Amulets and Superstitions; The Original Texts with translations and descriptions of a long series of Egyptian, Sumerian, Assyrian, Hebrew, Christian, Gnostic and Muslim Amulets and Talismans and Magical Figures, with chapters on the Evil Eye, the Origin of the Amulet, the Pentagon, the Swastika, the Cross (Pagan and Christian), the Properties of Stones, Rings, Divination, Numbers, the Kabbalah, Ancient Astrology, Etc. With Twenty-Two plates and three hundred illustrations in the text
London: Oxford University Press, 1930. First Edition. Hardcover. Small thick quarto. xl + 544 pp. Original maroon cloth with gilt title and author to spine, gilt stamped title and illustration to upper board. 22 b&w plates and 300 illustrations in-text. Index. The best issue - with magnificent gilt stamped talisman on the front board - of the First Edition of Budge's comprehensive study of amulets and talismans. The author, E. A. Wallis Budge, is famous as the then Keeper of the Egyptian and Assyrian Antiquities in the British Museum and one of the great scholars of ancient Middle-Eastern custom and belief. Although the work was first published over 90 years ago it is still one of the most comprehensive works on the subject. PLEASE NOTE - a heavily bumped copy. This is a very weighty book, and obviously at some stage in its life it was dropped heavily on its upper corner, causing bumping to the corners and heavy creases across the front and rear boards with corresponding cracks/tears to the pastedowns (blanks on the inside covers). There are also two corresponding creases / ripples throughout the top corner of the text block. The spine a little dulled and with some fraying to the cloth at the head and tail, and there are a couple of scrapes to the cloth across the front. Rather oddly, aside from the creasing, it is otherwise internally a bright and clean copy - in a testament to the materials used by the binders, neither the cloth gutters or the endpaper hinges are cracked, which is almost unbelievable given the obvious strength of the impact that affected it. Contemporary owner's name on the front pastedown. Despite it's flaws it is still a solid clean copy of a handsome book, but priced down because of the damage. No dust jacket. Item #71705
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