surface: 12 x 20 cm; 31 lines per page., Binding: In green cardboard cover and dark brown paper on the spine., In naskh script, in black ink, on white paper; many illustrations and magic squares; text within double frames; catchwords. At the head of the opening page of each of the four parts is a decorative design., On cover: "Shams al-maʻārif al-kubrá", printed in silver., On page 1 of al-Juzʼ al-awwal: "Shams al-maʻārif al-kubrá wa-laṭāʼif al-ʻawārif, fī arbaʻat ajzāʼ, lil-Quṭb al-Imām Aḥmad ibn ʻAlī al-Būnī, wa-bi-nihāyat al-arbaʻat kutub, [al-kutub] al-ātiyah: 1. Kitāb Mīzān al-ʻadl fī maqāṣid aḥkām al-raml. 2. Kitāb Fawātiḥ al-raghāʼib fī khuṣūṣīyāt awqāt al-kawākib. 3. Kitāb Zahr al-murūj fī dalāʼil al-burūj. 4. Kitāb Laṭāʼif al-ishārah fī khaṣāʼiṣ al-kawākib al-sayyārah." "Maṭbūʻ ʻalá al-nuskhah al-Hindīyah al-aṣlīyah." These four books are not included in this codex and seem to serve as an advertisement for works to follow., al-Juzʼ al-thānī (Part two), starts with: "al-Faṣl al-khāmis ʻashar. Fī al-shurūṭ al-lāzimah li-baʻḍ dūna baʻḍ fī al-bidāyāt wa-al-nihāyāt.", al-Juzʼ al-thālith (Part three), starts, after al-Basmalah, with: "al-Faṣl al-ḥādī wa-al-ʻishrūn. Fī Asmāʼ Allāh al-Ḥusná, wa-anmāṭihā, wa-mā li-kull namaṭ min al-daʻawāt.", al-Juzʼ al-rābiʻ (Part four), starts, after al-Basmalah, with: "al-Faṣl al-thāmin wa-al-thalāthūn. Fī istikhdāmāt al-ḥurūf wa-khalawātihā.", Colophon: "Tamma Kitāb Shams al-maʻārif al-kubrá lil-Imām al-Būnī fī ʻishrīn min Shawwāl, sanat 1291 Hijrīyah. Wa-lammā kādat shams ṭabʻihā tabzughu lil-ṭulūʻ arrakhahā baʻḍ al-madmīyīn [al-mādiḥīn] bi-qawlihi, shiʻr [in Ḥisāb al-jummal (Alphabetical reckoninig)]: ... Wa-fīhā ará al-tārīkh jāda bi-qawlihi // yufīdu al-amānī ṭabʻu Shams al-maʻārif. Sanat 1291.", and Translation of the colophon: "The book 'Shams al-maʻārif al-kubrá' of al-Imām al-Būnī was completed on 20 Shawwal, 1291 of the Hijrah [30 November, 1874]. When the sun of its printing started to rise, someone praised it and mentioned the date of printing, in verse [using Ḥisāb al-jummal "Alphabetical reckoning"], saying: ... In it I see the date, saying generously: The printing of Shams al-maʻarif satisfies the wishes. The year 1291."
Subject (Name):
Būnī, Aḥmad ibn ʻAlī, -1225.
Subject (Topic):
Alchemy, Arabic alphabet, Astrology, Divination, God (Islam), Name, Islamic magic, Islamic occultism, Lithographed books, Magic, and Talismans
Būnī, Aḥmad ibn ʻAlī, -1225 بوني، أحمد بن علي، -1225
Call Number:
Hartford Seminary Arabic MSS 93
Image Count:
700
Abstract:
Shams al-maʻārif wa-laṭāʼif al-ʻawārif (also called "Shams al-maʻārif al-kubrá" to distinguish it from the author's two other smaller treatises: al-wusṭa "the middle one" and al-ṣughrá "the little one"), a treatise on magic, alchemy, astrology, devination, Islamic occultism, the name of God and the magical use of the Arabic alphabet by Abū al-ʻAbbās Aḥmad ibn ʻAlī al-Būnī (d. 1225), a famous sufi scholar from the city of Būnah (Bône) now ʻAnnābah (Annaba, Algeria), died in Cairo, Egypt. Name of copyist and place of copying are not mentioned; the date of copying is mentioned enigmatically in the 12th century H (18th century M).
