1675 FIRST EDITION EMBLEMS BOOK ON MAGIC, ESOTERICISM, DIVINATION, CHIROMANCY, ORACLES, SIBYLS, PROPHECIES, ASTROLOGY, ALCHEMY, COSMOLOGY, CLASSICAL GREEK-ROMAN MYTHOLOGY by Pierre Mussard (1627-1686) a French Protestant minister who lived in London. Illustrated with 51 full-page engraved plates/emblems of gods, monsters, mythological beings, famous prophets and sibyls of antiquity and engraved by Jean Louis Durant (1654-1718) a Swiss engraver active in Orléans and Geneva. Bibliotheca Esoterica, 3214: “A beautiful and rare work...Mussard, who was one of the authorities of the Reformed Church in the 17th century, says in his dedicatory epistle that he was inspired by the works of Boissard, Blondel, Vossius and Obsopeus. He also deals with amulets, auguries, vanity, astrology, capromancy, chiromancy, goatis, natural magic, necromancy and sideromancy.” Original antique binding, pages and illustrations in very good condition, references; World Cat OCLC n°955979337; USTC n°6074725; Dorbon-Ainé, Bibliotheca Esoterica, no. 3214; J. Rosenthal, Bibl. Mag. Pneum, no, 1413; Library of Congress BF1750 .M68 1675; Casanatense 608; Cantamessa n. 5425; Caillet n°5191 (1680 edition); Broad, William J., The Oracle: the Lost Secrets and Hidden Message of Ancient Delphi (Penguin Press, 2006); Parke, Herbert William, Sibyls and Sibylline Prophecy, 1988. First edition of this rare work which explores faith, superstition, divination, prophesy, fortune teller, palmistry, soothsayers, gods and sybils; some of the 51 illustrations are based on those by Theodor De Bry (1528-1598) which had appeared in Boissard’s treatise on the same subject and show portraits of gods and hermetic writers including Apollo, Jupiter, Pythagoras, Hermes Trismegistus, Iamblichus, Thoth, and the Sybils. In Republican and Imperial Rome, a college of priests guarded the Sibylline Oracles, sacred texts of Etruscan origin, consulted in case of danger or catastrophe. Sibyls are both historical figures and Greek and Roman mythological figures. They were virgins inspired by a god (usually Apollo) and endowed with prophetic powers, capable of making predictions and providing answers in a state of trance, but in obscure or ambivalent forms. Later, Christians saw the pagan seers' predictions as foreshadowings of the coming of Jesus Christ and his final return. The Genevan born writer Mussard, was a protestant preacher who set out to prove in this work that Roman Catholic customs were derived from paganism. Excellent quality of the illustrations, detailed and well inked, COMPLETE FIRST ILLUSTRATED EDITION. TITLE: Historia deorum fatidicorum, vatum, sibyllarum, phoebadum, apud priscos illustrium cum eorum iconibus: praeposita est dissertatio de divinatione et oraculis. (A history of the gods of fortune-telling, prophets, sibyls, and phoebes, among the ancients, with their icons: a dissertation on divination and oracles is prefaced). AUTHORS: Pierre Mussard (1627-1686), illustrations by Jean Louis Durant (1654-1718), some after Theodor De Bry (1528-1598) PUBLISHER: Petri Chouët or Pierre Chouet DATE: MDCLXXV (1675) printed in Coloniae Allobrogum (Geneva), text in Latin and sometimes in Greek DESCRIPTION: In 4to size, height 208 x width 164 mm (8.2 by 6.5 inches). Pages [8], 249 [i.e. 239], [5]. Engraving vignette on the title page, dozens of copper engravings, half-title, as usual pages 170-179 skipped in the numbering. Handwritten ownership note on the title page. Pale marginal foxing and occasional small stains, a few pages slightly yellowed. Booklet E mounted in the wrong order. Minor, negligible signs of aging. Full, flexible parchment from the period in excellent condition, minor signs of use. COMPLETE FIRST ILLUSTRATED EDITION. SHIPPING: via UPS, DHL, National Postal Services, protected, INSURED and fully tracked package. Estimated time for Europe 3-5 working days. Shipping within one working day, you can combine shipping if you purchases several items from us, saving money and time.