John Dee in Jamaica?Marc Ganzglass

In his magnum opus General and Rare Memorials Pertayning to the Perfect Arte of Navigation, the 16th century occultist and polymath John Dee (1527-1608) first conceptualized the idea of a new “Brytish Impire.” Rare Memorials drew a road map for future conquest and provided the methods needed to master an increasingly territorialized globe.

The photographs reproduced for this exhibit and shown at SMMoCA for the first time, document John Dee’s presence on the island of Jamaica. The drawings captured in these three images are unmistakably Deesian: a Euclidean diagram of an unfolded pyramid, an elevation of a half-timbered house, and a cipher table. If genuine, these images suggest that Dee may have arrived on the island at or about the same time as Francis Drake staked claim to New Albion (Northern California) in 1579. 

In his lifetime, John Dee’s achievements in math and science, his arcane practices and political intrigues inspired admiration and conjecture across Europe. In the four centuries since, there have been countless works of scholarship on Dee and his role in shaping the modern era. Some notable resources are provided in the following bibliography. Of particular interest is the essay by Dr. Leslie A. Rutledge, which situates John Dee as a career government operative, including a detailed account of Dee’s use of cryptograms. 

Images in the Exhibit

Title: Pyramid diagram, low wall (ref. Euclid Geometrie) 
Date: 2024
Medium: Silver halide print
Dimension: 24”x30”

Title: Tudor half timber elevation, gravel wall 
Date: 2024
Medium: Silver halide print
Dimension: 24”x30”

Title: Cipher table, practical 
Date: 2024
Medium: Silver halide print
Dimension: 24”x30”

Bibliography

John Dee: Consultant to Queen Elizabeth, Rutledge, Leslie A.
(chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj
/https://media.defense.gov
/2021/Jul/02/2002755833/-1/-1/0/JOHN-DEE.PDF)

The Archaeology of Reading, The Dee Books
(https://archaeologyofreading.org/bibliography/dee-corpus/)

The General and Rare Memorials Pertayning to the Perfect Arte of Navigation, Dee, John 1577
(https://digitalcollections.tcd.ie/concern/works/8c97kx27v?locale=fr)





         
    Instilation view



         
Cipher table, practical
2024
Silver halide print
24”x30”



installation view
Tudor half timber elevation, gravel wall 
2024
Silver halide print
24”x30”
Pyramid diagram, low wall (ref. Euclid Geometrie) 
2024
Silver halide print
24”x30”
Tudor half timber elevation, gr
Detailed view of Pyramid diagram, low wall (ref. Euclid Geometrie)