Febr. 04, 2026
Introduction
by Frank Reitemeyer, Berlin
The original, unaltered writings of the German physicist and theosophist Dr. Franz Hartmann (1838-1912) are worth to be preserved. His ability to make complex relationships understandable, to present theosophical teachings simply, and his mission to bring modern Theosophy into a doctrinal relationship with medieval Theosophy are what make his writings so appealing.
In our opinion, his writings deserve to be recognized as a world cultural heritage.
In 1990 I began to collect theosophical books in both German and English. Then I realized that there are much more German books and magazines offline than online. I wanted to contribute in to preserving the stock. To my surprise the leaders and activists of all lineages had no real interest, they continued to throw their archives away, as they believed, “karma” and “the Masters” will to the work. As there was no professional office and archives anymore after 1945, but all was stored in private homes. The valuable and often rare items went either to second hand booksellers (and mostly out of reach for future theosophists or scientists, as rich groups buy everything, regardless of the price) or ended up in the trash.
To stop this tragic and generating new, bad karma additional to the heavy German total karma, I launched in 1994 the Theosopisches Central Project. Remaining alone and short of money I nevertheless have had some success in savekeeping rare items. But it had not that success, which would have been possible even in the 1990’ies, where I saw big collections and books and even unique paitings in the houses of older theosophists, whose whereabouts remain unclear. There was often strange occult help about individuals and locations, of which I could not have any knowledge. But these are stories of which I cannot give any proofs, so that it is unnecessary to go into details.
I was very pleased, when I heard that Mrs Helga Rex-Winkler in Frankfurt am Main launched a common office, supported by most theosophical groups as “Theosophische Informationsstelle”. She collected there many old German books and magazines before 1945, among them a bulk of issues of the first edition of the Theosophischer Wegweiser of the Hartmann lineage, which was in a large newspaper format. It was the first and only time I have seen them. The articles of Franz Hartmann & Co. were longer as in the (unnamed) second, bound edition in smaller book format in green book lids. Their whereabouts are unknown after the collapse of this office, which marks the biggest failure of the German theosophists.
There were no good motives for the collapse, only fanaticism and false ideas about responsibility, karma, secrecy and the masters – as it was addressed in the letter of K.H. to Annie Besant in 1900. No progress in germany at the end of 1999. I tried my best to prevent the collapse of the Theosophische Informationsstelle as a helper and mediator, but things went worse, both sides then accused me of intrigue (guilt reversal and gaslightning), while I had only altruistic motives to prevent the ongoing loss of rare items.
After the collapse I suggested to move the office to Berlin and offered to take care of it. But it was vehemently refused: “Theosophy needs no books, Theosophy is spiritual!”, “books with an index are black magic!”, “we want no office, because there is no toilet paper there”, “we want no new books, as today the letters are too small”, “an office makes no sense, as the sun will explode in four billion years”. And the classis excueses: “Karma does it, you must not do it”, “the Masters do it”, “there is no need for it, the Masters have an archives in Shambala”.
When I began to collect the books and magazines (as much as time, money and space in a small flat allowed), I was then not aware, that Katherine Tingley has had the same plan in 1925 with a call to all theosophical lineages, including the anthroposophists. She wanted to build in Erlangen, near Nüremburg (Nürnberg) a second Point Loma Headquarters and suggested, that all lineages bring their books for a shared central archive. But all German lineages have rejected this offering in their magazines: “An American!”, “a woman!”, “Point Loma is not trustworthy”, “we need no leader, no school”.
I was informed in an unexpected letter from John van Mater, then archivist of the Pasanda TS, when I had emotional months and worries about the dire condition. It was the first and only letter from him, including a photocopy of an article of Katherine Tingley’s project in Germany for a spiritual and practical rise.
Later on I got in the complete volume and several others from Jan Venema of the Point Loma-Covina lineage in The Netherlands.
The results of my collection of the project Theosophisches Centralarchiv will be presented here on theoarchive, as time, scanner and WordPress problems permit.
It is very pleasing that there is also a progressed similar Franz Hartmann Collection Project by the European School of the Adyar TS, who have more money and possibilities.
