3/29/2008

American Alchemists: Delmar DeForest Bryant, "Adiramled"


This image of the stone of Joshua is not taken from Adiramled's works (which are unillustrated as far as I have seen), but I believe it is thematically appropriate.

I take the quoted biographic information from this Alchemy Forum thread:

Bryant wrote a number of books in the years 1901 to 1911, some of whose titles are given below, and also published a monthly newsletter-magazine titled "Adiramled." During those years he lived in Ohio; East Orange, New Jersey; New York City; and South Haven, Michigan. and owned publishing companies variously called, "Adiramled Publishing Company," [...] Adiramled (Bryant) moved to New York City, as of December 15, 1901. He moved to East Orange, New Jersey as of September 1902, an area described by A as "the loveliest suburbs accessible to Greater New-Yorkers." Plans to "establish a vast home-with farm attachment for raising food, together with industries of various kinds to give employment to a lot of people. It will be a kind of co-operative commonwealth-a realization of Bulwer's and Bellamy's Dreams...." By November 1903 is publishing from South Haven, Michigan "practically a suburb of Chicago" (Adiramled, November 1903).

[...]

In June 1901 Adiramled writes knowledgeably about prime matter

In October 1901, Adiramled writes of receiving his astrological chart from J.K. Newman of Omaha, Nebraska, (1811 Lake Street)

Adiramled once lived in Chicago (Page 4 of Adiramled, January 1902).

From the Adiramled Newsletter, April 1902: "The magic medicine of the ancients was in the form of a very subtle spiritual oil...a grease...The Universal Axle Grease." "...It was in looking down into the crater of an extinct volcano that I beheld evidences of the very Wonder I am presently alluding to. "Here at the foot of this very mountain I gathered the pieces of Lav which I pulverized into the oleaginous Sand on which to experiment with a view of extracting this Oil. "Since then, I have discovered that there are places in America where it can also be obtained of excellent quality but in extremely small quantity. "So that thus far, it has taken an enormous amount of labor and patience to obtain it. "I am at present studying on a chemical process to manufacture it from common loam by a treatment with Carbon and my experiments bid fair to succeeed. "Naturally while I am studying, I am teaching, because the thing is entirely too good to keep wholly to myself..."

He was a friend of John Hazelrigg and cites Ethan Allen Hitchcock.
From "The Unfoldment":
The Sages all assure us that the Thing called Philosopher's Stone is a thing "seen by all but recognized by few." They say that it is a common element, or rather the Quintessence of all elements, Fire, Air, Earth, Water, and that virtually it is contained in all things, but more in some than in others. Again, they say that its simplicity is so great that if openly declared it would be utterly incredible.

There is a sampling of his apparently extensive bibliography online:

Anyone with any information at all about this fairly obscure American alchemist, please don't hesitate to leave a comment!

4 comments:

lucky said...

hi,

thank you for your post. I would like to learn from you. Could you give me your email address. I am from Vancouver, Canada.
My email is

luckywolf3@gmail.com

Anonymous said...

Adiramled published a monthly, self-titled journal beginning in late 1900, and it continued through at least 1903. It appears to have been a mildly commercial affair, though at minimal cost. The format was generally 8 pages, and the back couple of pages were dedicated to ads. Copies are extant, and in them a number of other works by Adiramled are referred to. One of the principal works cited time and again is a book called "The Dawn of Death...", which I have been unable thus far to obtain. During this period Adiramled appears to have maintained regular correspondence with a number of personal students via mail. He regularly solicited names, DOBs, etc from his readers so he could return to them an "onomatic" reading. (They were to be considered distinct from psychic-type readings.) The journal issues generally contained 1 to 3 pages of poetry, letters from readers and etcetera matter, along w/ a 2 or 3 page article dealing w/ occult matters. This latter made up the body of each issue, followed by a couple of pages of ads as afore mentioned. As an example of the primary content: a series of articles that spanned at least a few months was entitled "Secrets of Scripture", and dealt primarily with suggestive inquiries into the book of Genesis. Occasionally guest authors contributed, such as Dr. Geo. Carey.

During the time of the publication of the Journal, Adiramled compiled what have become the most well known works under the name: "The Divine Symbols" and "The Art of Alchemy...". They are usually issued separately, but they really are two sides of the same coin. According to the Journal, at the time of authorship, these lessons were for interested students only, and were to be requested personally by letter. Later they were made available as "books".

1911 saw the publication of "The Light of Life...", copies of which are readily available for purchase online. The trend of late seems to be to parse the book up and sell individual chapters. The front matter of this book connects the author Adiramled w/ the person Bryant, DD.

1917 saw Bryant writing with Hazelrigg, et al (as mentioned above) in the Yearbook. Moreover, the back matter of this compilation shows that he was working on a series of "Unfoldment" courses. I have been unable to obtain any of them save one, which is freely available online. Bryant also wrote an essay in the 1918 edition about the Golden Fleece myth. This text is not as freely available as its 1917 sister, though likely will be soon given the way Google is moving. There may be more editions out there, but info on the Astrologians is scarce.

Bryant appears to had a primary hand (if not the only hand) in a journal called "Trois Fontaine" around 1916-ish. I have seen the 1st issue of this journal, but have been unable to obtain any further issues.

Bryant appears to have had a hand in at least a couple of publishing and book distribution companies, and he appears to have kept regular correspondence with occult students throughout a number of years. Some writings can be found in certain archives. Other books, pamphlets, etc are referenced here and there.

Regardless of the facts about who Bryant was, it is my feeling that the writings produced between 1900 and 1918 represent some of the most profound that can be had on the Subject in the English language. What's more, they are, in comparison to similar writers, extremely modern. The tone of his writings will prove perfectly acceptable to the palate of the modern reader. There are comparable works in English, but Bryant's writings stand as a beacon light in the darkness just before the dawn.

I can provide more info privately as my knowledge and time permits. Email for info at adiramled@gmail.com. Please be clear in your communications by stating expressly what it is you are wanting to know. I WILL NOT put words in the mouth of Adiramled, but I will certainly provide quotations and interpretations when possible. It is ALWAYS, without question, up to the student to do the work.

3+O( said...

lucky: Frankly I am better collator than expositor, but any personal thoughts I have will appear on this blog. Browse Adam McLean's website if you are interested in the topic, it is a wonderful resource.

Anonymous: thank you very much for the detailed information! That such a prolific author should be so obscure is surprising indeed.

Anonymous said...

Fishing for Men in the Words of the Master is the
Peculiar Path which leads to Salvation but the
Way to Selfless Service is hard and long and few are those who pass the Three Headed Dog and enter the Garden of the Gods!