The Principles of Light and Color. including among other things The Harmonic Laws of the Universe, the Etherio-Atomic Philosophy of Force, Chromo Chemistry, Chromo Therapeutics, and the General Philosophy of the Fine Forces. Together with Numerous Discoveries and Practical Applications.
New York: Babbit & Co., 1878. First Edition. Hardcover. Large Octavo. xii + 560pp. Original brown cloth with gilt titling to spine and front board and elaborate black decorative borders to both spine and upper board, beveled edges, colored page edges, b&w title page vignette. Includes the four requisite color plates the first two with tissue guard, and two hundred and three photo-engravings throughout text. The scarce first edition of this classic study of the healing power of color by Edwin Dwight Babbitt (1828-1905). Babbitt was an author and the founder of a commercial college, who in his forties became taken with Spiritualism. He also embraced alternative healing, and began practicing as a "psychophysician," in the course of which he developed the theories about color therapy expounded in this book which amounted to a form of homeopathy of color. Babbitt is now regarded as one of the pioneers of modern chromotherapy, and is said to have been the first to have developed it into a comprehensive system which embraced both the psychological and physiological. He used both direct and indirect methods of healing with colour, inventing a number of devices aimed at charging liquids etc. with healing elements of sunlight and colour, one of which - the thermolume - was designed to focus light and colour on particular parts of the body in accordance with his studies. There are two small rubber ink stamps in the bottom margin of the title-page, one of the "New York Thermolume Company" and the other of the "New York College of Magnetics" - both of which were run by Babbitt and had the same "39 West 27th Street, NY" address. Light rubbing and shelf-wear to cloth with a bit of light spot fading on upper cover, minor bruising and chafing to edges, and bumps to corners. Contemporary small bookseller's label and previous owner's ink stamp on front pastedown. Rear blank endpaper creased, and with a split down one of the creases. Pages lightly toned, first and last leaves - including the first two colour plates and the tissue guard are lightly foxed, occasional modest spots of foxing throughout. Otherwise internally clean and unmarked. Overall a tight, clean VG+ copy of this scarce first edition. Item #67908
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