Stanislas Klossowski - El Juego Áureo - 1988

Scarce and highly attractive first Spanish edition of Stanislas Klossowski de Rola's celebrated work on alchemical iconography, published by Ediciones Siruela in Madrid in 1988.

This substantial large-format volume presents an extraordinary collection of 533 alchemical engravings from the 17th century, exploring the complex visual language, symbolism and philosophical traditions of European alchemy.

Klossowski de Rola brings together imagery from some of the most important alchemical and Hermetic sources of the period. The book reproduces and discusses emblematic material associated with major figures and works of the alchemical tradition, including Michael Maier, Johann Daniel Mylius, Lambsprinck, Jacob Böhme and the Mutus Liber, together with imagery connected with celebrated engravers and publishers such as the De Bry family, Matthäus Merian and Romeyn de Hooghe.

The result is both an important reference work and a remarkable visual compendium of seventeenth-century alchemy, Hermetic philosophy and emblematic art.

This example is particularly desirable as it retains its original illustrated slipcase, often missing from surviving copies.

Bibliographical details
Author: Stanislas Klossowski de Rola
Title: El Juego Áureo – 533 grabados alquímicos del siglo XVII
Publisher: Ediciones Siruela
Place of publication: Madrid
Year: 1988
Edition: First Spanish edition
Language: Spanish
Translation: José Antonio Torres Almodóvar
Graphic design: Jacobo Siruela
Illustrations: 533 alchemical engravings
Binding: Publisher's hardcover
Original illustrated slipcase: Present
Format: Large folio-format volume
Approximate dimensions: 32 × 23 cm

Provenance

From the library of Lino and Clara María Llamas González de Amezúa.

The volume retains their original “Lino & Clara María Llamas – Ex Libris” bookplate, preserved on the front endpaper.

This ex-libris provides an additional provenance element and adds bibliographical and collecting interest to the volume.

Condition

Complete with the original illustrated slipcase.

The book itself is in very good condition, particularly internally, with clean and well-preserved pages and illustrations.

The original slipcase shows visible signs of age and use, including foxing/staining, rubbing and wear, particularly along the spine and edges. There is also some localized surface wear, all clearly visible in the photographs.

The binding remains presentable and the interior is notably better preserved than the exterior slipcase.

The original Lino & Clara María Llamas ex-libris remains in place.

Please examine the photographs carefully, as they form an integral part of the condition description.

A particularly attractive and complete example of this important Siruela publication, retaining both its original slipcase and distinguished provenance, and an excellent addition to a collection devoted to alchemy, Hermeticism, esotericism, occult literature, emblem books, symbolism or seventeenth-century engraving.