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Welcome to the Website of the Society for the History of Alchemy and Chemistry (SHAC), publisher of the scholarly journal Ambix.


Founded in 1935, SHAC has consistently maintained the highest standards of scholarship in all aspects of the history of alchemy and chemistry from early times to the present. The Society has a wide international membership from over thirty countries.

We hold meetings and webinars, offer scholarly prizes and grants, and publish the journal Ambix. The Society’s newsletter, Chemical Intelligence, is published twice a year. We have also established the Graduate Network to bring together postgraduate students in the field.

Keep up to date with the news and events of SHAC by following us on Facebook and Twitter.

You can watch our SHAC Online Seminars on YouTube here.

 

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Please note that changes are processed manually and you will receive a confirmation email when our records have been updated. For any queries please find relevant contact information on https://www.ambix.org/contact-us/

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Dezember 2024 News

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More interesting news for you to ponder on during the holiday break.

1 The November issue of Ambix has been published online and hard copies will be dispatched soon, although there may be delays in delivery over the holiday season. Members can access the issue by logging in at  https://www.ambix.org/ . A list of contents is available at https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/yamb20/current

2 SHAC Special ICHC14 Award Scheme – Grants to support attendance at 14ICHC in Valencia, Spain, 11-14 June 2025

Applicants are invited to apply for grants under a Special Award Scheme from the Society for the History of Alchemy and Chemistry (SHAC) to support attendance of early-career scholars and independent scholars at the 14th International Conference on the History of Chemistry in Valencia, Spain on 11 June to 14 June 2025. Awards of up to £400 will be made as a contribution towards the cost of travel, accommodation, and registration fees for those giving a paper at the conference. Early-career scholars are defined as post-graduate students (both masters and doctoral students) and those who have obtained a PhD since January 2015. For more information see: https://www.ambix.org/grants/

Deadline for applications to the Award Scheme is 28 February 2025. Information on the conference is available at: https://esdeveniments.uv.es/116631/detail/14th-international-conference-on-the-history-of-chemistry-14ichc.html

3  The SHAC Postgraduate and Early Career Workshop takes place on 14th January 2025 in St Johns Cottage, University of Oxford concerning  Alchemy and Chemistry as Vessels for Cultural Discourse.

If you wish to attend in person, please email Josh Werrett (studentrep@ambix.org) and you’ll have to be at the St Johns College Lodge at 08:30 on the day. Full details can be found on the following link https://www.ambix.org/shac-postgraduate-and-early-career-workshop-agenda-january-2025/

Zoom details will be released closer to the time of the event.

Welcome: 9:00 – 9:05 Session 1: 9:05 – 10:20

Josh Werrett, University of Oxford / Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Baptism and the Reborn Body: Zosimos’ Alchemy in a Pre-Nicene Context

Paulina Gennerman, Marburg University

The Complex Shades of ‘Drug’: Psychoactive Substances as Part of Cultural and Social Discourse

Lea Elisabeth Hinterholzer, Georg-August-University

John of Teschen’s Lumen Secretorum: Poetry Inside or Outside the Laboratory?

Break: 10:20 – 10:35 Session 2: 10:35 – 12:15

Brian Li, University of Cambridge The Material and Moral Cultures of Living Alchemy in the Paracelsan Tradition

Ellen Hausner, University of Oxford Comprehending Characters: Keys to Abstract Notations in Early Modern Alchemical Texts

Elena Morgana, University of Oxford From Elixir to Alkahest: The Evolution of a Panacea in the Kingdom of Naples, 1620-1670.

Sergei Zotov, Warburg Institute / University of Warwick Vomiting the Sea of Blood: Unique Image Series in CG Jung’s Alchemical Manuscripts

Lunch: 12:15 – 13:15 Session 3: 13:15 – 14:30

Johannes Chan, York University Bounded Life and Imperial Metabolisms: The Mechanics of Mills and Labouring Bodies

Sajdeep Soomal, University of Toronto The Looping Effects of Settler Colonialism: Agrarian Expansion in the Canadian North-West and the Chemical Utilization of Industrial Waste, 1874-1910

Silvia Pérez-Criado, University of Valencia From Laboratory to Society: DDT and Public Health in Franco’s Spain

Break: 14:30 – 14:45 Session 4: 14:45 – 16:00

Christopher Halm, Deutsches Museum Munich Seeking Refuge in Earth’s Deepest Time: Cosmochemistry and How to Escape the Tragedies of World War II

Robert Slinn, University of York       Vocational Education and Training in the British Chemical Industry, 1945-1995

Sofiya Kamalova Rogova, University of Valencia Tracing Toxicity: The Chemical Product Cycle in the Ardystil Case

Break: 16:00 – 16:15 Session 5 (Keynote): 16:15 – 16:45

Justin Sledge (Esoterica) TBD

Closing Remarks: 16:45 – 17:00 Post-conference drinks for those attending in Oxford.

