Symbolorum: The Secret Wisdom of Emblems (Hardcover)
Regular price $ 20.00Discover the esoteric insights and enchanting imagery of the Baroque emblem book, a long-lost cousin of the tarot.
The emblem book, which reached the peak of its popularity in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, presented mysterious allegorical images―rather like those we now find on tarot cards―alongside Latin mottoes. A learned text explained the connection between image and motto, and the lessons each emblem held for the reader’s life. Drawing on sources such as medieval bestiaries and Aesop’s fables, emblem books reflected an enchanted view of nature in which our human lives were intertwined with plants, animals, the moon and the stars.
World-renowned natural perfumer Mandy Aftel first encountered emblem books in the course of her researches into antique botanical illustrations, and quickly became entranced. Here she presents one hundred emblems from perhaps the finest emblem book, the Symbolorum et Emblematum of Camerarius, originally published in four parts between 1590 and 1604. Aftel has sensitively tinted in watercolor the bewitching circular engravings of the Symbolorum, in which giant hands reach from the sky; lions, bears, and unicorns gambol; and distant spires beckon. The mottoes and explanatory texts are given in translation from the original Latin, along with Aftel’s own commentary. An illustrated introduction illuminates the history and magic of emblem book.
Symbolorum will be a treasure for anyone who is drawn to uncover ancient wisdom and feel the breath of the universe.
Mandy Aftel is an internationally known artisan perfumer and award-winning author. Anyone who's read the seminal Essence and Alchemy: A Natural History of Perfume is aware of the depth of Mandy Aftel's historical knowledge of perfumery and the richness with which she writes about it. She has participated in many exhibitions, panels and conferences on scent and food, and regularly collaborates with chefs and mixologists. She and her work have been featured in The New York Times, Vogue, Vanity Fair, Gourmet, Bon Appetit, Food and Wine, O, and Elle, on CNN, and in countless blogs. She lives in Berkeley, CA.
Published 2025 by Abbeville Press, 239 pages, hardcover
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