Keiro's "Palmistry Clairvoyance & Psychometry" combined with Sub-sections from ed. Heron-Allen's Practical Handbook of "Cheir-os-ophy" and M.. Le Capitiaine C. S. D'Arpentigny's Famous French Manual "The Science of the Hand". Introduction and Commentary on the Text and the Science of Cheirosophy and Palmistry, or, the Art of Recognizing the Tendencies of the Human Mind by the Observation of the Formation of the Hands, Whereby The Past, the Present, and the Future may all be Read, Known and Indicated by Ed. Heron-Allen etc. .....
Chicago: de Laurence, Scott & Co., 1910 (Actually 1920s or 1930s?). Reprint ? Hardcover. Octavo. 368pp. Original blue cloth with gilt lettering to spine and upper cover, b&w illustrations, frontispiece portraits of Johann Hartlieb and L. W. De Laurence. An interesting composite volume on palmistry compiled by L. W. De Laurence. It contains the complete text of "Practical palmistry, a clear and common-sense explanation ... Together with treatises on clairvoyance and psychometry" (1904) by Keiro, along with excerpts from works on palmistry by E. D. Heron-Allen and M. Le Capitiaine C. S. D'Arpentigny along with a few short notes be de Laurence. Keiro (Charles Stephenson) and his wife Madame Keiro (Martha Stephenson) were authors and palm readers who faced prosecution several times by British police who utilised still active anti-witchcraft legislation as part of a crack down on spiritualists and palm readers, etc. who charged money for their services. Lauron William de Laurence (1868 - 1936), was an author and publisher of occult literature who was also a book pirate and occasional plagiarist, who had an unpleasant penchant for taking other people's works and reissuing them under his own name (sometimes retitling them in the process). Despite his eccentricities he played an important part in the occult history of the USA: he 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. Typically de Laurence did not designate reprints of his works: and it is notoriously tricky - sometimes impossible - to tell the early editions from later reprints. This volume has the year 1910 on the title-page, as well as the copyright page and would appear to be an early edition. It has a frontispiece portrait of de Laurence in addition to that of one of Johann Hartlieb, the preliminaries and photographs at the front are printed on china paper (the rest of the book is on regular machine-made paper), and the title-page and captions in that section are printed in red and black. In later editions the de Laurence portrait was removed, the whole book was printed on regular machine-made paper, and the title-page and early captions are printed in black only. Although not certain, this edition probably dates from the 1920s or 1930s (it has a previous owner's name with the acquisition date March 1945 on it, so it is definitely no later than that). Spine darkened, dulled and a little rubbed, boards a little darkened, general light wear, owner's name on front free endpaper and name on title-page, pages evenly toned. Overall a tight, clean better-than-VG copy of an unusual de Laurence edition (no dust jacket issued). Item #65636
Price: $220.00