ALBERTUS MAGNUS'
Et Ad Daemones Ducit

"The Box of Gateways"

Box art and written research by Steelgohst



The "Box of Gateways" has defied all attempts to pin it to a historical date -  it is white gold inlaid onto a black stained oak base and unusual in that it has no runes or text or other markings on its faces, just pure geometric design. 

Many suggestions have been made about the reasons behind the unprecedented number of "gateway" designs and the possible arcane implications behind the fourteen : six ratio of gateways to faces  - it has even been rumored that the box is not a LeMarchand, but a previously undocumented box by Albertus Magnus, and the direct inspiration behind the designs of the boxes of LeMarchand.  


"The Box of Gateways" Photo by Steelgohst, 2014

All that is known as fact is that the box was found in 1998 in a house in the center of England when new home owners cleaned out their loft. It was later sold on a well known Internet auction site (as a post 1900 paperweight) where it raised a total of £78 (GBP)...  the box of Gateways was then subsequently re-sold via private Auction in Paris for a little under three quarters of a million dollars to an anonymous American buyer.



Some three years later in late 2003 the American owner of the box dissapeared and his estates were auctioned (including the box) in order to pay off his huge debts, most of which seem to have accrued in the final two years of his life.  The current whereabouts of the box are unknown.




Editor's Addendum:

Albertus Magnus is said to have used The Box of Gateways to a perform a feat of magic for his friends who he had gathered together for a garden party at his house in Cologne.  


"The Box of Gateways" Photo by Phillip Bowen, 2015


It was the middle of winter, the ground was covered with snow. Albertus led his guests to an open air atrium where tables were set. Many of his guests were insulted by the fact that the alchemist would seat them in such a harsh climate. Albertus instructed them to begin their meal while he manipulated the box made from white gold.  As mechanical music was heard emitting from the device, birds began to sing in harmony with it's tinklings, the sun shone brightly and the snow around them melted away.  The guests were stunned.  Some said it was a work of God, others claimed that Albertus was in league with the Devil.
Many of these type of puzzle box stories were recounted throughout the history of the University of Paris where LeMarchand no doubt first heard them.  The truth behind these tales may never be known.  People have been using the alchemist's name and personal mythology for centuries in order to publish false occult works like The Book of Secrets. 




In 1749, Philip LeMarchand obtained Albertus Magnus' Et Ad Daemones Ducit - "The Box of Gateways" from Monsieur de Moret:

Photo by Derek Prospero

"...Msr. de Moret excused himself  from the room momentarily, and returned holding a box which I recognized immediately.  Monsieur de Moret noted my expression and grinned knowingly.  It is the box which Albertus Magnus created.  I purchased both the pages and the box at considerable cost, requiring that I offer my architectural services when I am returned to New York."

- The Journal of Philip LeMarchand, August 5th, 1749

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There have been a few speculations that Monsieur de Moret is one and the same person as Comte Antoine de Moret, son of Henry IV of France, given birth by one of the King's many mistresses, Jacqueline de Bueil.

The 25 year old Count of Moret was supposedly killed at the battle of Castelnaudary, but persistent rumors declared that he had escaped to live to a ripe old age. Given that Antoine de Moret was born in the early seventeenth century (1607), he would indeed have been rather ripe (142 years old) by the time of his meeting with the young LeMarchand in 1749.