Portrait of Edward Kelley

This black-and-white line engraving depicts a middle-aged man with a prominent beard and mustache, wearing a dark cap and a heavy fur-trimmed garment. He is shown from the chest up, facing slightly to his right, and holds an open book in his hands, which he appears to be reading or displaying. The background consists of fine horizontal etched lines, typical of period printmaking, creating a stark contrast with the subject.

Edward Kelley was a central, controversial figure in Elizabethan occultism, known for his scrying sessions with Dr. John Dee. He claimed to communicate with angels in the Enochian language, and his activities reflect the intense intersection of Renaissance natural philosophy, divination, and the search for the philosopher's stone.