Weiser Antiquarian Books.


Catalog Archive Page: # 2.

Catalogs from No. 21 onwards.

A list of our first twenty catalogs - with related links - can be viewed at: http://www.weiserantiquarian.com/catalogarchivepageone

For those using Internet Explorer, this catalog is best viewed with the text size set to 'larger' (to do this go to the drop down menu 'View' in the tool bar, click on 'text size' and select 'larger').


Our Previous Catalogs.


In addition to the regular listings on our website, Weiser Antiquarian Books began issuing a new series of on-line catalogs in February 2006. These catalogs give us the opportunity to present collections or groups of related items in a more detailed and sympathetic context than the normal website allows, and also enable us to give our established customers first choice at some of the more interesting new arrivals, as well as to offer them 'special' or bargain items. Most of the catalogs are put together around the works of a particular author or subject: say books by Aleister Crowley or books on Alchemy for example, although others might simply list new arrivals, or books that have come from a specific collection. The items in the catalogs are not advertised elsewhere - in the main body of our website or on other bookselling sites - for at least a few days after the catalogs have been posted on-line.

Obviously the catalogs go out of date quickly. Because we sell mostly secondhand and rare books, we usually only have only one copy of any given item. Many items sell within the first few days of the catalog's launch, with the remainder trickling out in the weeks and months that follow its release. It was originally our intention just to leave the catalogs on-line for a month or two, and then to take them down. However a number of our customers liked having them available for bibliographical and other reference purposes and asked us to leave them up where they could access them. Unfortunately this can create some confusion: it is too time consuming for us to keep backtracking and marking off books that have sold, but if we do not do this it can cause lead to some confusion and disappointment to those who find their way to the site indirectly - via google for example - and do not realise they are looking at archived listings.

To try to minimise possible misunderstandings, but still provide access to the catalogs, we decided to mark off as SOLD, all items that sold within the first two weeks of any catalog's launch. After two weeks we will then 'archive' the catalog - adding it to this page. When doing that we will replace the item's price with the words 'Please check our website for current availability.' If the item is not listed on our main website: http://www.weiserantiquarian.com it is probably safe to assume that it has sold, however you can always send us an enquiry by email, or phone us to be sure. If doing this, please tell us the item's author, title, and the 'unique book number' (the number in brackets at the end of the listing).

At present we issue about one catalog a month, with occasional email updates of new-releases etc. If you would like to be notified by email when we post a new catalog on-line, please send an email with 'subscribe' in the subject line to books@weiserantiquarian.com Of course ou can have your name removed from the list at any time, simply by asking, and of course we will not re-supply your details to anyone.

A chronological list of our catalogs from number 21 onwards follows below. A list of our first twenty catalogs - with links to the catalogs themselves can be viewed at:
http://www.weiserantiquarian.com/catalogarchivepageone

To see books that are currently available, please go to our website http://www.weiserantiquarian.com

Catalog Twenty-one: Jean Michaud, Occultist, Musician and Author.


The twenty-first of our on-line catalogs was made up of a selection of books from the library of composer, author, and occultist, Jean Michaud (1884 - 1961). Michaud was a fascinating individual, who was deeply involved in esoteric circles in London from the 1920s through the 1950s. With the generous help of his daughter we have put together a short essay about Michaud, aimed not only at setting Michaud's book collection into its historical context, but also at making available additional about his personal place in twentieth century Western esoteric history. For those interested in reading it, the essay can be found at:
http://www.weiserantiquarian.com/catalogtwentyonesupplement

Michaud's library was probably one of the most significant occult collections in private hands in the United Kingdom. It numbered nearly fifty-thousand volumes, and included an extraordinary number of rarities, not just books, but original manuscripts and typescripts. Following his death his collection was divided into a number of parts, with a significant amount being dispersed in the 1980s. What we offered for sale in this catalog was a fragment of that original collection that had been retained by a close relative. As with the original collection, the items in this catalog are highly diverse, and ranged from truly rare editions of famous texts, to solid reprints of standard works.

Jean Michaud also had his own publishing company, the UMA Press, which started off as a music publisher, but ended up publishing the occult and 'alternative' (in the sense of healing and spirituality) works of Michaud and like-minded friends and acquaintances. The first section of the catalog is made up of a selection of these works, most of which were duplicates retained by Michaud, perhaps with an eye to reprinting or for presentation to friends.

The second section is devoted to some of the rarities of the Michaud collection. One of the most spectacular of these is a Signed presentation copy from H. Spencer Lewis, of Engelke's translation of the Secret Symbols of the Rosicrucians (1935), Elephant Folio with dozens of Hand-colored illustrations throughout (one example is reproduced at the top left of this page). This issue was printed on parchment, and it seems likely that less than a dozen were ever prepared thus: we have been unable to find a record of any other copy having ever being offered for sale. Also of great rarity is the First Edition in English of one of the most famous esoteric works of all time, The True Prophecies Or Prognostications Of Michael Nostradamus (1672). Other early rarities include John Gaule's Pusmantia. The Mag-Astro-Mancer, or the Magicall-Astrologicall-Diviner, Posed and Puzzled (1652), Joakim Philander's Vitulus Aureus: the Golden Calf (1749), and John Baptista Porta's Natural Magick 1658. Of more recent origin, but still uncommon are a nice second edition of Francis Barrett's The Magus (1875), a superb leather bound 13 volume set of Burton's translation of A Book of the Thousand Nights and One Night (1897), John Yarker's The Arcane Schools (1909), and a lovely First Edition, in dustjacket, of Dion Fortune's The Sea Priestess (1938).

The third and final section is made up of an interesting selection of second hand, out-of-print, and unusal books a wide variety of subjects, including: Atlantis, Astrology, Cartomancy, Clairvoyance, Eastern Religion, Egyptology, Erotica, Fairy Tales, Folklore, Ghosts and Ghost Stories, Gnosticism, Kabbalah, Meditation, Mythology, Occult Fiction, Palmistry, Rosicrucianism, Satanism, Spiritualism, Symbolism, Tarot, Theosophy, Yoga, & Werewolves! Because of the number of items in this catalog we actually split it over two separate web-pages, so this fourth section of it can be found on a separate page.

To view the first two parts of the catalog please go to:
http://www.weiserantiquarian.com/catalogtwentyone

To view the third part please go to:
http://www.weiserantiquarian.com/catalogtwentyoneparttwo

Catalog Twenty-two: Aleister Crowley Rarities.


The twenty-second of our on-line catalogs, was once again devoted to rare books and related material by Aleister Crowley. It was a relatively short catalog, but some of the items in it were of the greatest rarity. Those familiar with the Crowley canon will know that First Editions of any one of his erotic works are scarce: to have three at once, as we did in this catalog, is practically unheard of. These works, which are listed in the first section, are his White Stains, Bagh-i-Muattar, and The World's Tragedy.

Although not widely known Crowley also took a considerable interest in the cinema, and was a regular film-goer. In the late 1920s and 1930s he tried his hand at writing for the movies, and prepared a number of film scenarios, which he hoped to sell to the motion-picture studios. He sent some of these to his North American disciple, Wilfred T. Smith, in the hope that he would be able to interest Hollywood in them. Not surprisingly Smith was unsuccessful in this endeavor, but the film scenarios which Crowley sent to him have survived. Three of them were offered for sale here: they are genuinely interesting and amusing works, and of course have never been published or made into film.

Listed in the same section as the film scenarios are two important typescripts of plays. One is an early typescript of the long version of Crowley's The Three Wishes, considered by many to have been Crowley's best theatrical work. The other is a late (1930s or early 1940s) typescript copy of Crowley's play The World's Tragedy. What is so special about this copy is that it was given to Jack Parsons by Wilfred T. Smith, and bears his presentation inscription on the title page.

The third section reflects an altogether different side of Crowley: that is his interest in cookery, here represented by a group of hand-written menu cards on which he recorded some of the meals he prepared for himself and friends in late 1938 and early 1939.

The fourth, and final part of the catalog lists a selection of works by Crowley, including some scarce Thelema Publications editions, from the collection of its founder, Helen Parsons Smith, and a number of rarities, such as the First Edition of Crowley's Chicago May and a complete set of the First Edition of the first ten numbers of The Equinox.

