HISTORY

CRITICAL

NICOLAS FLAMEL

AND

OF PERNELLE HIS WIFE;

Gathered from ancient Records which justify the origin and the modest nature of their fortune against the allegations of the Alchemists. The author uses "médiocrité" here in the 18th-century sense, meaning a "middle-class" or "moderate" state, rather than a lack of quality.

To which has been added the Will of PERNELLE and several other interesting documents.

By Mr. L. V. *** A pseudonym for the Abbé Étienne-François Villain, a historian who sought to strip away the legends surrounding Flamel.

A decorative woodcut vignette featuring a symmetrical arrangement of scrolling leaves and floral motifs centered around a heart-shaped bud.

IN PARIS,

From the house of G. DESPREZ, Printer and Bookseller-in-ordinary to the King and the Clergy of France, Saint-Jacques Street, at the signs of Saint Prosper and the Three Virtues. In this period, bookshops were identified by hanging signs like "Saint Prosper" rather than just street numbers.

1761. original: "M. DCC. LXI."

With the Approval and Privilege of the King. A "Privilege" was a royal license granting the publisher the exclusive right to print the work for a set number of years.