Alternative Title:
Shams al-maʻārif al-kubrá and شمس المعارف الكبرى
Description:
In Arabic., Incipit: "Bismillāh al-Raḥmān al-Raḥīm wa-ṣallá Allāh ʻalá Sayyidinā wa-Mawlānā Muḥammad wa-ṣaḥbihi wa-sallam. al-Ḥamdu lillāh alladhī aḥāṭa bi-kull shayʼ ʻilman wa-ʻallam al-insān mā lam yaʻlam wa-ashhadu an lā ilāh illā Allāh waḥdah lā sharīka lah wa-ashhadu anna Muḥammadan rasūl Allāh ṣallá Allāh ʻalayhi wa-sallam, shahida Allāh an lā ilāh illā huwa shahādat azal, fa-min nūr hādhihi al-shahādah ightaraf al-muṣṭafūn ʻilman, fa-ifham dhālika. Wa-al-tartīb al-abadī fī al-shahādatayn al-muttaṣilatayn bi-al-malāʼikah al-kirām wa-ulī al-ʻilm fa-hādhihi shahādat al-abad, fa-man fahima sirra hātayn al-shahādatayn shāhada al-malakūtayn ...", 20 x 29 cm; written surface: 14 x 22 cm, ca. 30 lines per page., Bound., In fair naskh script, on yellowish paper; keywords and markings in red; some notes and corrections on the margins; magic squares and illustrations; text within double red frames; catchwords., Includes table of contents at the beginning of the manuscript: "al-Faṣl al-awwal fī al-ḥurūf al-muʻjamah wa-mā yatarattabu fīhā min al-asrār wa-al-iḍmārāt. al-Faṣl al-thānī fī al-kasr wa-al-basṭ wa-tartīb al-aʻmāl min al-awqāt wa-al-sāʻāt. al-Faṣl al-thālith fī aḥkām manāzil al-qamar al-thamāniyah wa-ʻishrīn al-falakīyah ...", and Colophon: "... Wa-Allāh asʼalu an yulhima li-fahm mā ramaznāh wa-kashf mā satarnāh akh ṣadīq wa-khill ḥaqq [i.e. akhan ṣadīqan wa-khillan ḥaqqan]. Wa-fī hādhā al-qadr kifāyah li-man waffaqahu Allāh taʻālá wa-lā ḥawla wa-lā qūwata illā billāh al-ʻAlī al-ʻAẓīm wa-ṣallá Allāh ʻalá Sayyidinā Muḥammad wa-ṣaḥbihi ajmaʻīn wa-jamīʻ al-anbiyāʼ wa-al-mursalīn wa-al-ḥamdu lillāh Rabb al-ʻĀlamīn. al-Tārīkh: Fī niṣf awwal min khums thālith min thulth awwal min niṣf thānī min suds thālith min niṣf awwal min khums thānī min ʻushr awwal min qarn thānī ʻashar min hijrat khayr al-bashar ṣallá Allāh ʻalayhi wa-sallama taslīman kathīran. Tamma wa-kamula."
Subject (Name):
Būnī, Aḥmad ibn ʻAlī, -1225.
Subject (Topic):
Alchemy, Arabic alphabet, Astrology, Divination, God (Islam), Name, Islamic magic, Islamic occultism, and Magic
Collection of treatises on magic, astrology, alchemy and Sufism: 1. On the magical qualities of the letters of the Arabic alphabet, their numerical values and their categorization into fire, air, water and earth letters, in Ottoman Turkish (folios1a-2a). 2. Talisman (folio 2a), in Arabic. The copyist (Tawakkulī Muṣṭafá) claims to have seen this talisman in the year 1162 Hijrī (1748/1749) and copied it in Jumād Thānī, 1175 Hijrī (1761/1762). 3. Miftāḥ Kitāb Sāmūr Hindī (Key to the book of the Indian Sāmūr" (folios 2b-22a), by Darwīsh Fatʹḥ Allāh Rūmī (could not be identified), in Ottoman Turkish, an elaborate work on numerology with magic squares. The alleged author "Sāmūr Hindī" (or "Shaykh Sāmūr") could not be identified (probably a fictitious name). Copied in Jumād Awwal, 1188 Hijrī (July/August, 1774). Name of copyist and place of copying not mentioned. 4. Chronology (Silsilah "Chain") of some Sufi order in Ottoman Turkish (folio 22b). 5. Sketch of the zodiac with several magical astronomical tables "zāyirjahs" (folios 23a-26b). 6. Alchemy recipes (27a-29b) on how to convert base metals into gold, in Arabic and Ottoman Turkish. Copied in Shaʻbān 1187 Hijrī (October/November 1773) by Tawakkulī Muṣṭafá. Place of copying not mentioned. 7. Second collection of alchemy recipes (folios 30b-33a). The author wrote at the beginning of these recipes that they were given to him by Sharīf Sayyidī Ḥasan of Diyār Bakr (Diyarbakır, Turkey) in the year 1172 Hijrī (September/October, 1758), at the rate of two words a month. The alleged Sharīf lived after that for fourteen years and died in Muḥarram 1185 Hijrī (April/May, 1771) before being able to finish the alchemy process. 8. Taswīdah (folio 33b), a short alchemy recipe copied on 22 Rajab, 1230 Hijrī (30 June, 1815) by ʻAbd Allāh Muḥammad Luṭfī.