To view this catalog please go to:
http://www.weiserantiquarian.com/catalogtwentytwo

Catalog Twenty-three: Alchemy and Hermetica. Books from the collection of Robert Lenkiewicz.



The twenty-third of our on-line catalogs, was devoted to used, out-of-print, and rare books on Alchemy, Hermetica, and related subjects from the library of Robert Oscar Lenkiewicz (1941 - 2002).

Lenkiewicz was a well-known British artist, eccentric, and book collector who owned over 25,000 books at the time of his death. One room of his studio was termed by Lenkiewicz the "Occult Philosophy Room," and contained a world-class library on the subject, with a special emphasis on alchemy and alchemical symbolism, Neo-Platonism and Renaissance occultism, and the Kabbalah and Jewish mysticism. First editions of books by Agrippa, Albertus Magnus, Boehme, Bruno, Dee, Ficino, Fludd, Glauber, Kircher, Trithemius, and others jostled alongside original alchemical manuscripts, ornate kabbalistic treatises, and more recent, scholarly volumes.

Most of the highpoints from the "Occult Philosophy Room," were sold at auction shortly after Lenkiewicz's death. However Lenkiewicz was not just a collector of fine editions: he was a serious reader and scholar of alchemy and hermetica, and had a great many 'ordinary books,' which were the subject of his regular study. Whilst a number of these books are actually rare or at least uncommon in there own right, they were not all dispersed at the time, and Weiser Antiquarian books was fortunate enough acquire a selection of them, along with some of the rarities These were offered for sale in this catalog.

The first section of the catalog is devoted to some rare and unusual works from Lenkiewicz's collection. Included in this section are the extremely scarce second English language edition of the Divine Pymander of Hermes Mercurius Trismegistus (1657), first English language editions of Jacob Boehme's, Signatura Rerum: of the Signature of All Things (1651) , and The Second Book Concerning the Three Principles of the Divine Essence (1648), and seven volumes (bound in two) of one of the major source works on the history of alchemy, the Catalogue des manuscrits alchimiques grecs (1928-1932) , edited by Henri Lebègue, et al. Other unusual works include H. Stanley Redgrove's copy of A. E. Waite's The Alchemical Writings of Edward Kelly(1893), and Kurt Seligmann's copy of Job's, Anleitung zu denen Curiösen Wissenschafften(1737) , as well as unusually fine copies of First Editions of A. E. Waite's The Hermetic Museum Restored and Enlarged, (1893) and The Magical Writings of Thomas Vaughan (Eugenius Philalethes) (1888) .

The second section of the catalogue comprises an interesting selection of used, out-of-print and rare books from Lenkiewicz's "Occult Philosophy Room." Some of these are pristine copies of scarce works, others are well worn 'reading copies' that have obviously seen a lot of practical use, such as a rebound copy of Gray's, Goethe The Alchemist which is interleaved with closely written scraps of paper, on which Lenkiewicz has made notes in a miniscule handwriting.

The third and fourth section of this catalogue are devoted, respectively, to two handwritten copies which Lenkiewicz made of rare alchemical manuscripts housed in the British Library, and to a collection of bound off-prints (or photocopies thereof) of journal articles which Lenkiewicz obviously found to be of special significance. Both the manuscripts and the journal articles are ingeniously (if rather crudely) bound in thick plywood boards, with cloth spines that he hand-lettered, giving them a rather 'folk-art' look and feel.

To view this catalog please go to:
http://www.weiserantiquarian.com/catalogtwentythree

Catalog Twenty-four: Austin Osman Spare. Books, Art and Ephemera.


The twenty-fourth of our on-line catalogs comprised an interesting collection of out-of-print and rare books by and about Austin Osman Spare (1886-1956), as well as a number of small original artworks and related materials, most of which were recovered from his former home in Wynne Road, Brixton, shortly before it was demolished in the late 1960s.

The catalog started with a new issue of The Book of Automatic Drawings, a magnificent previously unpublished sketchbook dating from 1925 that was finally put into print by three friends: Ian Kenyur Hodgkins, Roy Curtis-Bramwell, and Ian Law in 1973. In addition to a trade edition (examples of which were listed in section three of the catalog) the trio also had two hundred sets of sheets of the book printed on hand-made paper, which they planned to use for a special edition, each copy of which was to have been bound in quarter leather, and posthumously 'autographed' by Spare by way of a signed check - a large number of which had been found in his former Wynne Road residence. Unfortunately their finances did not prove up to the cost, and only a tiny number of the leather edition were ever bound. Surprisingly a number of the sets of unbound sheets (and their attendant checks) survived, and have shown up for sale from time to time over the years. What must surely be one of the last of these caches of sheets forms the basis of this new issue. As was originally intended, this new issue is handsomely bound in quarter leather, and has a check signed by Spare tipped in. It also includes a brief Afterword by Roy Curtis-Bramwell written especially for this issue, in which he outlines the history of the book.

Section two of the catalog featured brand new copies of two works by William Wallace: The Early Work of Austin Osman Spare, 1900-1919, and The Later Work of Austin Osman Spare, 1917-1956. Both are quality productions, with color plates, that were printed in quite small quantity in the late 1980s. They are arguably amongst the first scholarly studies to be done of Spare and his artistic influences, and played an important part in the 'rediscovery' of Spare and his art by a new generation that began in the 1970's and gathered momentum in the decades thereafter. Weiser Antiquarian Books was fortunate to acquire a small number of copies of each, including a few signed copies of The Early Work.

The third section of the catalog contains a good selection of works by and about Spare, including a number of the beautifully produced Fulgur publications, some quite spectacular Golden Hind magazines, most of which have have a number of large illustrations by Spare, including, in one instance, a huge double-page lithograph. The section also includes several unusual books with Spare's artwork, notably Wainwright's Poems and Masks and Grindrod's The Shadow of Raggedstone as well as First Editions of The Focus of Life and The Book of Pleasure.

The fourth and final section of the catalog comprised a number of small original artworks, photographs, and other ephemeral items, most of which were recovered from Spare's Wynne Road house. The items include several small but beautifully executed portraits that Spare presented to Ada Millicent Pain: the one woman for whom he seems to have had any real affection, a significant group of catalogs for his exhibitions: some of which have annotations in his own hand, and a small collection of material - photographs, a letter, and a rough sketch - relating to a portrait of the great composer and musician Igor Stravinsky that Spare executed. Perhaps the most poignant of the items in this last section was a heavily worn letter authorising Spare to act as a 'fire spotter' at Collier's Department Store during the blitz. It was of course whilst so engaged that Spare was injured and nearly killed by a bomb blast.

To view this catalog please go to:
http://www.weiserantiquarian.com/catalogtwentyfour

Catalog Twenty-five: A Holiday Miscellany.


The twenty-fifth of our on-line catalogs was another of what we have termed our "Holiday Miscellanies:" that is a varied selection of books that we felt would make ideal holiday gifts, either as a treat for one-self or as an unusual present for another special person.

Unusually for us, the books in this catalog were arranged under a variety of subheadings: Amulets & Talismans, Astrology, Bibliography. Buddhism, Edgar Cayce, Cambridge Platonists, Comparative Religion, Conspiracy Theories, Crystal-Gazing & Scrying, Curious, Death, Demonology, Dragons, Egyptian Religion, Erotic Art, Fascination, Folklore, Fourth Way, Freemasonry, Gnosticism, Grail Legends, Kenneth Grant, Gypsies, Illuminati, Inquisition, Kabbalah, Knots, Literature, Magic, Mythology, Native American Religion & Healing, Rosicrucianism, Salesmanship & Fundamentalism, Serpent Worship, Austin Osman Spare, Stonehenge, Tarot, Teachers, Theosophy, True Crime, Vampires, Voodoo, Arthur Edward Waite, Witchcraft, etc. The one common theme is that most are unusual or rare.

