PATH OF LIFE : RABBI JUDAH LOEW BEN BEZALEL 1525-1609. Large, beautifully produced, fully illustrated CATALOGUE for the Exhibition of the same name that took place at the PRAGUE CASTLE, Czech Republic, in 2009. The exhibition was conceived by Alexandr Putik, who also edited this deluxe catalog. English edition, translated from the Czech.

Contains numerous essays on Rabbi Judah Loew Ben Bezalel by Jewish scholars.

Hardcover Book, no dustjacket as issued, 9x11.5 inches (22x29 cm), 520 pages. ILLUSTRATED with hundreds of color and b&w photographs.

Published by Jewish Museum in Prague / Academia, Prague, Czech Republic, 2009. ISBN 10: 8020017755; ISBN 13: 978-8020017758.

FINE condition, still in much of its original shrink-wrap (some has started peeling off), a lovely unread copy, tight, bright, clean, clear and unmarked. Photos of the open book are from my personal copy.

From the Publisher:

******The 7th of September 2009 was the 400th anniversary of the death of Judah Loew ben Bezalel, known both as the Maharal and Rabbi Loew. This exquisite book was published by the Jewish Museum in Prague and the Academia Publishing House for a prestigious exhibition of the same name at Prague Castle. It features a substantial selection of the exhibited items from the museum's collections and from numerous other Czech and foreign cultural institutions. However, it is more than a mere catalogue for the exhibition, as it PROVIDES INSIGHTS into the AUTHENTIC LEGACY of the MAHARAL, WHICH FOR THE MOST PART HAS UNTIL NOW REMAINED CONCEALED.

About Judah Loew ben Bezalel (from Wikipedia):

******Judah Loew ben Bezalel, b.1512-1526 d.1609, also called Rabbi Loew (aka Löw, Loewe, Löwe or Levai), widely known to scholars of Judaism as the Maharal of Prague or simply The Maharal, was an important Talmudic scholar, Jewish mystic, and philosopher who, for most of his life, served as the leading rabbi in the cities of Mikulov in Moravia and Prague in Bohemia.

Within the world of Torah and Talmudic scholarship, Loew is known for his works on Jewish philosophy and Jewish mysticism and his work Gur Aryeh al HaTorah, a supercommentary on Rashi's Torah commentary. He is also the subject of a 19th century legend that he created the Golem of Prague, an animate being fashioned from clay.

Maharal's numerous philosophical works have become cornerstones of Jewish thought. His writings tried to make the ideas of the Kabbalah (which he held to be the most deeply true of all the Torah) understandable to the average educated reader, by presenting them in a rigorously philosophical form, couched in terms accessible to the public. He felt that only the greatest of Torah scholars are able to perceive the full intent of the Kabbalistic works in their complex entirety, but much could be comprehended by the general reader if presented in a rational and philosophic form. His main kabbalistic influences appear to have been the Zohar, Sefer Yetzirah, and traditions of the Chassidei Ashkenaz.

Miharal was in favor of scientific research, but believed the Talmudic, Midrashic, and Aggadic teachings refer to matters far beyond the sphere of natural science.

The Maharal is the subject of the legend about the creation of a golem, a creature made out of clay to defend the Jews of the Prague Ghetto from antisemitic attacks. He is said to have used mystical powers based on esoteric knowledge of how God created Adam.

Rabbi Loew is buried at the Old Jewish Cemetery, Prague in Josefov, where his grave and tombstone can still be visited.******

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Helena Petrovna Blavatsky was the Grande Dame of Theosophy, her successor at the Theosophical Society Annie Besant issued the Adyar Pamphlets in the early 20th century. They're a series of monographs illuminating the esoteric occult mystical teachings Madame Blavatsky unveiled during her lifetime.

