1645 kircher - steganographia

The plate displays two experimental setups (Fig. 1 and Fig. 2) for transmitting light beams through a series of optical devices. An angel stands in the center holding tablets inscribed with cryptographic characters in Latin and Hebrew, while the bottom section features a detailed table of reversed alphabets labeled 'Alphabetum Catoptricum.' The largest diagram shows a beam of light passing into a darkened room to project the Latin phrase 'PAX VOBIS' onto a wall.

Athanasius Kircher was a Jesuit polymath who viewed the study of light (optics) as a form of natural magic capable of revealing hidden truths. This work represents the 17th-century intersection of natural philosophy, cryptography, and the camera obscura, demonstrating how scientific instruments could be used for the esoteric transmission of 'secret' knowledge.