An Examen of Witches: Drawn from various trials of many of this sect in the district of Saint Oyan De Joux commonly of Burgundy including the procedure necessary to a judge in trials for witchcraft.
Great Britian: John Rodker, 1929. First Edition Thus. Hardcover. Small Octavo. 328pp. Original gilt titled green parchment spine, grey/green patterned cloth boards. Top edge green, fore-edge and bottom edge untrimmed. Rubricated headings & margin notes. Limited to 1275 numbered copies, of which this copy is number 737. The first English edition of one of the most notorious of the early witch-hunting texts. The author of the work, Henri Boguet (1550-1619), was a respected judge and the President of the Tribunal in St Claude in the Jura region of France. He gained a reputation for the cruelty and zeal of his persecutions, and is personally said to have pronounced or confirmed the death sentence on over six hundred 'witches.' His Examen of Witches [ Discours Sorciers ] became one of the standard text books of witch-hunting in France. The book contains a significant amount of witch lore, much obtained under torture, with much on the Sabbat and the sexual relations that allegedly took place between witches and their demonic masters - a subject which seemed to hold a particular fascination for Boguet. The work is also famous as one of the earliest published sources on werewolves - based on Boguet's first hand observations. Spine canted and somewhat faded, boards a bit discolored & lightly bowed (as often), corners bumped. Pages lightly toned. Overall a solid, unmarked about VG copy (lacking dust jacket). Item #73060
Price: $200.00