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A hand-colored emblem or bookplate is pasted onto the center of the page. It features a circular design with the text "HERMETIC PHILOSOPHY" in pale yellow capital letters. At the center is an oval with a blue background. A green serpent biting its own tail, known as an Ouroboros, frames the oval. Inside, a white pelican is shown in her piety. She wounds her breast to feed her young with her own blood. The pelican rests on a square base or shield decorated with a golden saltire cross and four red roses. Golden rays shine down from the top of the oval. This imagery represents the alchemical stage of multiplication and the sacrifice required for transformation.

original Latin: "PHILOSOPHIA HERMETICA." This refers to the esoteric tradition of knowledge attributed to Hermes Trismegistus, which encompasses alchemy, astrology, and theurgy.

Hermetic Philosophy (the study of hidden wisdom), Ouroboros (the serpent consuming its own tail, representing eternity), Pelican in her piety (a symbol of the final alchemical stages), Roses (symbols of the unfolding of the soul), Alchemy, Hermeticism

Alban Thomas Atwood.

original Latin: "Hic labor hoc opus est." This is a famous quotation from Virgil’s Aeneid, Book VI. It refers to the immense difficulty of returning from the underworld. In an alchemical context, it signifies the arduous nature of the Great Work of spiritual transformation.

A printed bookplate features heraldic and symbolic imagery. At the top, a flowing banner contains the Latin motto translated above. Below the banner is a crest. It depicts a dragon or wyvern head with a protruding tongue, emerging from a ducal coronet. Centered below the crest is a large Ouroboros. The serpent forms a circle by consuming its own tail, symbolizing eternal return and the unity of all things. It encloses a radiant sixteen pointed star. The entire arrangement is framed within a rectangular plate impression.

Thomas South.

Thomas South (1785 to 1855) was a prominent researcher of Hermetic philosophy. He and his daughter, Mary Anne Atwood, are best known for their collaborative work on the alchemical revival in the nineteenth century.