A number of the books in the catalog are signed or inscribed by their authors, or have a significant ownership history or provenance. Of particular interest amongst these is a handsomely bound copy of John G. Bourke's, The Medicine - Men of the Apache (1892) , with two related letters from Bourke, a serving Officer of the Third US Cavalry, tipped in. The copy of A. E. Waite's Strange Houses of Sleep (1906) , that is listed has a significant ten line signed and dated inscription in Waite's hand, concerning his ideas on mystical experience, whilst a copy of S. L. Bensusan's, April. A Book of Minor Verse (1928) , has come from Waite's own library, and carries Bensusan's warm inscription to him.

Other books in the catalog include E. A. Wallis Budge's magnificent set of The Book of the Dead , in the huge two volume edition: that is the one with the color plate volume so large that it virtually requires its own table. Less imposing but still significant are a nice early edition (1825-1826) of de Plancys Dictionnaire Infernal , one of the major source works of Demonology in the early nineteenth century, and the First Edition, with cover art by Aubrey Beardsley, of Arthur Machen's classic of occult terror, The Great God Pan and The Inmost Light (1894) . For sheer visual effect it would be difficult to overlook the splendid edition of Augustino Van Staveren's collection of Latin Fables, Auctores Mythographi Latini (1742) , with its magnificent vellum binding, and charming illustrations on fresh, creamy pages.

Those whose tastes might be considered a little quirkier were not overlooked. There are two unusual books on death: one Buried Alive (1895) by the well known occult author Franz Hartmann, is a study of the problem of premature burial, a subject that was no laughing matter given the more rudimentary knowledge of physiology and the mechanics of death when it was written. The other, by Bertram S. Puckle, Funeral Customs Their Origin and Development (1926) , is a serious yet entertaining history of the customs and practices which surround the physical fact of death. On somewhat lighter note, but no less unsual, are The Secrets of Mahatma Land (circa 1890) , by Samri S. Baldwin, a stage magician who delighted in exposing the 'trickery of the eastern sages' and mocking the Theosophists, and The Oera Linda Book (1876) , supposedly a translation of an ancient Frisian manuscript, which gave a radically different account of ancient history, and was hailed variously as a revelation and a hoax.

To view this catalog please go to:
http://www.weiserantiquarian.com/catalogtwentyfive

Catalog Twenty-Six: Aleister Crowley Rarities. Books and Manuscripts.


The twenty-sixth of our on-line catalogs was once more devoted to the works of Aleister Crowley, and in this case presented a small selection of rarities, both printed, and in manuscript and typescript.

The catalog included a good selection of First Editions: amongst which were copies of Ambergris , The City of God (a rare review issue), Clouds Without Water, The Equinox of the Gods, The Fun of the Fair, Gargoyles, Household Gods, 777, The Sword of Song, The Winged Beetle, and others, as well as three numbers of the 'Edition de Luxe' issue of the first series of The Equinox.

Two special typescripts occupied a category of their own: the original typescript from which Stephen Skinner prepared his pioneering edition of Crowley's Astrology, along with some related ephemera, and a copy of Crowley's still-unpublished Book of Oaths. Each of the manuscript items is special in it's own way, but the highlights are undoubtedly the collection of documents relating to Crowley's abortive attempt to issue a deck of the Thoth tarot cards in the early 1940s, the original manuscript of the "Bibliographical Note" to The Book of Thoth, a typescript with Crowley's delightful "My name it is Aleister Crowley" limerick written by him in manuscript at the end, and the signed manuscript of an unpublished wartime poem: "Remember Pearl Harbour!"

The catalog closed with three small artworks by author, playwright, poet and painter Ithell Colquhoun (1906 - 1988). Colquhoun is said to have had a passing acquaintance with Crowley, and to have later been recognised as an O.T.O. member by Karl Germer. She was also, for a time, a member of Kenneth Grant's New Isis Lodge.

To view this catalog please go to:
http://www.weiserantiquarian.com/catalogtwentysix

Catalog Twenty-Seven: Mr. Kenneth Grant. Books, and Related Materials.



The twenty-seventh of our on-line catalogs is devoted to new and out-of-print books either written by or with contributions by Mr. Kenneth Grant.

It is probably safe to assume that most reading this text will be broadly familiar with Mr. Grant's biography: his youthful friendship with Aleister Crowley and Austin Osman Spare, his foundation of the New Isis Lodge, his creative partnership with his wife Steffi, and his unique and innovative approach to Magick. What may surprise some - as it did us when we put together the listings for this catalog - is the extent and breadth of his literary output.

It also occurred to us that this might well be the first bookseller's catalog to be devoted exclusively to the works of Mr. Grant. In recognition of this we thought that it would be nice to have someone with a genuine understanding of Mr. Grant and his work provide a short piece by way of Foreword. No-one seemed better qualified to write this than Mr. Grant's long-time associate and publisher at Starfire, Michael Staley. When asked, Mick generously obliged, and the catalog thus begins with his especially written essay: The Written Work of Kenneth Grant: A Short Appreciation.

To view this catalog please go to:
http://www.weiserantiquarian.com/catalogtwentyseven

Catalog Twenty-Eight: Alchemy and Hermetica. Books from the collection of Robert Lenkiewicz. Part II.



Catalog Twenty-Eight was the second of two special lists (the other was Catalog Twenty-Three) devoted to used, out-of-print, and rare books on Alchemy, Hermetica, and related subjects from the library of Robert Oscar Lenkiewicz (1941 - 2002).

Lenkiewicz was a well-known British artist, eccentric, and book collector who owned over 25,000 books at the time of his death. Most of them were crammed into perilously towering floor-to-ceiling cases in seven rooms of his Studio, with the overflow, which included his extraordinary collection on witchcraft and demonology (and a skeleton alleged to be that of Ursula Kemp, who was hanged for witchcraft in 1582), housed appropriately enough in a deconsecrated Church not far away. The books in Lenkiewicz's studio were collected into broadly themed "rooms," on art biography, art history, death, etc. However the most significant collection was the 3000 or so books in the "Occult Philosophy Room," often referred to by Lenkiewicz as "The Metaphysics Room." The books there truly represented a world-class library on the subject, with a special emphasis on alchemy and alchemical symbolism, Neo-Platonism and Renaissance occultism, and the Kabbalah and Jewish mysticism. Weiser Antiquarian Books was fortunate enough acquire a small selection of these books, which are now offered for sale in this catalog, and in our earlier catalog twenty-three.

The first section of catalog twenty-eight is a miscellany of books from the "Occult Philosophy Room," and includes a number of serious, scholarly studies of alchemy, some of which are quite scarce. Most of the books in this section are in pristine condition, though some have obviously seen a lot of practical use, such as one of the copies of Atwood's A Suggestive Inquiry Into Hermetic Philosophy and Alchemy which is interleaved with closely written scraps of paper, on which Lenkiewicz has made notes in a miniscule handwriting. The second section of the catalog comprises three handwritten copies of rare alchemical manuscripts made by Lenkiewicz from the originals in the British Library. Two of these include delightful hand-drawn illustrations by Lenkiewicz, after originals in the texts (one is reproduced in part above).. The third section comprises a number of bound off-prints (or photocopies thereof) of journal articles which Lenkiewicz obviously found to be of special significance. Both the manuscripts and the journal articles have been ingeniously (if rather crudely) bound by Lenkiewicz in thin plywood boards, with cloth spines which he hand-lettered, giving them a rather 'folk-art' look and feel.

The final section contains a number of limited edition books from the Magnum Opus Hermetic Sourceworks series produced by Adam McLean, the highly-regarded scholar of alchemical texts, who is well known for his alchemy website, and as the editor and publisher of numerous important hermetic texts.



To view this catalog please go to:
http://www.weiserantiquarian.com/catalogtwentyeight

Catalog Twenty-Nine: A Maine Winter Miscellany.


Catalog Twenty-Nine was another of our miscellanies - with books from a number of our different specialist areas, and in a wide price range. As usual the books were listed under the author's name, but the subjects under which they might be categorised include: Alternative Health, Astral Travel, Astrology, Bacon-Shakespeare Controversy, Bizzare Sexual Theories, Cambridge Platonists, Chinese Medicine, Color Theory, Comparative Religion, Christian Spirituality, Egyptian Religion, Folklore, Gnosticism, Goddess Lore, The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, Grimoires, Heresies, Kabbalah, Magic, Mysticism, Mythology, Odic Force, Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, Phenomenology, Phrenology, Sleight-of-Hand, Sufism, Superstitions, Symbolism, Tarot, Theology, Theosophy, etc. The authors include: William Blake, Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, Jakob Boehme, E. A. Wallis Budge, Andrew D. Chumbley, Harry Houdini, Francis King, Anna Bonus Kingsford, Eliphas Levi, S. L. MacGregor Mathers, G. R. S. Mead, Israel Regardie, Comte de Saint-Germain, Edouard Schuré, Sayed Idries Shah, Emanuel Swedenborg, A. E. Waite and many others.