THE KABALAH AND THE KABALISTS By H. P. BLAVATSKY. Published by the Theosophical Publishing House, Madras, India, 1919. Adyar Pamphlets No. 105, First Edition Thus, originally published in the May 1892 issue of LUCIFER MAGAZINE. Softcover booklet, printed wrappers, 7.25" x 5", 23 pages. An exploration of the Kabbalah, a mystical tradition of Judaism that seeks to understand the nature of God and the universe through the use of symbols and esoteric teachings. VERY GOOD CONDITION: spine fold mostly perished and starting to pull apart at page 18, by page 23 it's holding by the middle thread, small ink stamp on title page, otherwise bright, clean and unmarked. Scarce.

Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (1831-1891) founded the Theosophical Society in 1883, a New Age Movement of Western occultism and Eastern mysticism that aspired to prepare humanity for the coming of the Lord Maitreya, the World Teacher for the Age of Aquarius. After her death, her successor Annie Besant (1847-1933) the international leader of the Theosophical Movement continued in the preparation of a messianic disciple who would serve as the vehicle for the Master to reveal himself.

Handwritten Index for Basilius Valentinus' "Triumphal Chariot of Antimony". The index was created at the Paracelsus Research Society. The Index is written in two 8x10 inch spiral notebooks filled with lined paper. The pages are written on one side only. The Index has a total of approximately 100 written pages. Laid into the first notebook is a sheet that briefly describes the Index and it's significance, and commends the student from Christchurch, New Zealand, who compiled the Index for the Society. The Index is undated and place unstated, but likely Australia circa 1980 (the "Collins Spirax" notebooks were made in Australia, .

GOOD condition, clean, with writing that is clear and legible.

A unique index to one Basilius Vaentinus's important work on alchemy.

About BASILIUS VALENTINUS (from Wikipedia):

******Basilius Valentinus (English: Basil Valentine), ostensibly a 15th century alchemist, possibly Canon of the Benedictine Priory of Saint Peter in Erfurt, Germany but more likely a pseudonym used by one or several 16th century German authors. Modern scholarship suggests that one author was Thölde, but that others were involved. Thölde published the first five books under Valentinus's name.

Whoever he was, Basilius Valentinus had considerable knowledge of alchemy. The Twelve Keys of Basil Valentine is a widely reproduced alchemical book attributed to Valentine, first published in 1599 by Johann Thölde. It contains two parts, the second of which houses the twelve keys. These were accompanied by woodcut engravings from later publications in the early seventeenth century.

The Triumphal Chariot of Antimony was first published in Germany in 1604 under the title Triumph Wagen Antimonii,******

THE ALCHEMIST OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS, by FRATER ALBERTUS.

Published by the PARACELSUS RESEARCH SOCIETY, Salt Lake City, Utah, 1976. FIRST and LIMITED EDITION, limited to only 500 COPIES, this copy being hand-numbered No. ninety-nine.

Hardcover book in dustjacket, 6x9 inches, 167 pages.

Condition: NEAR FINE book, tight, bright, clean, clear and unmarked. In a FAIR dustjacket whose backside has clear tape repairs / reinforcement of what was apparently a long closed tear and some smaller tears; the dustjacket also has scrapes, rubs, and edgewear (see photos); despite its flaws the dj is bright and doing its job well.

The 1976 First, Limited and Numbered Edition, published during Frater Albertus's lifetime, is quite hard-to-find.

About FRATER ALBERTUS (from Wikipedia):

******Frater Albertus Spagyricus (Albert Richard Riedel), b.1911 d.1984; founder of the Paracelsus Research Society in Salt Lake City, which later evolved into the Paracelsus College. Based on the Paracelsian concept of three essentials, Body, Soul and Spirit, Frater Albertus developed a system of teaching alchemical concepts using the spagyric technique of separation and cohobation. The unique graduated courses allowed students to explore aspects of the vegetable, mineral and animal kingdoms in an understandable and accessible way. After his death in 1984, the college ceased operations in the United States but continued to carry on the tradition in Australia. Frater Albertus had a profound effect on the way Alchemy and particularly the Spagyric method was disseminated and understood in the mid to late 20th century. His works were translated into many languages. He was a Rosicrucian.******

SACRED SYMBOLS OF THE ANCIENTS The Mystical Significance of our Fifty Two "Playing" Cards and Their Amazing Connection with our Individual Birthdays by Edith L. Randall and Florence Evelin Campbell, M.A.

