The Emerald Tablet, one of the root texts of alchemy, is a brief alchemical work attributed to Hermes Trismegistus. Historically the work is part of the Hermetic corpus and seems to have the same origins as the rest of the Corpus Hermeticum.
This edition is a collection of new translations of those earliest extant Arabic and Latin versions with accompanying essay and commentary. It is a distillation of the chapter on the Emerald Tablet in my forthcoming book Alchemy: The Poetry of Matter. There I present a more complete discussion, analysis, and experimentation. Here I present it as a Hermetic work of art – a talismanic book in form, function, and result. The Emerald Tablet is not only a fresh contribution to alchemical studies it is also an example of book art at its finest.
Drawing on the elements of Islamic and Western sacred geometry in their design, the two cover emblems visually indicate the Arabic side and the Latin side of the book. The overall design and typesetting from case to cover to page to word to letter evolved from the same Hermetic principles and follows from these same geometries.
Of special note is the use of the Arabic Calligraphy Engine (ACE), a proprietary software developed by DecoType, in typesetting the book. ACE enables typesetting with the full range of calligraphic expression that written Arabic demands.
Designed by Brian Cotnoir. Typeset by Lara Captan – English and Latin in Seria & Seria Sans by Martin Majoor; the Arabic in DecoType Naskh by Thomas Milo & Mirjam Somers. Letterpress printed by Roni Gross on Magnani Book paper with marbled end sheets. Cover Emblem Designs by Daud Sutton. Bound by Biruta Auna. Polymer plates by Boxcar Press. -Publisher
Text in English, Arabic and Latin.