Amongst the antiquarian books in the catalog are three important seventeenth century works. Each is significant in its own way, but the most exceptional in collecting terms is probably the magnificent First Edition of William Lilly's Christian Astrology (1647), perhaps the best-known English-language work on Astrology, written by the man who gained fame for accurately predicting the outbreak of the Great Fire of London. This copy is especially nice as it is in an early leather binding, and has a superb contemporary hand-drawn astrological chart tipped onto the front pastedown, as well as some late seventeenth century manuscript notes concerning astrology, and a page of notes recording the prices fetched by other copies of the book at auction in the late 1600s. Clearly even three centuries ago the work was in great demand, and achieving a substantial price. The First English language edition of John Baptista Porta's Natural Magick (1658) is delightful for it's curious content. It is essentially a compendium of the popular science of the time, and covers a diverse range of subjects from alchemy, botany, cookery, cosmology, geology, and medicine, to clandestine writing, counterfeiting gold, creating artificial gems, beautifying women, and "Greek Fire." The third of the seventeenth century books was also the most controversial. It is the First Edition in English of Jakob Boehme's Aurora (1656), a mystical work which sparked considerable debate at the time of its first publication on account of its unorthodox views, and led to accusations of heresy being levelled against Boehme.

eauty and originality are combined in a two volume set of Chase's translation of The Ethics of Aristotle (1902), in which the first twenty of the highly decorative woodcut initials which start each chapter have been beautifully illuminated in gilt and other colors by the hand an unknown artist (the letter 'B' that starts this sentence is of course one of these illuminated captials.) Another special book is the magnificent India Paper edition of the Nonesuch Press printing of The Writings of William Blake (1925), one of only 75 numbered copies issued thus. Not exactly rare, but certainly one of the most eccentric books on the list is Arabella Kenealy's, The Human Gyroscope. A Consideration of the Gyroscopic Rotation of Earth as Mechanism of the Evolution of Terrestrial Living Forms Explaining the Phenomenon of Sex: it's Origin and Development and its Significance in the Evolutionary Process, (1934). The work is too complex and odd to summarise - suffice it to say that Martin Gardner quotes liberally from it in the chapter on 'Eccentric Sexual Theories,' in his delightful Fads and Fallacies in the Name of Science and that elsewhere the author expressed the now-unpopular opinion that women should avoid excessive exercise and education on account of the dangers they might pose to the woman's principal vocation of motherhood.

To view this catalog please go to:
http://www.weiserantiquarian.com/catalogtwentynine

Catalog Thirty. Spiritualism.


The thirtieth of our on-line catalogs was devoted to the subject of Spiritualism. The term Spiritualism defies easy definition, but for the purposes of this catalog it refers to the movement that developed in the United States around the 1840s, and spread rapidly throughout the English-speaking and to lesser extent - non-English-speaking - world in the latter decades of that century. It was a movement that encompassed many diverse streams of thought, but the one common belief was that there exists a separate plane of being that is populated by the spirits of the deceased, and that it is possible for the living to communicate with the denizens of this realm with the aid of a person with special powers termed a 'medium.' Spiritualists also commonly believed in a Supreme Being, and, frequently, in the existence of other entities such as angels, spirits, etc. who might show themselves to especially gifted or chosen individuals, as well as (variously) in reincarnation, psychic powers, hypnosis, telekinesis, channeling, spirit communication, faith healing, fortune telling, prophecy, and other phenomena usually associated with the occult.

The Spiritualist movement had a turbulent history. Although exuberantly embraced by many, it also drew in numerous detractors, who criticised it either on account of the many frauds associated with it, on religious grounds, or on the implausibility of its claims. The controversy was so great, and Spiritualism's presence so pervasive, that a new discipline evolved that was devoted especially to investigating the veracity of the claims made on its behalf: Psychical Research. However despite many years of diligent and often sympathetic investigation, the psychical researchers still failed to come up with any resoundingly convincing validation of it. The movement gradually lost momentum, and after a brief resurgence in the 1920s faded into quiet obscurity, although it is arguable that the resurgence of interest in psychic phenomenon etc. that resurfaced in the 1960s was in some ways a relative.

The books in this catalog span most of the history of the Spiritualist movement, and cover a variety of different perspectives on it, from enthusiastic and ardent supporters, through the undecided scrutineers of psychical research, to the hostile critiques of rationalists and some Churchmen. A number of the works are signed or association copies.
Not surprisingly works by supporters of Spiritualism make up the bulk of the collection. An important early account of the movement in the USA by one who took an active part in it is Henry Spicer's, Sights and Sounds. The Mystery of the Day: Comprising an Entire History of the American "Spirit" Manifestations (1853). Our copy is inscribed on the front free endpaper by the author to William Stirling (1861-1902), author of the famous esoteric work The Canon. Another 'insider' account of the movement, that is also an association copy, is Emma Hardinge Britten's Nineteenth Century Miracles (circa 1883) which has the calling card with presentation inscription of the Countess of Caithness tipped onto the front endpaper. The Countess of Caithness, was an active Spiritualist, who believed herself to be the reincarnation of Mary Queen of Scots, and about whose activities Britten wrote in this volume, and whose portrait can be found on page 90. Amongst the many accounts of the lives and experiences of mediums, etc, there are some works which approach the subject from slightly different perspective. Thus Baron Von Schrenck-Notzing's generously-illustrated work Phenomena of Materialisation. A Contribution to the Investigation of Mediumistic Teleplastics (1923), concentrates on the appearance of ectoplasm and other physical phenomena associated with 'spirit materialisation' that he observed during twenty years studying Eusapia Palladino and other well known mediums (the dubious-looking photograph to the right is taken from this book). Another work that approaches the subject from an unusual perspective is Mary T. Shelhamer's, Life and Labor in the Spirit World. Being a Description of Localities, Employments, Surroundings, and Conditions in the Spheres (1885), in which the author's 'Spirit-Band' describe their 'life' in the 'Summer-land,' discoursing, amongst other things, on such subjects as the 'Restoration of the Mentally Diseased', 'Sanitariums in Spirit Life,' 'female suffrage,' and 'the [American] Indians' (who, to judge from the number who appear as 'guides,' would seem to have had a presence disproportionate to their earthly numbers).

The studies of the Psychical Researchers are represented by a number of different works, including the report of the The Seybert Commission on Spiritualism (1887). The Seybert Report was one of the first major independent investigations into Spiritualism: it was organised and conducted by the University of Pennsylvania in accordance with the terms of a bequest left by Henry Seybert. Unfortunately for the Spiritualists its findings were resoundingly condemnatory. One of the better known psychical researchers of the twentieth century was Harry Price. Included in this collection is a copy of the Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research Vol. XXVIII (May 1924), which contained an essay by Price entitled 'Stella C., a Record of Thirteen Sittings for Thermo-psychic and other Experiments,' and which has been boldly inscribed by Price across the upper cover to the American conjurer John Mulholland. Hereward Carrington tended to be somewhat more equivocal than Price: he divided his work on slate-writing, rope-tying, table-turning, levitation, spirit-photography, etc.: The Physical Phenomena of Spiritualism (ca 1910), into 'Fraudulent' and 'Genuine,' as he was "anxious to expose the fraud connected with the subject - since it is only by so doing that we can ever hope to reach the genuine phenomena which are to be studied." Yet more enthusiastic was Gertrude Ogden Tubby, who was long-time secretary of the American Society for Psychical Research. In the work entitled James H. Hyslop - X. His Book - A Cross Reference Record (1929) she enthusiastically recorded the researches of Hyslop, who was her friend as well as the leader of the A.S.P.R. The copy here offered has been inscribed by the author to Professor Charles Richet, a friend and co-worker of Hyslops.