Best regards

The SHAC Officer team

SHAC Postgraduate and Early Career Workshop Agenda (January 2025)

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Alchemy and Chemistry as Vessels for Cultural Discourse

Online / New Seminar Room (St John’s College, University of Oxford)

14th January 2025

For those attending in person, please meet at the St John’s College lodge at 8:30.

If you wish to attend in person, please email Josh Werrett at studentrep[at]ambix.org

Zoom details will be released closer to the time of the event.

Welcome: 9:00 – 9:05

Session 1: 9:05 – 10:20

  • Josh Werrett, University of Oxford / Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Baptism and the Reborn Body: Zosimos’ Alchemy in a Pre-Nicene Context

  • Paulina Gennerman, Marburg University

The Complex Shades of ‘Drug’: Psychoactive Substances as Part of Cultural and Social Discourse

  • Lea Elisabeth Hinterholzer, Georg-August-University

John of Teschen’s Lumen Secretorum: Poetry Inside or Outside the Laboratory?

Break: 10:20 – 10:35

Session 2: 10:35 – 12:15

  • Brian Li, University of Cambridge

The Material and Moral Cultures of Living Alchemy in the Paracelsan Tradition

  • Ellen Hausner, University of Oxford

Comprehending Characters: Keys to Abstract Notations in Early Modern Alchemical Texts

  • Elena Morgana, University of Oxford

From Elixir to Alkahest: The Evolution of a Panacea in the Kingdom of Naples, 1620-1670.

  • Sergei Zotov, University of Warwick

Vomiting the Sea of Blood: Unique Image Series in CG Jung’s Alchemical Manuscripts

Lunch: 12:15 – 13:15

Session 3: 13:15 – 14:30

  • Johannes Chan, York University

Bounded Life and Imperial Metabolisms: The Mechanics of Mills and Labouring Bodies

  • Sajdeep Soomal, University of Toronto

The Looping Effects of Settler Colonialism: Agrarian Expansion in the Canadian North-West and the Chemical Utilization of Industrial Waste, 1874-1910

  • Silvia Perez Criado, University of Valencia

From Laboratory to Society: DDT and Public Health in Franco’s Spain

Break: 14:30 – 14:45

Session 4: 14:45 – 16:00

  • Christopher Halm, Deutsches Museum Munich

Seeking Refuge in Earth’s Deepest Time: Cosmochemistry and How to Escape the Tragedies of World War II

  • Robert Slinn, University of York

Vocational Education and Training in the British Chemical Industry, 1945-1995

  • Sofiya Kamalova Rogova, University of Valencia

Tracing Toxicity: The Chemical Product Cycle in the Ardystil Case


Break: 16:00 – 16:15

Session 5 (Keynote): 16:15 – 16:45

  • Justin Sledge (Esoterica) – Title TBC

Closing Remarks: 16:45 – 17:00

Post-conference drinks for those attending in Oxford.

SHAC Six Announcements: Seminars, Meetings and Awards

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Dear SHAC Members,

a reminder about seminars, meetings, conferences and awards coming up in the next six months. We hope to see you online or in-person at some of them. Please scroll down to see everything!

1. Next SHAC Online Seminar – Thursday 21 November

The next on-line seminar will be given by Professor Matthew Daniel Eddy (University of Durham) who will present: ‘A Very Curious Subject’: Jane Ewbank, Public Lectures and Experimental Philosophy in Late Georgian York

This will be live on Thursday, 21 November 2024, beginning at 5.00pm GMT (6.00pm CET, 12 noon ET, 9.00am PT). The format will be a talk of 20-30 minutes, followed by a moderated discussion of half an hour.

