This collection of 15th to early 20th century books on chemistry and alchemy was bequeathed by James Campbell Brown (1843-1910), Professor of Chemistry at the University from its beginning in 1881 until his death, and author of The first page of the history of University College, Liverpool (1892). Brown's posthumously published A history of chemistry from the earliest times (1920), was based on his manuscript lecture notes, and can clearly be seen to draw significantly from the collection of books he bequeathed to the University of Liverpool.
The collection includes such landmark texts in the history of chemistry as Antoine Laurent Lavoisier, Traité élémentaire de chimie (1789) and John Dalton, New System of Chemical Philosophy (1808-1827). Incunables from the collection (kept separately with the Incunable collection) include works by Albertus Magnus and Vincent de Beauvais Speculum historiale.
Although the texts featured in the spotlight are available to consult by appointment in Special Collections and Archives, links to external digitised copies are provided where possible. The digital copies and the affiliated websites are administrated by external providers and may require subscription credentials.
Alchemy was an early form of chemistry and philosophical thought.
"The best-known goals of the alchemists were the transmutation of common metals into gold (called chrysopoeia) or silver (less well known is plant alchemy, or "spagyric"); the creation of a "panacea", or the elixir of life, a remedy that, it was supposed, would cure all diseases and prolong life indefinitely; and the discovery of a universal solvent. Although these were not the only uses for the discipline, they were the ones most documented and well-known. Certain Hermetic schools argue that the transmutation of lead into gold is analogical for the transmutation of the physical body (Saturn or lead) into Solar energy (gold) with the goal of attaining immortality. This is described as Internal Alchemy. Starting with the Middle Ages, Arabic and European alchemists invested much effort in the search for the "philosopher's stone", a legendary substance that was believed to be an essential ingredient for either or both of those goals." (Source: UCL Object Retrieval)
As time moved on into the early modern period, alchemists began to apply scientific method to their experiments, thus beginning to develop their work into the field of chemistry.
Image from the Wellcome Collection. An elderly alchemist sitting next to his equipment. Engraving by C. Weigel, 1698.
Abū Bakr Muhammad ibn Zakariyyā al-Rāzī. Opera parva Abubetri filii Zacharie (1511). Classmark: SPEC CB.090/A
Folio CCXXXVIII recto. Image from the Wellcome Collection.
Abū Bakr Muhammad ibn Zakariyyā al-Rāzī (also known as Rhazes or Rasis) (854 CE – 925 CE), was a Persian polymath, physician, alchemist, philosopher, and important figure in the history of medicine. A teacher, and early proponent of experimental medicine, he became a successful doctor, and served as chief physician of Baghdad and Rey hospitals. He was among the first to use humorism to distinguish between contagious diseases, and wrote a pioneering book about smallpox and measles. Translated by Gerard of Cremona, the Opera parva combines al-Razi’s al-Manșūrī (an encyclopaedia of practical medicine, derived largely from Greek sources) with several minor works. It also includes Constantinus Africanus’ Viaticum, in which love is characterized as a disease, similar to melancholy in its manifestations and its roots in humoral imbalance. (Source: The Arcadian Library Online)
More generally, al-Razi's ideas in alchemy centered around transmutation and chemical reactions.
___________________________________________________________________
Jabir ibn Hayyan. Alchemiae Gebri Arabis philosophi solertissimi libri; cum reliquis (1545). Classmark: SPEC CB.093/A
Known as the father of Arab Chemistry and one of the most famous Alchemists, Jabir ibn Hayyan "dedicated his work to the development of basic chemical methods using experimentation and the study of chemical reactions and their principles, thus paving the road for transforming chemistry from the realm of myths and legends to a scientific discipline".
"Jabir is credited with the introduction of experimental methodology into alchemy and the invention of several chemical processes used in modern chemistry. These include crystallization, calcinations, sublimation and evaporation, the synthesis of acids (hydrochloric, nitric citric, acetic and tartaric acids), and distillation using his greatest invention, the alembic (Anbaiq). Other achievements included preparation of various metals, development of steel, dyeing of cloth and tanning of leather, varnishing of water-proof cloth, use of manganese dioxide in glass-making, prevention of rusting, and identification of paints and greases. He also developed aqua regia to dissolve gold.
Jabir suggested three categories for the natural elements: Spirits, which vaporize on heating; metals like gold, silver, lead, iron and copper; and stones that can be converted to powder. This nomenclature could represent the beginning of more recent classifications of elements."
Many of his works were translated into Latin during the Middle Ages and the name Gerber was used for his works by Europeans. He died at the age of 94 in 815 AD.
(Source: Amr S.S. and Tabkhi A., 2007. 'Jabir ibn Hayyan' in Annals of Saudi Medicine, 27(1), pp. 53-54.)
Title page. Image from the Internet Archive, Getty Research Institute. A full digitised copy is available to view on Internet Archive.
Further resources:
Guilelmus Gratarolus. Artis auriferae quam chemiam vocant, vol. I: Quod continet Turbam philosphorum aliosque antiquissimos autores; vol. 2: Quod continet Morieni Romani scripta de re metallica ... cum aliis authoribus (1593). Classmark: SPEC CB.007/A 
Guilelmus Gratarolus (or Guglielmo Gratarolo; 1516 - 1568) was an Italian doctor and alchemist.
