Ehrenrettung der Hermetischen Kunst (1786) — A Rare Window Into Alchemy, Hermetic Science, and Enlightenment-Era Esoterica
In the world of rare books and occult scholarship, few artifacts offer a direct connection to the intellectual and spiritual concerns of the late eighteenth century the way this 1786 German Hermetic treatise does. Printed in Erfurt by Georg Adam Keyser, this first-edition volume brings together alchemical theory, natural philosophy, early chemistry, and the evolving European fascination with secret knowledge just decades before the public emergence of organizations later associated with Hermeticism and speculative esoteric movements. Works of this type seldom survive intact, making this example an extraordinary opportunity for collectors, researchers, and institutions focused on early science and occult history.
Historical Background and Authorship
Authored by Johann Christoph Henckel and Heinrich Christoph Friedrich Knoll, Ehrenrettung der Hermetischen Kunst (translated roughly as “The Defense of the Hermetic Art”) attempts to legitimize alchemy and chrysopoeia by grounding them in observable chemical and physical principles. Rather than positioning alchemy as mystical speculation, the text argues that its methods can be demonstrated, repeated, and understood even by practitioners of “middling skill.”
This places the work squarely in a transitional era of European intellectual history. By the 1780s, Enlightenment rationalism was influencing traditional esoteric arts, prompting alchemists and hermeticists to reinterpret their disciplines through the lens of empirical science. Books like this one stand at the crossroads of magic, chemistry, metaphysics, and natural philosophy.
The volume’s German origin is also notable. Late eighteenth-century German states were major centers of Hermetic revival, Rosicrucian activity, and early Enlightenment-era societies dedicated to symbolic knowledge, philosophical inquiry, and the pursuit of universal science. Surviving works from this milieu are aggressively collected by both private enthusiasts and academic archives.
Technical Description and Physical Details
This example contains two volumes of the original three, bound together in a period leather spine with decorative paper-covered boards. Pagination includes pages 3–62 and 72, consistent with known surviving incomplete sets. Features include hand-set Fraktur type, period signatures, and foxing indicative of eighteenth-century German rag-paper stock.
The binding is original to the era and exhibits expected age-related wear including hinge cracking, discoloration, and foxing. Despite these issues, the volume remains structurally sound and highly presentable for a 238-year-old scientific–esoteric text.
Because the surviving corpus of this title is extremely small, even partially complete examples hold significant research and collectible value.
Why This Book Matters to Collectors and Scholars
Hermetic and alchemical texts from the late eighteenth century occupy a unique position in both scientific and esoteric history. They reflect the moment when mystical traditions were being reinterpreted through the developing sciences of chemistry and physics, while still retaining symbolic language inherited from centuries of European alchemical practice.
Collectors value these works for several reasons:
Early printed alchemical texts are increasingly scarce
German Hermetic materials are highly sought after by esoteric archives
Eighteenth-century occult treatises rarely survive in private hands
Works that attempt to merge science with Hermeticism appeal to interdisciplinary researchers
First editions from regional printers such as Keyser are limited in surviving count
Very few eighteenth-century Hermetic volumes come to market in any condition, and almost none with period binding intact.
Estimated Appraised Value
Based on recent sales of comparable eighteenth-century alchemical and Hermetic works, scarcity, subject matter, condition, and authorship, the estimated fair market value for this example ranges from 2,500 to 4,000 dollars. Values may exceed this range for institutional buyers, Hermetic libraries, or advanced collectors seeking pre-1800 occult material. Because the market for esoteric and alchemical first editions remains strong and supply is shrinking, long-term appreciation is likely.
Before You Act
Eighteenth-century Hermetic and alchemical books are frequently misunderstood due to incomplete sets, later rebindings, facsimile title pages, and incorrect attribution of printers or editions. Apparent age and esoteric subject matter alone do not establish first-edition status, completeness, or institutional value, and small bibliographic details can materially affect both scholarship and pricing.
If uncertainty remains, a Fast Opinion provides a disciplined first-stage review based on submitted images—helping assess edition authenticity, completeness risk, and whether further evaluation is warranted before buying, selling, or insuring.