As with recent seminars the Zoom link can be freely accessed by anyone, member of SHAC or not, by booking through the following Ticket Source link:

https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/society-for-the-history-of-alchemy-and-chemistry/t-rpojrkg

The seminar will be also accessible live on YouTube at

2. SHAC Special ICHC14 Award Scheme – Grants to support attendance at 14ICHC in Valencia, Spain, 11-14 June 2025

Applicants are invited to apply for grants under a Special Award Scheme from the Society for the History of Alchemy and Chemistry (SHAC) to support attendance of early-career scholars and independent scholars at the 14th International Conference on the History of Chemistry in Valencia, Spain on 11 June to 14 June 2025. Awards of up to £400 will be made as a contribution towards the cost of travel, accommodation, and registration fees for those giving a paper at the conference. Early-career scholars are defined as post-graduate students (both masters and doctoral students) and those who have obtained a PhD since January 2015. For more information see: https://www.ambix.org/grants/

Deadline for applications is 28 February 2025

3. CHCMS Early Career Lecture Award – Call for nominations

For the 2025 edition, the awardee will be invited as guest to 14ICHC which is taking place in Valencia, Spain, 11-14 June 2025. The awardee will also commit to an interview to be shared through the CHCMS website and YouTube channel. The deadline for submitting nominations is 30 December 2024. The CHCMS Early Career Lecturer will be announced in February 2025. For more information see check the website: https://www.chcms.org/awards.html

4. SHAC Spring Meeting on the Biographies of Alchemists and Chemists

University College London on Saturday 29 March 2025

Offers of papers by 17 December 2024 – please see details at: https://www.ambix.org/2025-spring-meeting-on-the-biographies-of-alchemists-and-chemists/

5. SHAC Brock Award – Call for Nominations

Nominations by 30 June 2025 – please see details at https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00026980.2024.2420472?src=exp-la

6. Call for Papers for SHAC Session on the Pesticide Chemical Industry in the 20th Century at ICHC 2025 (Valencia) https://www.ambix.org/call-for-papers-shac-session-on-the-pesticide-chemical-industry-in-the-20th-century-at-ichc-2025-valencia/?doing_wp_cron=1731068291.4582250118255615234375

Best wishes,

The SHAC Officers

Pp Frank James

SHAC Special ICHC14 Award Scheme – Grants to support attendance at ICHC14 in Valencia, Spain, 11-14 June 2025

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Applicants are invited to apply for grants under a Special Award Scheme from the Society for the History of Alchemy and Chemistry (SHAC) to support attendance of early-career scholars and independent scholars at the 14th International Conference on the History of Chemistry in Valencia, Spain on 11 June to 14 June 2025. Awards of up to £400 will be made as a contribution towards the cost of travel, accommodation, and registration fees for those giving a paper at the conference. Early-career scholars are defined as post-graduate students (both masters and doctoral students) and those who have obtained a PhD since January 2015. Given that the circumstances of independent scholars differ we are letting members ‘self-define’ and if there are any unclear cases it will be left to the discretion of the Awards Panel.

Applicants must be members of the Society for the History of Alchemy and Chemistry in good standing at the time of making an application and if successful through the period of the award. For more information and application forms please contact grants[at]ambix.org stating that you are applying for a grant to attend ICHC. SHAC has the expectation that awardees attend the whole conference, unless there are exceptional circumstances.

Details of how to join the Society for the History of Alchemy and Chemistry can be found at https://www.ambix.org/subscription/ . Membership enquiries should be made to newjoiner[at]ambix.org

For further information on the conference – please visit:

https://esdeveniments.uv.es/116631/detail/14th-international-conference-on-the-history-of-chemistry-14ichc.html

The timescale for the conference is as follows:

Deadline for submitting conference proposals: 1 December 2024

Notification of acceptance: 5 February 2025

Provisional Programme: March 2025

Early Bird Registration: before 15 April 2025

Late Registration: 16 April 2025-15 May 2025

Final Programme: Late May 2025

NB: Deadlines may change depending on local arrangements.

The deadline for applications to this Award Scheme is 28 February 2025. It is expected that applicants will be advised of the outcome of their application in good time to register for early-bird conference fees which are available until 15 April 2025.

An activity report must be submitted at the end of the conference. This will usually be published in SHAC’s Chemical Intelligence Newsletter.

Please note that applying for a Special ICHC14 Award does not preclude applying to the usual SHAC Award Scheme for 2025. There is also a separate scheme from the Commission on the History of Chemistry and Molecular Sciences (CHCMS) for ICHC14. Applying for the SHAC Scheme does not preclude application for the CHCMS grant and vice versa. However, it should be noted that there are different eligibility requirements for the two schemes. Should an application be made to both schemes, the evaluation process will be co-ordinated between SHAC and CHCMS.