Those opposed to Spiritualism - or at least determined to debunk its fraudulent aspects - were a varied group. One of the scarcest books in the catalogue is a copy of the 1922 edition of Revelations of a Spirit Medium. The book was first published in 1891, but according to the editors of the new edition "the book was such a crushing exposé of the methods of bogus mediums" that the fraudsters bought and destroyed every copy they could lay hold of. Either the same happened when it was reprinted - or the print run was miniscule - as even the reissue is excruciatingly rare. Unlike the author of Revelations of a Spirit Medium, Simon Augustine Blackmore who wrote the book Spiritism. Facts and Frauds (1924), hedged his bets somewhat, suggesting that the Spiritualism and related phenomena were not just fraudulent, but could were also the work of the Devil, whilst the author of Demonology or Spiritualism; Ancient and Modern (1884), an ex-Spiritualist who became a member of "Maine Eldership of the Church of God," was quite adamant that Spiritualism was simply a manifestation of the Devil's trickery. Other authors like William A Hammond, Spiritualism and Allied Causes and Conditions of Nervous Derangement (1876), regarded Spiritualism as either the cause or the consequence of a disturbed mind. The one thing that unites all these works must surely be the passion of their author's convictions, and the certainty that despite a century-and-a-half of intense investigation, some small number of the phenomena that they recounted still defy a simple and rational explanation.

To view this catalog please go to:
http://www.weiserantiquarian.com/catalogthirty

Catalog Thirty-One. Aleister Crowley. Second-hand and Out-of-Print Books.


The thirty-first of our on-line catalogs once again centered on the works of Aleister Crowley, however, unlike many of our earlier Crowley lists it was not devoted to rarities from the lifetime of 'the Beast,' but instead offered an interesting selection of posthumously-published works by and about Aleister Crowley. This is not to suggest that some of these works are not rare. Many are out-of-print, and as always, there are a number of special items dotted throughout the catalog.

The unusual items in the first section include a copy of the Kashmarin Press edition of The Book of Thoth (1969), in nice condition in its seldom seen dustjacket, as well as a copy of Helen Parsons Smith's edition of the Khing Kang King. The latter is the second issue (1974) which was limited to 100 numbered copies, and which was the first printing to include a reproduction of the Crowley drawing in her own copy as a frontis-piece. Very different, but every bit as unusual, is a copy of the Francis King edition of Secret Rituals of the O.T.O. that belonged to Robert North, who is known for his book The New Flesh Palladium, as well as his edition of Paschal Beverly Randolph's Sexual Magic. North has made copious tidy notes in felt tip pen throughout the volume, as well as augmenting it with extra illustrations and other related material, and a custom dustjacket with "O.T.O. Seminole Province" lettered across the front panel (the original dustjacket is still present). One other highly unusual piece in this section is a copy of Israel Regardie's edition of The Vision and the Voice that has been inscribed by Israel Regardie on front endpaper. What is particularly interesting is that Regardie has ended the inscription with a truncated version of the Thelemic greeting "93/93" [sic], something he seldom did, as despite being a former Crowley associate, biographer, and editor of Crowley's works, he was by no means a Thelemite.

The second section comprises a comprehensive selection of biographies and other books about Crowley. Ironically the books that are widely held to be the best of the biographies: Richard Kaczynski's Perdurabo, and the worst: Colin Wilson's Aleister Crowley: The Nature of the Beast, are both quite scarce. A fine copy of each can be found in these listings, the copy of Perdurabo being the one of the special hardbound edition, limited to 111 signed and numbered copies. Also highly uncommon is a French biographical work on Crowley: Arnold Waldstein's, Crowley le Saint de Satan (1975). A short, but fascinating and unusual work, is Timothy D'Arch Smith's limited edition booklet Bunbury, (1998). Tim is of course the highly respected author of The Books of the Beast, and is rightly renowned for his knowledge of Crowley's bibliography, and his own literary detection skills. Both are ably put to work in Bunbury, where he uses a word invented by Oscar Wilde as a stepping stone to explore Crowley's place in the homosexual underworld of 1890s England, and the threads of acquaintance that connected the young Crowley with Wilde.

The third and final part of this catalogue is devoted to issues of Red Flame A Thelemic Research Journal. Most who have read this far will be well aware of this remarkable journal, the life of which spanned thirteen issues and thirteen years. In short, it was not only the most substantial, but also one of the most exciting and controversial of the many magazines and journals devoted to Thelema ever to have come off a printing press. All the early numbers of the journal were limited editions, and many of those on offer here have contemporary presentation inscriptions by the authors / editors. Amongst those listed are copies of the two most controversial and sought-after issues: No. 7: The Magickal Essence of Aleister Crowley and No. 8: Liber AL Vel Legis (The Book of the Law) . Also very special is a First Edition of Issue No. 2. Mystery of Mystery, A Primer of Thelemic Ecclesiastical Gnosticism, limited to 93 copies, that was from the library of Helen Parsons Smith. The issue has a presentation inscription on the title page to Helen from co-authors, David and Lynn Scriven, as well as a loosely inserted card to her expressing the good wishes of the journal's publishers Jerry and Marlene Cornelius.
To view this catalog please go to:

http://www.weiserantiquarian.com/catalogthirtyone

Catalog Thirty-Two. Alchemy.


The thirty-second of our on-line catalogs, was devoted to the subject of Alchemy.

The catalog is made up of five sections, the first of which features just one item, a charming nineteenth-century Italian Alchemical Manuscript containing translations into Italian of a work by Sendivogius, and two smaller texts. The second section lists a small selection of antiquarian and rare books, including a nicely bound set of William Law's edition of The Works of Jacob Behmen, The Teutonic Theosopher..., (1764-81), with magnificent hand-colored fold-outs, etc., a copy of The Dragon of the Alchemists, (1926) by Austin Osman Spare's friend and co-editor of Form magazine, Frederick Carter, and Dorothea Waley Singer's important three volume Catalogue of Latin and Vernacular Alchemical Manuscripts in Great Britain and Ireland (1928-1931). A particularly interesting association item is a copy of Treatise on the Great Art. A System of Physics According to Hermetic Philosophy and Theory and Practice of the Magisterium, 1898 signed by Edouard Blitz. A Martinist, and follower of Papus, Blitz was cited as the translator of the work, although it has been suggested with some authority that he may in fact have been its author. This particular copy has a fascinating multiple provenance, having been presented by Blitz to Leopold Engel (a prominent member of the Verband Deutscher Okkultisten and close associate of Theodor Reuss), and eventually finding its way into the library of John W. Hamilton-Jones, a well-known Freemason, Theosophist, and member of the Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia (S.R.I.A.), who published a number of important translations of little-known alchemical and hermetic texts.

The third section of the catalog comprises a good selection of Used, Out-of-Print, & Unusual Alchemical Texts, some of which are surprisingly scarce. The fourth section describes a recent publication that has attracted considerable interest within Alchemical circles: The Great Alchemical Work of Eirenaeus Philalethes, Nicholas Flamel and Basil Valentine by Rubellus Petrinus, whilst the fifth section offers a group of books, each of which is priced at twenty-five dollars or less. Despite their lowish prices, a number of these are quite important works, and worthy of serious consideration.

To view this catalog please go to:

http://www.weiserantiquarian.com/catalogthirtytwo

Catalog Thirty-Three. Spiritualism & the Spiritualists.


The thirty-third of our on-line catalogs, was the second (of three) devoted to the subject of Spiritualism & Spiritualists. A common theme in Spiritualism was that the dead continued to exist 'on the other side,' and that some at least, were able to communicate with the living, usually through the intercession of 'mediums.' A number of the books in this catalog purport to have been written, or at least transmitted, by the dead, who evidently had a considerable amount of time for reflection in 'Summerland.'

