Bacstrom, Sigismond (ca. 1750-1805)
Bacstrom, Sigismond (ca. 1750-1805)
Physician who was also an alchemist and a Rosicrucian. Believed to be of Scandinavian origin, he spent some time as a ship's surgeon. While visiting the island of Mauritius, he met the mysterious occultist and alchemist Comte Louis de Chazel, who initiated him into a Societas Rosae Crucis. De Chazel owned an extensive library of occult and mystical works and a well-equipped laboratory for astronomical observations and alchemical experiments. He informed Bacstrom that he had succeeded in making the philosophers' stone and demonstrated the transmutation of quicksilver into gold. Subsequently Bacstrom lived in London and had discussions with other individuals interested in hermetic subjects. He translated a number of treatises on alchemy from German, French, and Latin into English, adding his own commentaries. His manuscript Essay on Alchemy was published in a limited edition under the title Bacstrom's Alchemical Anthology, edited by J. W. Hamilton-Jones (1960).