Published by DeVorss & Co. Publishers, Marina Del Rey, California, 1974 printing, originally published in 1947. Softcover, illustrated blue covers, blue plastic spiral comb binding, 11" x 8.5", 198 pages, plus one folded illustrated color leaf. GOOD Condition: complete as issued, wear and spotting to the covers, spirals are a little tight and fore-edge not flush (as normal with old spiral bindings, but the pages turn well), some spotting here and there, offsetting from an oxidized paper clip to the upper margin of 6 pages, penned writing on the Birthdate Memoranda page at the rear, otherwise the inner pages are bright, clean and unmarked and the color fold-open chart at the rear is bright and clean.

The book explores the mystical connections between the 52 cards of a standard playing card deck and how they can be used for divination. Edith L. Randall (1896-1978) and Florence Evylinn Campbell (1878-1964) were authorities on astrology, cartomancy, numerology, and tarot. They were influenced by the teachings of Olney H. Richmond (1844-1920) head of The Order of the Magi, a secret society tasked with preserving the system of the cards, of whom Randall was a student and follower.

NACHRICHT von dem VORKOMMEN des BESESSENSEYNS : EINES DÄMONISCH-MAGNETISCHEN...

Full title: Nachricht Von Dem Vorkommen Des Besessenseyns Eines Damonisch-Magnetischen Leidens und seiner schon im Alterthum bekannten Heilung durch magisch-magnetisches Einwirken, in einem Sendschreiben an den Herrn Obermedicinalrath Dr. Schelling. Von Dr. Justinus Kerner.

(NEWS of the OCCURRENCE of POSSESSION, a DEMONIC-MAGNETIC SUFFERING, and ITS HEALING through MAGICAL-MAGNETIC INFLUENCE, which was already known in antiquity, in a letter to the Chief Medical Councilor Dr. Schelling. By Dr. Justinus Kerner.)

STUTTGART und AUGSBURG: Verlag von J. G. Cotta'schen Buchhandlung, 1836. First edition. TEXT in GERMAN.

Marbled paper covered card covers, black cloth covered spine, handwritten paper title label on front cover, small thin book, 4.5x7 inches, [2], 70 pages.

GOOD condition, mildly ex-lib with a shelving number label on the cover and a "Bible Society / Psychology" ink stamp at the bottom of the title-page, the covers have some scrapes, the rear cover fold is substantially splitting but the cover is still holding on, there is a thin tape ghost stain along the gutter edge of two pages, offsetting to the first and last page, and a previous owner's name and brief inscription in German dated 1889 at the top of the title page, overall a tight copy with pages that are tight, bright, and clear.

An original 1836 demonic copy of which you can take possession.

Agonía del tránsito de la muerte con los avisos y consuelos que cerca de ella son provechosos, Maestro Alejo Venegas de Busto.

(Agony of the Transition to Death with Helpful Warnings and Consolations when Approaching Death, with Brief Descriptions of Obscure Sentences and Words, by Maestro Alejo Venegas de Busto.)

ALCALA DE HENARES [Spain], Andrés de Angulo, Diego de Sancta Cruz, M.D.LX.V (1565). Sixth edition.

Hardcovers (19th century Spanish binding), 3/4 red leather (spine and corners) and red textured cloth covered boards, 5 raised spine bands, gilt titling and gilt designs to the spine, marbled endpapers, small 4o, 6x8 inches (14.5x20 cm). Pagination: ff. [8] CCXVI (i.e. [8], 216 leaves numbered in Roman numerals). Illustrated with intricate woodcut crests on titles.

