Bibliotheca Alchemica et Chemica: An annotated Catalogue of printed Books on Alchemy, Chemistry and Cognate Subjects in the Library of Denis I. Duveen

London: E. Weil, 1965 4to (25.5 cm), VII, 669 pp, 8 leaves of plates. Publisher's cloth (binding slightly dusted and rubbed). Reprint of the first edition published in 1949, which was limited to 200 copies. British chemist Denis I. Duveen (1910-1992) embarked on his journey of collecting books on alchemy and early chemistry while studying at Oxford. Initially encompassing all areas of chemistry with a particular focus on alchemy, Duveen's collection took a distinctive turn during his time in Paris, where he developed a keen interest in the works of Antoine Lavoisier and other French chemists. Despite the onset of World War II, a significant portion of his extensive collection remained in France, clandestinely stored in a farmer’s barn during the Nazi occupation. Undeterred by the chaos of war, Duveen continued to expand his collection, amassing over 3,000 volumes by the late 1940s. This catalogue offers a glimpse into his remarkable collection before he sold most of it to the University of Wisconsin in 1950. "In this catalogue the system which has been followed is that of listing the authors in alphabetical order and their various works in chronological order. To make the catalogue as convenient and useful as possible copious indexing has been provided and cross references have been freely used" (from the Preface).