electronic facsimile edition of Lazarus Zetzner's collection of alchemical texts

Tables of contents
with internal hyperlinks

Compiling a table of contents for the volumes of Theatrum chemicum is not an easy task. The titles of individual treatises are usually worded differently in the "elenchus", at the beginning of the actual text and in the running headers, and they are sometimes also known under different titles from other editions. In many cases it is not clear whether a treatise without any indication of authorship is anonymous or by the same author as the preceding text. For the tables of contents included here several earlier attempts were consulted, viz.:

• H. C. Bolton, A select bibliography of chemistry, Washington 1893 (= Smithonian Miscellaneous Collections, vol. XXXVI), p. 1051-1058
• J. Ferguson, Bibliotheca chemica, Glasgow 1906, vol. 2, p. 436-439
• A. L. Caillet, Manuel bibliographique des sciences psychiques ou occultes, Paris 1912, vol. 3, p. 591-595 (after N. Lenglet Dufresnoy, Histoire de la philosophie hermétique, Paris 1742, vol. 3, p. 49)
• T. Hofmeier, [collation of the three editions of Theatrum chemicum, the planned compilation by I. Habrecht and J. J. Manget's Bibliotheca chemica curiosa], appendix to: C. Gilly, "On the genesis of L. Zetzner's Theatrum Chemicum in Strasbourg" in: Magia, alchimia, scienza dal '400 al '700. L'influsso di Ermete Trismegisto, ed. C. Gilly, C. van Heertum, Firenze: Centro Di, 2003, p. 435-441, with a bibliography of original editions on p. 442-446

While Ferguson's listing is the most detailed, that by Hofmeier/Gilly is the most comprehensive as it covers all editions (though without page numbers for the first two) and identifies the originals where possible. On comparing those tables with the volumes used for the electronic edition, a number of minor discrepancies and inaccuracies were discovered in each of them, so the present tables of contents were compiled from original prints, but taking into account the information from those listed above. As the reproduced volumes of Theatrum chemicum are from two editions, care should be taken when quoting page numbers as they may differ considerably (and a section of vol. 5 has folio numbering). The depth of included structure of texts is that determined by the running headers, so that prefaces and dedicatory epistles are also shown.