ALBERT THE GREAT (Brother). The Admirable Secrets... Lot 7

ALBERT THE GREAT (Brother). The Admirable Secrets of Albert the Great, containing several treatises on the conception of women, the virtues of herbs, precious stones, and animals; augmented by a curious abridgment of physiognomy, and a preservative against the plague, malignant fevers, poisons, and infection of the air; drawn and translated from old manuscripts of the author, which had not yet appeared, which will be seen more fully in the table, and which will have been added in this last edition. Divided into four books. Lyon, chez les héritiers de Beringos, 1777. Small in-12 of 252 pp. including the engraved frontispiece. Basane jaspée, smooth threaded spine, title page (period binding). Spine worn, some spotting, light spotting. According to Brunet, this work "le Petit Albert" is the counterpart of the apocryphal book "Les admirables secrets d'Albert Le Grand, nouvellement traduits et illustrez de diverses augmentations et de figures", Cologne, 1706. The pseudonym "Little Albert" was used for the publication of certain esoteric works in reference to the eminent 12th century Dominican theologian and philosopher Albert Le Grand. Although very rare today, it was a great success in its time and was widely distributed in markets and fairs (Caillet).