The last vvill and testament of Basil Valentine, monke of the order of St. Bennet : which, being alone, he hid under a table of marble, behind the high-altar of the cathedral church, in the imperial city of Erford : leaving it there to be found by him, whom Gods providence should make worthy of it : to which is added two treatises, the first declaring his manual operations, the second shewing things natural and supernatural
An English translation of the alchemical writings ascribed to Basil Valentine, printed in London in 1671 by S.G. and B.G. for the bookseller Edward Brewster, aimed at readers of chymical medicine and laboratory practice. The plates are repeated woodcut headpiece bands: a blank escutcheon set between symmetrical grotesque scrollwork with leaves, birds, dragons and candlesticks, useful as ready-made rules, cartouche frames and border ornament.