One of the earliest examples of these narratives from the after-life is S. C. Hewitt's Messages from The Superior State; Communicated by John Murray, through John M. Spear, in the Summer of 1852 (1852). The recipient of the messages, John Murray Spear, was an American Universalist preacher, who in 1852 received a series of discourses, largely philosophical and theological, from the spirit of his mentor, John Murray, after whom he was named. In Rosa M. Barrett's, The Seekers. Talks by "Dr. Lascelles" (1930), the spirit "Dr. Lascelles" delivers a series of talks on healing, and helpfully tells us 'What it feels like to be dead,' as well as describing other aspects of 'life on the other side.' A rather testy spirit named William Barron is identified as the author of Tidings from Over the River, or Spirit Experience in the World Beyond (1894). Curiously our copy of the book has been 'marked up' as would usually have been done by an author prior to republication. Whether this was some extraordinary feat on the part of Spirit Barron, or the more mundane consequence of an earthly hand is unknown, although our suspicions are towards the latter.

In The Life That is Waiting (1940) Emma L. and Betty M. Bree, set down their own collection of "messages from beyond." In addition to delivering various messages via automatic writing, the spirits with whom the pair communed told them that in previous lives they had been "in ministry under the crown of William the First," and sent them off on a sort of psychic quest to locate "the ruins of their monastery, their burial grounds," and other places associated with that life. Two other books deal with communications from spirits who were said to have been of some stature in their earthly incarnations. The first book, Marjorie Livingston's, The New Nuctemeron (1930), contains a text which the author - or better scribe - said she received clairaudiently ("each word faint, yet distinct, within the mind as is the memory of notes which comprise a tune") from a manifestation of the First Century Greek Pythagorean philosopher and teacher Apollonius of Tyana. The second, H. A. Dallas', Mors Janua Vitae? (1910) is actually a study of after-death communications supposedly received by two female mediums from the spirit of the noted psychical researcher, Frederic W. H. Myers (1843 - 1901). More prosaic, but perhaps the most poignant of all is Philip in Two Worlds (1948) in which Alice Gilbert records a group of messages, said to have been received telepathically, pre-and postmortem, from her son, Philip, who died young in an accident.

One of the most famous of the spirit authors was Patience Worth, who was said to have communicated a number of novels and a great many poems to Pearl Curran, a St. Louis housewife of apparently limited education. Worth imparted that she was the spirit of a seventeenth century English-woman who had moved to America where she was eventually slain by a native. The catalog includes a copy of the best known of her novels Hope Trueblood (1918), as well as a rare collection of her poetry, Light from Beyond (1923), and an interesting recent study of the Worth / Curran phenomenon, Singer In the Shadows. The Strange Story of Patience Worth (1972).

Other rarities in the catalog include Susan E. Gay's, John William Fletcher, Clairvoyant. A Biographical Sketch (1883). The book tells the story (to 1881) of the American clairvoyant and trance medium, John William Fletcher (1850-1913), who married another medium, Mrs. Susie Willis, with whom he lectured extensively in London. Shortly before the book was completed disaster overtook the Fletchers, with Mrs. Fletcher being sentenced to 12 months hard-labor for obtaining property using undue influence. A warrant was also issued for the arrest of her husband but he was spared the same fate because he happened to be lecturing in Boston at the time, and rather ungallantly refused to return to Britain. The author of this biography had to undertake a hasty rewrite, and added a second Preface replete with righteous indignation at the Fletchers' persecution. Perhaps the greatest irony (then of course unknown) was that Fletcher, who in later life also worked as a palm-reader, was destined to die of a heart attack during a surprise police raid on him in 1913. Whilst on the subject of death, another rarity is a copy of Cheiro's True Ghost Stories (circa 1928), inscribed by Cheiro (William John Warner), who must surely rank amongst the best-known 'public' occultists all time. Another unusual signed item is a 'Certificate of Election to the American Branch of the Society for Psychical Research,' signed by renowned psychical researcher Richard Hodgson, and loosely inserted into a bound Memorandum of Association and Articles of Association [for] The Incorporated Society for Psychical Research (1895).

Also of great interest are three items relating to the Tweedale family - all prominent spiritualists. The first two are respectively an inscribed copy of Charles L. Tweedale's book Man's Survival After Death (Third edition 1925), and an inscribed copy of The Cosmic Christ (1930) by Violet Tweedale, wife of Charles L. Tweedale, and a poet, novelist, and early member of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, who was herself also also a passionate advocate of Spiritualism. The third piece is an important ten-page autograph letter signed, from Charles and Violet's daughter, Dorothy M. Tweedale, to her father's publisher, Grant Richards. In the letter she requests that Richards remove from a manuscript of her father's that he was about to publish all the 'messages' and predictions from the spirit world received from Stradivarius and Chopin. She explains that the seances where these musical luminaries 'came through' were instituted by herself and her mother, Violet, and that 'Strad…stated repeatedly that he was giving the messages for me and that I must collect and write them up in book form and the financial results were to be for the purpose of assisting me in my career.' Although her father had offered her a third of the profits accruing from the book, Miss Tweedale declares it is insufficient and asks Richards to compensate her to the tune of thirty pounds for the use of her messages, 'some of the most marvellous ever received' or sixty pounds to relinquish the rights altogether.

To view this catalog please go to:

http://www.weiserantiquarian.com/catalogthirtythree

Catalog Thirty-Four. 93 Budget Books on Magick.























In a change from our usual more in-depth antiquarian catalogs, the thirty-fourth or our on-line catalogs was just a quick list of 93 books, all of which were on the subject of Magick. The prices started at $8.00, and none were more than $25.00. All the books are used softcovers, but with only a few exceptions all are in pristine condition. Despite the relatively modest prices the catalog included a number of important books, some of which were reprints, whilst others were 'paperback originals' (ie the soft-cover edition was the first, and sometimes only printing).

To view this catalog please go to:

http://www.weiserantiquarian.com/catalogthirtyfour

Catalog Thirty-Five. Aleister Crowley Rarities.


The thirty-fifth of our on-line catalogs was another of our special lists on rare books, typescripts, and ephemera relating to Aleister Crowley. For the most part the material on offer had come from one collection, and a number of the items have previously passed through the hands of Weiser Antiquarian, thus affording our customers an unusual 'second chance' to acquire items that they missed out on when we first offered them for sale.

The catalog starts with an important bound typescript of Crowley's Commentary on Liber AL Vel Legis, undated, but almost certainly from the 1930s. It was subsequently acquired by 'Frater Zopiron' (Gabriel Montenegro Vargas: 1907-1969), IX degree, O.T.O., who was the last initiate of the Agape Lodge of the O.T.O. in California. Zopiron added his Thelemically-inspired bookplate to it, and especially commissioned its handsome black cloth binding.

The second section of the catalog comprises a selection of rare, scarce and unusual books and ephemera by Crowley. Amongst the stand-out items are a signed and inscribed copy of the First separate UK edition of The Book Of The Law, London (1938). Despite it's importance in his life Crowley was extremely reticent about signing copies of the work, and inscribed copies such as this are truly rare. A related work is Crowley's The Equinox of the Gods (1936), which was The Beast's first real attempt to do justice to The Book of the Law, and the injunctions it contained about its publication. The copy cataloged is a magnificent example of the First Printing of the First Edition, probably the finest copy we have seen. Another significant work is a First Edition of The Sword of Song (1904), the first book in which Crowley publicly identified himself as 'The Beast,' and a work described by Richard Kaczynski as 'Crowley's first great talismanic book.' Other First Editions in the section include The Banned Lecture , The Book of Lies , Eight Lectures on Yoga , The Heart Of The Master, Magick Without Tears, and more.

The third section of the catalog comprises a small collection of material sent by Crowley and his associates to one Walter R. Hixenbaugh of Chicago. Hixenbaugh apparently contacted Crowley, then in Tunisia, in early 1926 with an enquiry about purchasing some of his books. Perhaps scenting money, Crowley responded fulsomely, sending him information about his then-current 'World Teacher' campaign, an original typescript of The Secret Conference, a short essay on the "mysterious Brotherhood" of occult initiates, the advent of The Book of the Law, and Crowley's position as prophet. In addition to the typescript the collection comprises several incomplete letters from Crowley to Hixenbaugh, as well as typed, signed letters from Crowley's American-based followers Karl Germer and Max Schneider.

