[THEOLOGY AS VISUAL COMMUNICATION AND DIAGRAMMATICS] Die Schoepfung der Welten in zehn Stein Abdrücken, vorgestellt und erklärt [The creation of the worlds in ten stone impressions, presented and explained].

Klein, Johann Georg.

About this Item

Strasbourg: G. L. Schuler, [1826]. Octavo (18.6 × 15.5 cm). Contemporary interim binding; [2], 22 pp. and 5 folded plates with 10 lithographed circle diagrams. Somewhat dust-soiled; title page with private owner's stamp (Heinrich Tränker, 1880-1956, the occultist and antiquarian bookseller); else about very good. First edition of this rare publication, described by the publisher as "a phantastic, more than apocalyptic reverie." Klein attempts to ?clear away the difficulties that were previously seen in the creation story described by Moses? (transl. from the preface). Johann Georg Klein, a preacher from Strasbourg (Meusel, Das gelehrte Teutschland, vol. 1, Lemgo 1824), wanted to produce nothing less than a ?New System of Creation? with his work. He had previously published writings on baptism and the Lord's Supper, a ?Warning against false prophets,? a ?History of the Revelation of John,? etc. What is remarkable about this publication is that the circle diagrams are not merely illustrations of the text, but conversely the texts serve as descriptions or explanations of the individual panels.The reference points of this creation story based on circular diagrams are unmistakable, although unnamed, i.e. those medieval, richly illustrated manuscripts in which God the Father is depicted with a compass creating the microcosm and macrocosm in concentric circles (according to the interpretation of Plato's ?Timaeus? that prevailed in the School of Chartres at the time), according to measure and number (cf. Codex Vindobonensis 2554). Klein uses the abstract circle diagrams to write extensively about the fall of Lucifer, the ?emergence of the dark world,? and finally ends with a narrative and embellished interpretation of the Apocalypse of John.From the collection of Heinrich Tränker, German (antiquarian) bookseller, occultist, Rosicrucian and Theosophist, also known as Frater Recnartus. As of May 2024, KVK, OCLC show no copies in North America. Seller Inventory # 54027

Bibliographic Details

Title: [THEOLOGY AS VISUAL COMMUNICATION AND ...

Edition: 1st Edition