Sigismund Bacstrom

Sigismund Bacstrom (c. 1750–1805) was a medical doctor, a surgeon, and an artist of the early Maritime Fur Trade. His drawings of the people and places he encountered on his voyages show the meticulous precision of a surgeon and scientist rather than the hand of a trained artist. He was also a prominent author and translator of documents on Alchemy and Rosicrucianism, many of which are still in print.

Early history

Little is known of Bacstrom’s early history. His name is probably Swedish, but he is believed to have been born in the Holy Roman Empire. He claimed to have been trained as a physician, surgeon and chemist at the University of Strausbourg. He served as a surgeon in the Dutch navy from 1763 to 1770, then moved to England.

Bacstrom was employed by the famous naturalist Joseph Banks as a secretary from 1772 to 1775, accompanying the naturalist on a scientific exploration of Iceland. He was then engaged by Captain William Kent of the Royal Navy, a friend of Joseph Banks and collector for him, until 1779. Over the next decade he made at least six voyages as surgeon on merchant vessels, including voyages to Greenland (Spitsbergen), Guinea, and Jamaica.

In the late 1780s Bacstrom found a patron, whose name is unknown, who established him in an expensive laboratory in Marylebone to conduct research in natural philosophy. When his sponsor died in 1789, Bacstrom again found himself without work. He eventually received sponsorship to collect samples for Banks on a voyage around the world via Cape Horn, Nootka Sound, China and the East Indies that was to be undertaken by a group of London merchants as a commercial venture. While in Mauritius, Bacstrom was initiated and admitted into the Fraternity of Rosicrucians. This Comte de Chazal is said to have been 96 years old at the time of Bacstrom's initiation according to McLean. His alchemical knowledge is said to have been transmitted to him in 1740 in Paris, and John W. Hamilton Jones suggests in the introduction to Bacstrom's Alchemical Anthology that Chazal's teacher is said to have been none other than the Count of St. Germain.

The similarity of the "Philosophical Seal" of the Bacstrom Society of Rosicrucians depicted in Waite (a triangle and square inscribed in a circle) with the emblem used by the Lectorium Rosicrucianum today is also striking.

Among Bacstrom's circle of associates in London were the physician and astrologer Ebenezer Sibly (1751 – c. 1799) and the General Charles Rainsford (1728–1809). From Frederick Hockley, Bacstrom's writings probably came into the hands of William Alexander Ayton (1816–1909), William Wynn Westcott and Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers, thus influencing the teachings of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, and thus in turn influencing the development of Western occultism in the 20th century. A bibliography of the Hall's collection appeared in 1986. Digitised manuscripts are available in the Internet Archive.

An authentic copy of a long letter of Sigismond Bacstrom and sent to Mr. Hand has been handwritten by Frederick Hockley in 1839: the Mr. Yardley's Process. Then, this manuscript has been bought in 1913 by the famous bookseller Pierre Dujols and given to Julien Champagne, the illustrator of Fulcanelli's books. Julien Champagne wrote the French translation of the Mr. Yardley's Process in front of the English text in blank frames that have been previously drawn by Frederick Hockley on all verso pages. After more than one century, this manuscript owned by Champagne's family has been published in facsimile by Éditions Les Trois R (France, 2015–2016).

Later years

Bacstrom died in 1805.