The Grand Grimoire. A Practical Manual of Diabolic Evocation and Black Magic. The Grand Clavicule of Solomon. The Black Magick of the Infernal Arts of the Great Agrippa. To Discover all Hidden Treasures and to Render all of the Spirits Obedient to Oneself.
Seattle, WA: Trident Books, 1996. First Edition, Limited Deluxe. Hardcover. Small octavo. xvi+ 120pp. Magnificent full black leather binding, with blind-stamped design of an inverted pentagram within a circle, tooled in heavy relief on the front cover; raised bands to spine, title in blind on spine and upper board. Edges of text-block tinted black, ribbon marker, custom buckram slipcase. b&w illustrations. Edition limited to 500 numbered copies, of which only a small number were bound thus (most copies were cloth bound). This copy hand-numbered 283. The First Trident Books edition, in the original state (not a later re-issue). The text of the Grand Grimoire, translated from the 1612 Italian edition, with reference to the 1823 French edition (published with the spurious date 1521 and with the title 'The Red Dragon'). In keeping with the Italian edition, it incorporated an early, short version of the Grimoire known as Le Poule Noire (The Black Hen). The publisher observes: "The Grand Grimoire explains a system for entering into a pact with three Infernal Spirits, Lucifer, Ashtaroth & Beelzebuth, through the authority of the Prime Minister of Hell, Lucifuge Rofocale. In this, the demonology of the Grand Grimoire is unique; while some of the chief spirits are identical to those in Grimoirium Verum, and others to Lemegeton Clavicula Salomonis vel Regis, the Grand Grimoire stands alone in the literature of demonology with its central figure, Lucifuge Rofocale. The name 'Rofocale' appears to be an anagram for 'Focalor' of the Lemegeton, according to Elizabeth Butler in her Ritual Magic (1949) who goes on to tell us that "by introducing the name of Lucifuge the author has done a service to demonology for which it should be grateful." In his Book of Black Magic & of Pacts (1898), Arthur E. Waite states that the Grand Grimoire "must be regarded as the veritable Magnum Opus" and he goes on to say that that Eliphas Levi later adopted the personage of Lucifuge in his works." Some very slight, natural imperfections to leather, but otherwise a lovely near Fine copy in near Fine slipcase. (A few light rubs to slipcase). Item #70495
ISBN: 1879000016
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