…handelnd von der Glücks-Ruthe, dem Ring und der Krone Salomonis, den Fürsten-Geheimnissen, den dienstbaren Krystall- und Schatz-Geistern und andern wunderbaren Arcanen ; nach einer Handschrift aus der Bibliothek eines Fürst-Abtes im vorigen Jahrhundert wortgetreu und mit allen Abbildungen veröffentlicht
Köln am Rhein : Peter Hammer, 1743
256 pp. ; 8°, German Language.
Updated 08/04/2025
The Nigromantisches Kunst-Buch (“Book of Nigromantic Arts,” sometimes rendered The Nigromantic Art Book) is one of the most substantial and enigmatic German grimoires devoted to demon magic. Rooted in the Faustian tradition and comparable in technique to the Ars Goetia, it details the conjuration and containment of spirits within vessels, accompanied by ritual instructions for circles, wands, enchantments, and astro-magical operations. The text survives with more than eighty illustrations, largely consisting of magical circles and demon sigils annotated with their tasks. Particularly striking are the seals of the great infernal princes—Astaroth, Be(e)lzebub, Belial(is), Oriens, Suria, and others—alongside a catalog of lesser, often otherwise unknown demons, including Basclip, Walachy, Mirus, Gaimon, and Buchermann.
The Kunst-Buch also has a complex bibliographic history. In at least one edition (below), two supplementary texts were bound in: a version of the Heptameron under the title The True English Clavicula Salomonis, and a unique rendering of the Almandal or Almadel, here entitled Allmodellum Salomonis. The book circulated under the fictitious imprint “Peter Hammer,” a publisher’s device meant to obscure responsibility for printing forbidden works. There remains debate as to whether Johann Scheible, the antiquarian book dealer of Stuttgart, reprinted an earlier Hammer edition or was entirely responsible for its production. What is certain is that two visually distinct editions exist, as with all Peter Hammer grimoires: one of noticeably higher quality. Both surviving copies, however, contain a Scheible catalog, suggesting that if a genuine Hammer printing once existed, it was quickly absorbed into Scheible’s enterprise.
Beyond its publishing trail, the Nigromantisches Kunst-Buch has a mysterious provenance. One recorded copy belonged to the monastic library of Prince-Abbot Rupert II (Rupert von Bodman), a Swabian noble who distinguished himself in the seventeenth century by intervening to protect women accused of witchcraft. Confirmed by Emperor Leopold as Archmarshal of the Empress, Rupert II also figures in European history as co-founder of the Principality of Liechtenstein. How or where he acquired the Kunst-Buch remains unknown, adding yet another layer to the grimoire’s enigmatic transmission.