Description:
In Arabic and Ottoman Turkish., Title of the codex supplied by cataloger., Romanization supplied by cataloger., Incipit of the Talisman : "Aqsamtu ʻalaykum ayyuhā al-arwāḥ al-ʻulwīyah wa-al-suflīyah al-mustakhrajūn min taksīr hādhihi al-ḥurūf al-sharīfah al-muwakkalūn wa-al-ḥākimūn ʻalayhā, yā Fakhāʼīl, yā Khaḍāʼīl ...", Incipit of Miftāḥ Kitāb Sāmūr Hindī: "Bismillāh al-Raḥmān al-Raḥīm. al-Ḥamdu lillāh alladhī aẓhara dhawāt al-ʻālimīn bi-amrihi al-qadīm, wa-nawwara al-ʻārifīn bi-tilāwat asmāʼihi al-ʻaẓīm, wa-al-ṣalāh al-dāʼimah ʻalá muẓhir al-dhāt Nabīyih Muḥammad Dhī al-wajh al-karīm wa-ʻalá ālihi wa-awlādihi alladhīna uẓhirū min ʻālam al-rūḥ ilá ʻālam al-jism bi-al-faḍl al-ʻamīm ...", Secundo folio of Miftāḥ Kitāb Sāmūr Hindī: amīdh darkah bayn., Incipit of Alchemy recipes: "Mabqalah qarībah. Taʼkhudh ʻalá barakat Allāh, taʼkhudh min shaʻr ithnay ʻashar ūqiyah wa-min wa-min [repeated] al-ṣābūn [ṣābūn] al-ḥukamā qadr thalāthīn, yaʻnī thamāniyah wa-tisʻīn dirham, tusḥaq farādah thumma tusḥaq maʻa baʻḍ saḥqan balīghan ...", Secundo folio of Alchemy recipes: fī muddat laylah., Incipit of Second collection of alchemy recipes: "Bismillāh al-Raḥmān al-Raḥīm wa-ṣallá Allāh ʻalá Sayyidinā Muḥammad wa-ālihi wa-ṣaḥbihi wa-sallam. Talaqqaynā hādhihi [hādhā] al-ʻilm min Sharīf Sayyidī Ḥasan min Diyār Bakr fī sanat1172, ibtidāʼ kull shahr kalimatayn. ʻĀsha baʻda dhālika arbaʻat ʻashar sanah ḥattá kamulat asmāʼuhā ramzan. Wa-lam kamulat kulluhā, yaʻnī tarkībuhā. ʻAinda al-tarkīb tawaffā [tuwuffiya] fī Muḥarram sanat 1185.", Secundo folio of Second collection of alchemy recipes: ʻalá kānūn ʻalá nār., Incipit of Taswīdah: "Khudh ʻalá barakat Allāh taʻālá min al-kibrīt al-mistakkāwī ūqīyah wa-min al-zinjafr ūqīyah ...", 15 x 20.5 cm; written surfaces: vary ; lines per page vary., Binding: In brown cloth modern binding., In good naskh script in different hands, in black ink on white paper; headings, keywords and markings in red; catchwords., Title of Miftāḥ Kitāb Sāmūr Hindī from folio 2b., On folio 34a an ownership statement: "Ṣāḥibī wa-mālikī Nuʻmān Afandī Madanī al-Ḥanafī, khādim al-Ḥaram al-Sharīf. 1246 Hijrī (1830/1831)., Colophon of the Talisman: "Tammat. Naqaltuhu min risālah taḥrīran fī Jumāda Thānī sanat 1175, wa-raʼaytuhu fī sanat 1162, thumma naqaltuhu fī Jumād Thānī [signature] Tawakkulī Muṣṭafá.", Translation of the colophon of the Talisman: "It is completed. I copied it from a treatise in Jumād Thānī, 1175 [December 1761/January 1762], having seen it in 1162 [December 1748/January 1749] and copied it in Jumād Thānī [signiture], Tawakkulī Muṣṭafá.", Colophon of Miftāḥ Kitāb Sāmūr Hindī: Colophon missing. Ends with numerical calculations., Colophon of of Alchemy recipes: Colophon missing. Ends with: "... wa-in kāna yafḍulu fīhi shayʼ udmushu marratan ukhrah [ukhrá] ḥattá lā yafḍula fīhi min al-māʼ shayʼ wa-yaṣīr mithl al-isfīdāj dawwim minhā ʻalá 6 qamar yaṣīr ibrīzan kāmilan.", and Colophon of Second Alchemy recipes. Colophon missing. Ends with: "... wa-in lam yaghūṣ shammiʻhu bi-waznah min al-miftāḥ, shayʼ fa-shayʼ jarribhu, wa-in waqf awḍiʻ ʻalayh min al-miftāḥ waznah wa-qaṭṭirhu wa-rudda al-qāṭir ʻlayh thāniyan wa-thālithan, wa-ammā thālith marrah lam yaḥmil qābilat qizāz yaṭlīh raṣāṣ aw ṣīnī hindī, hādhā nuqṭat al-ḥāriqah ʻalá al-dhahab wa-al-fiḍḍah."
Subject (Topic):
Alchemy, Astrology, Magic, Magic squares, Numerology, Sufism, and Talismans
Title and date supplied by curator., Place of publication derived from style., and This electronic record is derived from historic data and may not reflect our current information. Review and updating of records is ongoing.
