page_title: Ethan A. Hitchcock (general)
section_title: Contributions to alchemy studies
hierarchical_section_title: Ethan A. Hitchcock (general) / Personal life / Contributions to alchemy studies
context_page_description: Ethan Allen Hitchcock was a career United States Army officer and author who had War Department assignments in Washington, D.C., during the American Civil War, in which he served as a major general.
context_section_description: By the time of his death, Hitchcock had amassed a large private library, including over 250 volumes on the subject of alchemy. This collection was widely regarded as one of the finest private holdings of rare alchemical works and is preserved by St. Louis Mercantile Library at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. Through Remarks upon Alchemy and the Alchemists and other writings, Hitchcock argued that the alchemists were actually religious philosophers writing in symbolism. In Problems of Mysticism and its Symbolism, the Viennese psychologist Herbert Silberer credited Hitchcock with helping to open the way for his explorations of the psychological content of alchemy.
caption: A manuscript from the Hitchcock collection
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