The penultimate section is made up of First and Early editions of "Works Recommended for Study by Aleister Crowley." It includes First Editions of William Stirling's qabalistic treatise, The Canon (1897), and Ida Craddock's posthumously published autobiographical book on sexual occultism Heavenly Bridegrooms, (1918), a work about which Crowley declared: "No Magick library is complete without it." Another book that was highly influential in the development of sex-magick practices and that was recommended to his pupils in the A.'. A.'. by Crowley as "Invaluable to all students," was Richard Payne Knight's A Discourse on the Worship of Priapus, here represented by an attractive Privately Printed edition from 1865. The section concludes with a rare First English Edition of the classic mystical work by Michael De Molinos, The Spiritual Guide (1688). Crowley held this work by the chief apostle of the religious revival known as Quietism in such high esteem that he listed de Molinos as one of the 'Saints' of the O.T.O. Gnostic Mass, and recommended the 'serious study' of The Spiritual Guide as 'a simple manual of Christian Mysticism.'

The catalog ends with a small collection of letters from Aleister Crowley to W. Dawson Sadler, and one from Crowley to Frieda Harris. Sadler was a conventional Freemason, with esoteric leanings, with whom Crowley was in regular contact from 1944 though 1946. He initially contacted Crowley about purchasing copies of The Book of Thoth, and an acquaintance developed. Crowley clearly regarded him as a potential candidate for membership in the O.T.O., and put considerable effort into answering his questions, etc., in their correspondence. Although not certain, it seems likely that Crowley initiated him into the Order during one of their meetings. A number of the letters are accompanied by their original envelopes, each resplendent with a large blob of wax, stamped with the impression of the cartouche of Ankh-f-n-khonsu from Crowley's personal seal ring.

To view this catalog please go to:

http://www.weiserantiquarian.com/catalogthirtyfive

Catalog Thirty-Six: Rosicrucians and Rosicrucianism.


The thirty-sixth of our on-line catalogs, was devoted to used and rare books and ephemera, relating to Rosicrucianism.

The catalog includes items from most of the more significant groups that have laid claim to the Rosicrucian mantle over the last century, including (in no particular order): The Rosicrucian Fellowship, the Ancient and the Mystical Order Rosae Crucis, the Fraternitas Rosae Crucis, and the Societas Rosicruciana in America. Amongst the more unusual works are several by Paschal Beverly Randolph (1825 -1875), who espoused a form of sex-magick, and is commonly credited with establishing the earliest known Rosicrucian order in the United States. Of particular note is a rare signed copy of his The Wonderful Story of Ravalette (1863), a book that although ostensibly a novel, also contained the first publication of Randolph's earliest Rosicrucian Manifesto: "The Rosicrucians, Who and What They Are; Honor, Manhood, Goodness. Try." Of related interest - and also very unusual - are several works by Randolph's successor as head of the Fraternitas Rosae Crucis, Freeman B. Dowd, including the Fourth Edition of his The Temple of the Rosy Cross (1901), and the First UK edition of his Regeneration. Being Part II of the Temple of the Rosy Cross, [1900].

Freeman B. Dowd, was succeeded as the Supreme Grand Master of the Fraternitas Rosae Crucis by Edward H. Brown, and the title was then claimed (occasioning some controversy) by R. Swinburne Clymer (1878–1966). The catalog includes a particularly good selection of books by Swinburne Clymer, including his massive documentary study, The Rosicrucian Fraternity in America, 2 Volumes (1935), and an unusual, spirited attack on AMORC, with the same title but in booklet from.

The Societas Rosicruciana In America was founded by George Winslow Plummer (1876 - 1944), in 1909. The catalog lists three unusual items associated with the early years of the S.'.R.'.I.'.A.'. - two bound volumes containing the first two years' issues of Mercury. ... the Official Organ of The Metropolitan College, S.'.R.'.I.'.A.'. (1916 & 1917), and a curious booklet, Principles and Practice for Rosicrucians (1915), that was intended for distribution to Neophytes of the Order.

Amongst the scarce editions of older works on Rosicrucian matters are a very unusual German facsimile of the 1785 / 1788 edition of Geheime Figuren der Rosenkreuzer (1919), published in Berlin shortly after the end of the First World War, with magnificent art-lithographed color engravings, and also a nice copy of the 'Popular Edition' of George Engelke's English translation of that work: Secret Symbols of the Rosicrucians (1939), still in the rather shabby, but seldom-seen, dustjacket. Another important early work is the 1715 Amsterdam edition of Abbé N. De Montfaucon De Villars', Comte De Gabalis ou Entretiens sur les Sciences Secretes, a fictionalised account of a meeting with the Comte, including an interesting discussion of Rosicrucian teachings about elementals, bound up with the First Edition of the posthumous, and almost certainly spurious, sequel, La Suite Du Comte De Gabalis (1715). Undoubtedly the most physically impressive book in the catalog is Manly P. Hall's monumental Encyclopedic Outline of Masonic, Hermetic, Qabbalistic and Rosicrucian Symbolical Philosophy ... - a work better known by it's short title: The Secret Teachings of All Ages. One copy listed is the "Fifth Edition," limited to 800 copies, which was published in 1928, the same year as the First Edition. Like the first edition it retained the huge folio format, fifty-four full-page color plates by J. Augustus Knapp, and massive paper and cloth covered wooden slip-case. For those unwilling or unable to splash out on this extraordinary production, but who still want the text, there is a new copy of the 2000 reprint, which whilst of somewhat smaller format, also includes the color plates, which some of the cheaper reprints reduce to black and white.

In addition to various facsimile editions of other older works, the catalog also contains a number of interesting scholarly studies of various aspects of Rosicrucian history.

To view this catalog please go to:

http://www.weiserantiquarian.com/catalogthirtysix

Catalog Thirty-Seven Magick. Rare, used and out-of-print books.


The thirty-seventh of our on-line catalogs, was devoted to Magick, and kindred subjects. The first section of the catalog lists signed copies of two new books: Firechild and Pan. Great God of Nature. Firechild (2008), is the autobiography of, Maxine Sanders, wife of the late 'King of the Witches', Alex Sanders, and a highly respected teacher and magical practitioner in her own right. Pan. Great God of Nature, (1993) is a study of the deity Pan by Leo Vinci, author of the ground-breaking Gmicalzoma - An Enochian Dictionary. Although released fifteen years ago the book had a limited distribution, and we were recently lucky to obtain a small number of copies, that have been signed by the author.

The second section is devoted to Rarities. It begins with a 1659 First Edition of Meric Casaubon's A True And Faithful Relation Of What Passed For Many Years Between Dr. John Dee .... and Some Spirits ... without doubt one of the rarest, and most important works in the Western Magical / Hermetic Tradition. Other rarities include a First Edition of the fourth of the Carfax Monographs: that is the folder devoted to Austin Osman Spare, Privately Published, in 1961 in edition of 100 numbered copies, signed by Kenneth Grant, and a first edition of Spare's huge folio A Book Of Satyrs (1907), limited to 300 signed and numbered copies. Two other signed works are a beautiful First Edition of Leland's Gypsy Sorcery (1891), a book that was of great importance to the development of modern witchcraft, and an inscribed set of Israel Regardie's, The Golden Dawn. An Account of the Teachings, Rites, and Ceremonies of the Hermetic Order Of The Golden Dawn. (4 Volumes 1937-1940). Also listed are a First Edition of Waite's The Mysteries of Magic: A Digest of the Writings of Éliphas Lévi (1886), the first book to make available English translations of Lévi's works to a broad audience, and a number of bound volumes of Zentralblatt für Okkultismus, an important pre-First World War German occult journal.

The third section is devoted to those magickal 'how-to' books known as Grimoires. Most of those listed are twentieth century printings of earlier works, including a number of different editions of Agrippa's Fourth Book Of Occult Philosophy, as well as other well known - or perhaps better 'notorious' - works such as De Nigromancia, The Sworn Book of Honourius the Magician, The Grimoire of Armadel, The Book Of Sacred Magic of Abra Melin the Mage, The Key Of Solomon The King (Clavicula Salomonis), Grimoirium Verum, Sepher Rezial Hemelach. The Book of the Angel Rezial and the Ars Notoria: The Notory Art of Solomon. There are also a number of collections of griomires, such as an (admittedly rather mangy) copy of Idries Shah's, The Secret Lore of Magic. Books of the Sorcerors, and A. E. Waite's collections, The Book of Black Magic and Pacts, and The Book of Ceremonial Magic. Also listed are all the three volumes (all thus-far published) of Stephen Skinner's and David Rankine's excellent Sourceworks of Ceremonial Magic series.

