The Master Key.
Chicago, IL: The de Laurence Company, ND ( copyright 1941 ). Sixth Printing. Hardcover. Octavo. x + 406pp. Maroon faux leather boards, gold lettering & embellishments on spine and upper upper board. A work by Lauron William de Laurence (1868 - 1936), renowned book pirate, plagiarist, and publisher of occult literature. De Laurence was well known for taking other peoples works and reissuing them under his own name (sometimes retitling them in the process). Oddly, The Master Key, a work on self-development through mind control and such like, appears to have been actually written by de Laurence - at least we are unaware of it being a direct copy of another work. Despite his eccentricities de Laurence played an important part in the occult history of the USA: he was was a pioneer in selling occult books and supplies by mail order, and the cheap "Pow Wow" books and other books of simple magic which he published were received with great fervor by many in the American occult community. The volume has the years 1914 and 1941 and "sixth printing" on the copyright pages, but de Laurence publications are notoriously difficult to date, as they were frequently reprinted without any change to the copyright data. In this instance the binding style and materials used suggest that it probably does date from 1941, or certainly not much later. Corners lightly bumped and rubbed, page edges a little unevenly darkened, Wehman Bros. distribution stamp at lower edge of title-page, pages lightly browned but bright and unmarked, otherwise a lovely, clean VG+ copy in VG+ dust jacket (dust jacket very slightly rubbed & darkened, with a few light marks from handling, not clipped. Now in protective mylar cover.) One of the nicest copies we've seen. Item #64931
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