An Examen of Witches: Drawn from various trials of many of this sect in the district of Saint Oyan De Joux commonly of Burgundy including the procedure necessary to a judge in trials for witchcraft.
Great Britian: John Rodker, 1929. First Edition Thus. Hardcover. Small Octavo. 328pp. Original green parchment spine with gilt titling, grey patterned cloth boards. Rubricated headings and margin notes. Green top edge. Limited to 1275 numbered copies, of which this copy is number 1024. The first English edition of one of the most notorious of the early witch-hunting texts. The author of the work, Henri Boguet (1550-1619), was a respected judge and the President of the Tribunal in St Claude in the Jura region of France. He gained a reputation for the cruelty and zeal of his persecutions, and is personally said to have pronounced or confirmed the death sentence on over six hundred 'witches.' His Examen of Witches [Discours Sorciers] became one of the standard text books of witch-hunting in France. The book contains a significant amount of witch lore, much obtained under torture, with much on the Sabbat and the sexual relations that allegedly took place between witches and their demonic masters - a subject which seemed to hold a particular fascination for Boguet. The work is also famous as one of the earliest published sources on werewolves - based on Boguet's first hand observations. With an original fantasy design bookplate for Norman Engel by renowned Australian artist Norman Lindsay on the front pastedown. The bookplate measures 4 x 6 inches and has the initials NL in the bottom left corner of the design. It has some light browning and foxing, but is otherwise in VG condtion. Boards slightly discolored & lightly bowed (as often), page-edges slightly darkened and pages lightly browned, overall a solid, VG+ copy in rather shabby dust jacket (the dust jacket heavily rubbed and somewhat faded, chipped around the edges, various short tears and splits, now closed on the reverse with acid-free archival tissue. No protected by removeable mylar sleeve). Item #62804
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