GOOD Condition: Covers are rubbed and have some scrapes, most noticeably on the leather corners, still the covers are solid, doing their job well, and quite attractive. Internally, the title page and the subsequent couple of leaves have a little professional conservation at top margin that affects a bit of the title page image and a couple words at the top of the following two leaves; there is the ghost of the removal of a bookplate on the front free-endpaper, the title page has some early marginalia that has been lined out and there is some relevant scholarly ink marginalia on the latter pages related to the description of obscure words in that part of the text; overall solid, tight, bright, clean and clear. A nice copy.

COLLATED page by page with a 1565 copy in the Austrian National Library (the pages of THIS copy are much whiter and brighter).

About MAESTRO ALEJO VENEGAS DE BUSTO (from Wikipedia and elsewhere on the Internet):

******Alejo Venegas de Busto, b.Toledo 1497 or 1498, d.Toledo, 1562, was a Spanish Renaissance writer, humanist, lexicographer, and considered a Spanish mystic.

His best known work is the AGONY OF THE TRANSITION TO DEATH... (Toledo, 1537), an ascetic, mystic work that he dedicated to Doña Ana de la Cerda, Countess of Melito, on the occasion of the death of the writer's great protector, her husband Count Diego de Mendoza. This work derives specifically from the Praeparatio ad Mortem (1534) by Erasmus. The second edition appears in Toledo in 1540, the third in Toledo, 1543, the fourth in Zaragoza, 1544, the fifth in Toledo, 1547, the sixth in Toledo, 1553 and the seventh in Alcalá, 1565. Beginning in the third edition Venegas added his Brief Declaration of the Sentences and Obscure Words. The book has continued to be reprinted and was edited in the 19th century by Eugenio de Ochoa (Paris, Beaudry, 1847) and in 2001 by Marc Zuili (Paris, L'Harmattan, 2001). Various parts of this work have appeared in numerous other publications, including works on Spanish and Christian Mysticism.******

PSYCHOLOGY, HYPNOTISM, PERSONAL MAGNETISM and CLAIRVOYANCE, by William Abner Barnes.

Self-Published, Boston, Mass, copyright 1898, fourth edition (so stated), c.1900.

Original hardcovers, gray cloth covered boards, front cover titled in black, 5x8 inches, 112 pages. Illustrated with 8 b&w photographic plates.

Sections include: Psychology, Hypnotism, Personal Magnetism, and Clairvoyance, with Testimonials at the rear.

The photographic plates, some showing Dr. Barnes at work, are convincing, convincing me that I would never want to be under his hypnotic spell!

GOOD condition, the covers have some soiling, offsetting / toning, a few small marks, and some wear to the spine ends and corner tips, but are original and still doing their job well; internally, the pages are bright, clean, clear and unmarked. The eight plates are all in very good condition. A solid, presentable copy of this book from 1900.

From the Preface:

******The prime object of this little volume is to set forth clearly and concisely the value of psychology, hypnotism, and clairvoyance as practically applied to education, morality, spirituality, medicine, surgery, business, and to the development and exercise of personal magnetism.

During many years devoted to research, study, and instructing, the author has controlled thousands of persons, and thereby demonstrated beyond reasonable doubt the vast amount of good results obtainable through properly directed mental force... Beston, Mass., June, 1900.******

Though POD copies are common, vintage editions of this book, self-published by the author, have become almost impossible to find.

THE JOURNAL OF PARAPSYCHOLOGY - A Scientific Quarterly Dealing with Extrasensory Perception, the Psychokinetic Effect, and Related Topics.

ELEVEN ISSUES, five from 1943-1944, six from 1948-1949. During these years the Parapsychology Journal was created and edited by the Duke University Parapsychology Research Laboratory, which published results of its ESP studies as well as studies by other parapsychologists.

Wrappers / softcovers, 6x9 inches, approximately 75 pages each.