Date, Title, Details
1883
1885
The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme, the God-taught Philosopher
– London 1885
– Das Leben und die Lehren Jakob Böhmes, des theosophischen Philosophen von Görlitz, o.D. [c. 1886]
An Adventure Among the Rosicrucians
– Boston/London 1887
– Ein Abenteuer unter den Rosenkreuzern, Leipzig 1890
1886
Magic, White and Black
– London: The Theosophical Publishing Company, 1886
Magie, Weiß und Schwarz, oder Die Wissenschaft des Lebens und die Kunst des Heilens nach okkulten Prinzipien
– Leipzig, Altmann 1886 (German original in preparation since 1883, but the English ed. appeared first)
The Principles of Astrological Geomancy
– London 1886
1887
An Adventure Among the Rosicrucians by A Student of Occultism
Reprints as: An Adventure Among the Rosicrucians; With the Adepts: An Adventure Among the Rosicrucians (1910)
1888
The Life and the Doctrines of Paracelsus
– London 1888
Das Leben und die Lehren des Paracelsus, Leipzig 1891
The Secret Symbols of the Rosicrucians from the 16th and 17th Centuries
– Boston, 300 ex., hand colorized
– Kessinger Reprint
The Talking Image of Urur
– Article series in Lucifer 1888-1889
– London, Gay & Bird & New York, John W. Lovell Co., n. d. [1892]; New York, Frank F. Lovell & Co. 1890, 307 pp.
Reviews by H. P. Blavatsky: “On Pseudo-Theosophy”, in: Lucifer, March 1889, p. 1f. and in The Writer July 1890, p. 157: “A tale of Theosophy, dedicated to Madame Blavatsky and Colonel Henry S. Olcott, the president of the Theosophical Society, by the author, Dr. Hartmann, will interest or amuse all those who are striving to comprehend the relations of religion and mysticism. The scene is laid in the East, where a “theosophical Don Quixote” joins a “Society for the Distribution of Wisdom.” In the last chapter, the culmination of the tale, he finds that true knowledge can be attained only by the knowledge of self.”
Noticed: The Path, August 1890.
Das sprechende Bild von Urur
– epubli 2025, 240 pp.
1889
In the Pronaos of the Temple of Wisdom
– London 1889
Im Vorhof des Tempels der Weisheit
– Leipzig 1892
1890
The Life and the Doctrines of the Rosicrucians
– London 1890
Das Leben und die Lehren der Rosenkreuzer
– Leipzig 1893
In The Pronaos Of The Temple Of Wisdom, containing the History of the True and the False Rosicrucians
Noticed: The Path, August 1890.
1891
Occult Science in Medicine
– London 1891
Die okkulte Physiologie / Okkulte Wissenschaft in der Medizin
– Leipzig 1893
1893
The Life of Count Cagliostro
– London 1893
1894
Das Leben und die Lehre des Buddha
– Leipzig 1894
The Life of the Buddha
– London n.D. [c. 1896]
1895
With the Adepts: An Adventure Among the Rosicrucians (rev. ed.)
– 2nd. ed., n.D. [1895]
1896
Philosophia Occulta
– Leipzig 1896
– Englisch: Occult Philosophy (o.D. [ca. 1900])
1898
Lotusblüthen. Eine Reihe theosophischer Studien
– Leipzig 1898 (Sammlung von Artikeln aus der gleichnamigen Zeitschrift 1892–1898)
→ Englisch: Lotus Blossoms. Theosophical Essays (o.D. [ca. 1901])
1899
Theosophie und Rosenkreuzertum
– Leipzig 1899
Theosophy and Rosicrucianism n. D. [c. 1902]
1900
Das Problem des Bösen und das Geheimnis des Lebens
– Leipzig 1900
The Problem of Evil and the Mystery of Life
– n. d. [c. 1905]
1904
1908
1911
An Authenticated Vampire Story
1910
1911
Die weiße und die schwarze Magie (Neubearb. von Magie, Weiß und Schwarz)
– Leipzig 1911