"Keiro's" Palmistry Clairvoyance and Psy-cho-met-ry combined with Sub-sections from ed. Heron-Allen's Practical Hand-book 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., Copyright 1910 (Actually 1940s?). Reprint. Hardcover. Octavo. (xii) 17- 368pp. Original green cloth with gilt lettering to spine and upper cover, b&w illustrations, frontispiece portrait of Johann Hartlieb. 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 copyright page but would appear to be a later edition - we'd guess from the 1940s. Aside from being printed throughout on macine-made paper it does not have the additional frontispiece portrait of de Laurence, which - along with other attributes - typify the first and early editions. Gilt dulled, a little light wear to spine ends and points, a couple of small spots (coffee?) on the fore-edge just affecting the extreme edge of the margin of a couple of pages. Overall a tight, clean, VG+ copy. Item #65655
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