VALUABLE ANNOTATIONS: The first five issues from 1943-1944 contain many relevant scientific annotations and tipped-in pages of notes. They appear to be from an expert in the field, but no name is noted.

FAIR condition, the spines of all the wrappers are scraped and worn with some splitting at the folds, one has some clear tape repair to the spine; two issues have blue ink staining to the top edge affecting the top blank margin of the pages but not affecting text; the text block of some of the issues is shaky and cracking here and there but holding; the first five issues have many relevant pencil annotations and taped in pages of notes as noted above; otherwise complete issues with text that is clear throughout.

The early issues of The Journal of Parapsychology, published by Duke University, are hard-to-find. The many annotations give these particular issues an extra sensory dimension!

About PARAPSYCHOLOGY AT DUKE UNIVERSITY (from Duke University Archives and Wikipedia):

******The Parapsychology Laboratory operated at Duke from 1930 to 1965. Originally research was conducted under the direction of William McDougall, Chairman of the Psychology Department, with the support of Duke President W. P. Few, University President. In the years following the deaths of McDougall in 1938 and Few in 1940 support for the Parapsychology Laboratory began to weaken, but the University continued to support it with materials and financial assistance in the form of office and research space, salaries of the secretaries and the Director, and research grants through the Graduate Research Council. In 1962, University support for parapsychological research at Duke pretty much ended, J. G. Pratt resigned from Duke in 1963, and by early 1965 the Parapsychology Research Lab became independent of the University.

J.G. Pratt (Joseph Gaither Pratt), b.1910 d.1979, was an American psychologist who specialized in the field of parapsychology. Among his research interests were extrasensory perception, psychokinesis, mediumship and poltergeists. Much of Pratt's research was conducted while he was Assistant Director of the Parapsychology Laboratory at Duke University.******

INTERNATIONAL BUYERS PLEASE NOTE: This lot of catalogs will require additional shipping charges. After placing your order you will be notified of the charges and be able to accept or reject them before payment is taken. Thanks!

FOUR WORKS by LORD BYRON bound in this single FINE BINDING volume. Each includes its half-title page, title page, complete text, and colophon at the end; each is numbered separately as issued. The four bound-in works are: BEPPO, A Venetian Story. London, John Murray, Fifth Edition, 1818. 52 pages. * MAZEPPA (including "A FRAGMENT"), London, John Murray, 1819 [First Edition, second state]. 69 pages. * POEMS OF LORD BYRON on his Own Domestic Circumstances. London, Effingham Wilson, Second Edition, 1816. 34 pages. * A POETICAL EPISTLE. London, John Miller, 1816. 15 pages.

Bound in at the end of MAZEPPA is the rare Lord Byron unfinished VAMPIRE story "A FRAGMENT".

FINE BINDING by HENRY YOUNG & SONS, LIVERPOOL, circa early 1900s. "Signed" by the bookbinder at the top edge of the verso of the front free-endpaper. Hardcovers, 3/4 CALF LEATHER with SIMULATED BIRCH-COVERED BOARDS, spine decorated in gilt, five raised spine bands, leather spine title label, gilt top page edges, SIMULATED BIRCH ENDPAPERS, 6x9 inches (15x21 cm), 170 total pages (each work paginated separately). HENRY YOUNG & SONS was a Bookseller, Publisher and Bookbinder in Liverpool, established in 1847 as Henry Young and in 1887 became Henry Young & Sons.

GOOD condition, the covers are rubbed at the folds and edges, have some wear at the spine ends and corner tips, and the faux birchwood covered boards have some shelf rubs, but overall the covers are solid and quite lovely. Internally, there is a previous owner's signature on a blank prelim "(?) Moore" and a different previous owner's signature on the first page of two of the bound-in works "H. Brooke"; the bound in work "POEMS" is foxed and has soiling and creases but is still clear and solid; the other three bound-in works are bright, clean, clear and unmarked, with just a bit of foxing here and there. A solid, very presentable copy.