This volume contains various standard works on alchemy translated and compiled by Gratarolus. It also includes the Turba Philosophorum. This is one of the oldest alchemy texts written in c. 900 AD and is an interpretation of Greek alchemy by Islamic scholars; later translated from the Arabic by Europeans. This illustration on p. 219 symbolises the chemical processes, with the King representing Gold, and the Queen representing Silver.
Digitised copy available online here (Google Books).
___________________________________________________________________
Pietro Antonio Bono. Pretiosa Margarita novella de thesauro, ac pretiosissimo philosophorum lapide. Artis huius divinae Typus & Methodus: Collectanea ex Arnaldo, Rhaymundo, Rhasi, Alberto, & Michaele Scoto per I. Lacinium nunc primum edita (1546). Classmark: SPEC CB.043/A
This compilation of alchemical texts by Pietro Antonio Bono (or Petrus Bonus; fl. 1323–1330) is one of the earliest publications on alchemy, and the 
only work on the subject printed by the Aldine Press. The Aldine bibliograper Renouard evocatively notes that many copies of this book bear signs of fire damage, implying that the text was actually used in the attempt to turn base metals into gold. (Source: Grolier Club).
This text, translated to Precious Pearl, is theoretical rather than practical in nature. The book makes a bold claim in that the secret of transmutation can be learned in a single day, even a single hour, despite that Bono never succeeded in this himself. Although Bono wrote the text in c. 1330, this 1546 edition is the first edited version by Janus Therapus.
Digitised copy available online here (Google Books).
Andreas Libavius. Syntagma selectorum undiquaque et perspicue traditorum alchymiae arcanorum (1611). Classmark: SPEC CB.185/C. 
Title Page. Image from the Wellcome Collection.
Andreas Libavius (or Andrew Libavius; 1550 - 1616) was a German chemist, teacher, physician, and alchemist. He defended many of the 'supernatural' aspects of alchemy on the premise that the supernatural helped to explain phenomena but did not necessarily equate the phenomena to a divine connection. Despite this belief, he denounced the Paracelsian school of thought for heavy use of mysticism. He was the first to produce stannic chloride and ammonium sulphate, the latter of which is now mass produced for agricultural purposes.
This text, published in 1611, is a commentary and extension to an earlier text by Libavius, Alchemia, published in 1597 and widely considered to be the first well constructed textbook for alchemy. Libavius advocated creating a specialised environment to practice alchemy and provided a detailed account of the suggested layout, including a laboratory, a chemical store, and a steam bath.
(Source)
___________________________________________________________________
Oswald Croll. Philosophy reformed & improved in 4 profound tractates: the I: Discovering the great and deep mysteris of nature; by O. 
Crollius; the other III: Discovering the wonderfull mysteries of the creation by Paracelsus; both made English by H. Pinnell (1657). Classmark: SPEC CB.057/A
Title page. Image from Early English Books Online (EBBO) edition, originally British Library.
Oswald Croll (or Crollius; 1563 - 1609) was a German alchemist and Professor of Medicine. He believed that chemistry and alchemy were two related but separate subjects of the same field. He was heavily influenced by Paracelus (1493 - 1541) in his thought processes regarding the medicinal uses of herbs. Croll became more popular after his death, hence this text being published some 48 years later.
Digitised copy available to view via Early English Books Online (EBBO) here. Subscription required.
Antoine Lavoisier. Opuscules physiques et chimiques (1801). Classmark: SPEC CB.221/B
Antoine Lavoisier (1743 -1794) was an influential French chemist widely credited with several major discoveries in the field of Chemistry. He is generally regarded as the founder of the modern phase of Chemistry. He was executed during the French Revolution.
"Characteristic of Lavoisier’s chemistry was his systematic determination of the weights of reagents and products involved in chemical reactions, including the gaseous components, and his underlying belief that matter—identified by weight—would be conserved through any reaction (the law of conservation of mass). Among his contributions to chemistry associated with this method were the understanding of combustion and respiration as caused by chemical reactions with the part of the air (as discovered by Priestley) that he named “oxygen,” and his definitive proof by composition and decomposition that water is made up of oxygen and hydrogen." (Source: Science History)
This text was first published in 1774 and the second edition 1801.
Plate. Image from the Wellcome Collection. Digitised copy available via the Wellcome Collection (1774 first edition).
___________________________________________________________________
John Dalton. A new system of chemical philosophy (1808, part I). Classmark: SPEC CB.282/B
John Dalton (1766 -1844) was an English chemist, meteorologist and physicist.
A new system of chemical philosophy provides a description of Dalton's law, or the law of multiple proportions. This outlined the first scientific description of atomic theory and the first vision of atoms as a physically real entity. He is also remembered for his investigations and work into colour blindness.
Digitised text available to view from the Internet Archive.
Image from the Wellcome Collection. R. Burgess, Portraits of doctors & scientists in the Wellcome Institute, London 1973, no. 755.3.