The catalog concludes with a selection of Used and Out-of-Print works on Magick. It is a very mixed collection: the oldest book was published in 1840, the most recent in 2002. There are paperbacks and hardcovers, with prices starting at twelve dollars and rising into the hundreds.
To view this catalog please go to:

http://www.weiserantiquarian.com/catalogthirtyseven

Catalog Thirty-Eight: Aleister Crowley: A Miscellany of Used and Rare Books.


The thirty-eighth of our on-line catalogs, was another of our Aleister Crowley miscellanies. It is a very mixed list, with books ranging from like-new copies of recent paperbacks, to a heavily annotated and inscribed book from Crowley's own library. Most of the rarities have come from one collection, and a number of them have previously passed through the hands of Weiser Antiquarian, thus affording our customers an unusual 'second chance' to acquire items that they missed out on when we first offered them for sale.

The catalog starts with signed copies of two important recent releases: Richard T. Cole's fascinating and humorous anecdotal history of Crowley's Abbey of Thelema at Cefalu, Thelema Revisited, and Professor Richard B. Spence's authoratative account of Crowley's involvement with the British intelligence services, Secret Agent 666. The second section of the catalog comprises a selection of rare and unusual books by and about Crowley. It include's Grady McMurtry's copy of the single volume edition of The [Collected] Works of Aleister Crowley, a rare American issue of the First Edition of Eight Lectures on Yoga, the First Edition of The Gospel According to St. Bernard Shaw (1953), a First Edition of Mortadello (1912), Crowley's own copy of C. E. M. Joad's, Guide to Philosophy with his ownership inscription and annotations, Crowley's personal copy of his friend J. W. N. Sullivan's The Bases of Modern Science (1929), with numerous annotations by Crowley, and various other rarities including several unusual signed works by Crowley's former student and biographer Israel Regardie

The third section of the catalog comprises a small collection of books published by or associated with Helen Parsons-Smith, ex-wife of Jack Parsons, widow of Wilfred Talbot Smith, and long time member of Agape Lodge of the OTO who published under the Thelema Publications imprint from the 1970s onwards. The following section contains an interesting group of letters from Karl Germer to Perry Martin Tull, a Chicago bookseller who was accepted into the A .'. A .'. by W. T. Smith, and was recognized by Germer as a IX degree member of the O.T.O.. Section five contains more letters from Aleister Crowley to W. Dawson Sadler, a conventional Freemason, with esoteric leanings, with whom Crowley was in regular contact from 1944 though 1946. Sadler initially contacted Crowley about purchasing copies of The Book of Thoth, and an acquaintance developed. Crowley clearly regarded him as a potential candidate for membership in the O.T.O., and although not certain, it seems likely that Crowley initiated him into the Order during one of their meetings. He certainly put considerable effort into answering Sadlier's questions, and the letters are amongst the more interesting of Crowley's to emerge in recent years. The sixth and final section of the catalog lists a small selection of used and out-of-print books by and about Crowley.

To view this catalog please go to:

http://www.weiserantiquarian.com/catalogthirtyeight



Catalog Thirty-Nine: Marcelo Ramos Motta: A Miscellany of Used and Rare Books.


The thirty-ninth of our on-line catalogs, was devoted to books and ephemera relating to Marcelo Ramos Motta (1931-1987), his Society Ordo Templi Orientis, and related organizations. The collection was particularly unusual in that it is near complete, containing copies of most Motta's works that were published during his lifetime, as well as a number of posthumous editions. It includes a number of rarities such as the supressed Brazilian edition of Chamando Os Filhos Do Sol [Calling the Children of the Sun], and several works signed by Motta. Most of the books in the catalog are from the collection of Thelemic scholar Martin P. Starr, who was, for a time in his youth, an associate of Motta's. Some of the works that are from Martin's collection have his ownership signature, some do not. In either case it is noted in the catalog. If no mention is made, then they were not a part of his collection. Martin has also kindly provided a short Preface, to help put the books in context.

To view this catalog please go to:

http://www.weiserantiquarian.com/catalogthirtynine



Catalog Forty: The Occult Review (Part I).


Our catalog Forty was the first of several catalogs devoted to The Occult Review, and comprised a selection of bound and disbound volumes of that important journal. For the first three decades of its publication The Occult Review was issued as a monthly, although for much of that period the publishers also produced a bi-annual, hardbound edition, each of which contained the six issues that had come out in the preceding half-year. These hardbound volumes were usually issued in green cloth, and often, but not always, had the elaborate gilt tooling on the front board shown in the photograph to the left.

Aside from the value of the individual articles and letters, the issues of The Occult Review, provide a fascinating cameo of the contemporary interests of many well-known occultists, and the ways in which they interacted with one another. Some of the articles are at once serious and amusing: a piece in the May 1906 issue sparked quite a debate as to why it would be that ghosts apparently tended to manifest clothed, rather than naked. Some idea of the diversity of the essays can be gathered from the following random selection (chosen on no other basis than that they seemed interesting or quirky to the cataloger):

"The Life of the Mystic" by A. E. Waite, "The Gnostic Revival" by C. G. Harrison, "Witchcraft in Germany (contemporary Bavarian)" by Franz Hartmann, "Last Hours of a Mediaeval Occultist" by Isabelle de Steiger, "Records of the Apparitions of Animals After Death" by various authors, "Maori Magic" by Reginald Hodder, "Some Aspects of the Graal Legend" by Arthur Edward Waite, "Visions Induced by an Oriental Powder" by L. Still, "Satanism & the Black Mass" by S.R., "The Vampire Legend" by Alfred Fellows, "The Tetrad, or the Structure of the Mind" by Florence Farr, "The Pictorial Symbols of Alchemy" by Arthur Edward Waite, "Fratres Lucis" by Meredith Starr, "Witches' Unguents" by Arthur Gay, "The Horoscope of the Titanic" by A. J. Pearce, "The Dervishes: Their Customs and Beliefs" by H. Stanley Redgrove, "Does Egyptian Magic Still Exist?" by Mrs Frank Currer Jones, "Was Blake ever in Bedlam?" by W. T. Horton, "Cats and the Unknown" by Elliott O'Donnell, "Dr Rudolf Steiner on Human Evolution," by Mabel Collins, "The Fairy Faith in Ireland," by Vere D. Shortt, "Welsh Witches and Wizards," by M. L. Lewes, "The Grand Arcanum of Death," by Eliphas Levi, "Angels," by William Wynn Westcott, "Psychic Photography," by Hereward Carrington, "Some Dangerous Apparitions," by Philip Macleod, "The Psychic Significance of the Horse & Dog," by Ethel C. Hargrove, "The Moon in Magic & Religion," by Bernard Fielding, "Witch-Cats in Scotland," by W. N. Neill, "Authority and Obedience in Occultism," by Dion Fortune, and "The Kabbalah and Word-Magic," by H. Stanley Redgrove.

The advertisements, some of which are reproduced in this catalog, also give testament to the breadth and vitality of the occult movement at the time, and the wide variety of publications, events and societies then available (many readers will doubtless look longingly at the depiction of the Library of "The Occult Club.") To view this catalog please go to:

http://www.weiserantiquarian.com/catalogforty





Please not that the above 'old' catalogs are primarily stored for interest’s sake only, and many of the books listed in them have already sold.
Those that are still available will be listed on our main website: http://www.weiserantiquarian.com or you can inquire direct by sending an email to: books@weiserantiquarian.com


A list of our first twenty catalogs - with links to the catalogs themselves can be viewed at:
http://www.weiserantiquarian.com/catalogarchivepageone

Weiser Antiquarian Books
P.O. Box 2050
York Beach, ME, 03910-2050
USA.

The Text and Images on this page are © Weiser Antiquarian Books, 2008.
No reproduction without permission please.

Last Updated August 11, 2008.