Online Seminar on Jane Ewbank on Thursday, 21 November 2024

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The next on-line seminar of the Society for the History of Alchemy and Chemistry will be given by Professor Matthew Daniel Eddy (University of Durham) who will present:

‘A Very Curious Subject’: Jane Ewbank, Public Lectures and Experimental Philosophy in Late Georgian York

This will be live on Thursday, 21 November 2024, beginning at 5.00pm GMT (6.00pm CET, 12 noon ET, 9.00am PT). The format will be a talk of 20-30 minutes, followed by a moderated discussion of half an hour.

As with recent seminars the Zoom link can be freely accessed by anyone, member of SHAC or not, by booking through the following Ticket Source link:

https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/society-for-the-history-of-alchemy-and-chemistry/t-rpojrkg 

The seminar will be also accessible live on YouTube at


Most previous on-line seminars can be found on the SHAC YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/SocietyforHistoryofAlchemyandChemistry 

‘A Very Curious Subject’: Jane Ewbank, Public Lectures and Experimental Philosophy in Late Georgian York

Matthew Daniel Eddy

In September 1809 the artists Thomas Rowlandson and Auguste Charles Pugin published a popular print depicting the audience which had recently attended the public experimental philosophy course given in London’s Surrey Institution. Every seat was full and the audience stared with anticipation at the lecturer. Notably, at least half of the attendees were women and girls.  Though historians have observed that this was a common phenomenon at the time, studies which address the motivations and reactions of female attendees to the scientific ideas presented in such lectures have received less attention. This paper sheds new light on the subject by exploring the 1804 diary entries written by Jane Ewbank of York about the lectures of the traveling experimentalists Henry Moyes and Charles Sylvester. Ewbank’s notes represent one of the fullest known handwritten accounts of a woman who attended experimental lectures during the Regency period. The entries offer noteworthy examples of how Ewbank used scribal media to process and remember scientific information through recounting experiments from the lecture and related conversations that occurred later over tea with friends.  Overall, the paper reveals how these and other instances in the diary offer insight into how women learned to connect experimental philosophy to topics ranging from climatology to vitalism.

I look forward to you joining me at the seminar.

With Best Wishes

Frank James

Announcing the Brock Award and a call for nominations

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The Society for the History of Alchemy and Chemistry (SHAC) has decided to establish the Brock Award which honours Professor William ‘Bill’ Hodson Brock, one of the leading historians of chemistry of the last fifty years. For most of that time he was based at the University of Leicester, where he also directed the Victorian Studies Centre between 1966 and 1990. His Fontana History of Chemistry (1992) is a masterly summary of the field, while his biographies of Justus Liebig (1997) and of William Crookes (2008) continue to provide invaluable insights into the subtleties of nineteenth-century chemistry. In terms of SHAC, he served as editor of Ambix between 1968 and 1983 and then as Chair from 1993 to 2007. He contributed extensively to Ambix and served on SHAC Council for fifty years from 1967 until 2017. He has given extensive support to the history of chemistry community, always ready to share his expertise and insights and creating a welcoming environment for new scholars, particularly through his service to Ambix as editor and as a frequent reviewer.

The Brock Award consisting of £500 and an appropriate framed image will be awarded every three years beginning in 2025. This will dovetail with the Society’s other two awards, the Partington Prize for an unpublished essay on any area covered by SHAC written by an early career researcher to be next awarded in 2026 and the Morris Award given for outstanding achievement in the history of post-1945 chemistry or the history of the chemical industry to be awarded next in 2027.

The Brock Award will be for outstanding contributions in the fields of the history of alchemy and chemistry. The individual’s impact on the community of historians of alchemy and/or chemistry, through historical research, publication, support and encouragement of students and fellow researchers and contributions to the wider promulgation of the subject will be significant criteria for selection.

The awardee will be determined by a panel appointed by SHAC Council; serving members of Council are ineligible for the award. Nominations, including a cv and at least two letters of support, should be sent by 30 June 2025 to Professor Annette Lykknes: annette.lykknes[a]ntnu.no.

It is expected that the announcement of the first Brock Prize winner will be made in the autumn.

Frank James