Georg Ernst Stahl's Alchemical Publications: Anachronism, Reading Market, and A Scientific Lineage Redefined

Abstract

This paper examines the development of Georg Ernst Stahl’s alchemical thinking and an apparent anachronism that the complexities of Stahlian publications introduced. Stahl’s development involves his shift from the position of an alchemical believer or aspirant to that of a disbeliever openly critical of alchemy, and the transformation of his relationship with Johann Joachim Becher, an important chemist of early modern Europe. It also involves an examination of the publishers’ interests that caused an apparent anachronism, and the practices of publication at the time, including the introduction of academic works to the German-reading public.