SCARCE with BYRON'S 1819 First Edition / Second State "A FRAGMENT" and the FINE BINDING by Henry Young & Sons.

NOTES:

MAZEPPA is the first edition, second state, with the colophon moved from page [70] to the verso of page 71 (the page of ads). Byron's early Vampire story "A FRAGMENT" (pages 57 to 69) was included by the Publisher John Murray without Byron's consent. "A Fragment" was written during the celebrated week at Geneva in 1816, during which Polidori conceived "The Vampyre" and Mary Shelley conceived her classic Frankenstein.

About A FRAGMENT (from Wikipedia):

******"A Fragment" is an unfinished 1819 vampire horror story written by Lord Byron. The story was one of the first in English to feature a vampire theme. The main character was Augustus Darvell. The story "A FRAGMENT" is important in history of the vampire legend in English literature because it was THE FIRST TO FEATURE THE MODERN VAMPIRE AS ABLE TO FUNCTION IN SOCIETY IN DISGUISE. The short story first appeared under the title "A Fragment" in the 1819 collection MAZEPPA: A Poem published by John Murray in London.

Byron's unfinished "A Fragment" was appended to Mazeppa by the publisher John Murray in June 1819 without the approval of Byron. On 20 March 1820, Byron wrote to Murray: "I shall not allow you to play the tricks you did last year with the prose you post-scribed to 'Mazeppa,' which I sent to you not to be published...and there you tacked it, without a word of explanation, and be damned to you."

The vampire fragment was a product of the ghost story contest that occurred in Geneva on 17 June 1816, when Byron stayed at the Villa Diodati with author and physician John William Polidori. Their guests were Percy Bysshe Shelley, Mary Godwin (soon to be Shelley), and Claire Clairmont. Mary recalled the contest and Byron's contribution in the 1831 introduction to Frankenstein: "We will each write a ghost story, said Lord Byron; and his proposition was acceded to. There were four of us. The noble author began a tale, a fragment of which was printed with his poem of Mazeppa."******

THE TRUE MASONIC CHART or HIEROGLYPHIC MONITOR containing ALL THE EMBLEMS EXPLAINED...by R.W. Jeremy L. Cross, G.L. To Which Are Added ILLUSTRATIONS, CHARGES, SONGS, &c.

NEW HAVEN (Connecticut): Published and Sold by the Author, third edition, 1824.

Hardcovers, leather covered boards, 4x6.5 inches, 240 pages. ILLUSTRATED with 44 PLATES, including two Frontispiece Plates, of MASONIC EMBLEMS & SYMBOLS, and an approximately 40 page section of Masonic Music Scores.

Association Copy: A number of EARLY GALL INK SIGNATURES of WILLIAM BUELL are on the front endpapers; and on the rear endpapers, written lightly in pencil, are several signatures of his son, WILLIAM BUELL, JR., with the handwritten address of Lockport, Niagara County. There are also a couple other unrelated signatures.

WILLIAM BUELL and his son WILLIAM BUELL, JR, were the prime contractors who oversaw the completion of the LOCKPORT LOCKS on the EERIE CANAL. The Lockport Locks are considered one of the most amazing engineering feats of the entire Canal. From the Eerie Canal Historical Society: "Lockport's famous Flight of Five locks are perhaps one of the most iconic features and engineering feats of the entire Erie Canal. Originally completed in 1849, visitors today can see the locks massive wooden gates, operated by hand, next to Locks 34 and 35, which enable today's canal traffic to climb the Niagara Escarpment."

Condition: Front cover, front endpapers, and frontispiece are disbound and laid on loosely (like a sandwich); all pages are age toned, there is foxing throughout, edgewear and corner creases here and there, a few pages have tears including the last page which has a long closed tear, two plates that have a long closed tear and pieces missing from their front margin (not affecting text), some pages with small edge tears; lots of early signatures on the endpapers as noted above, and also lots of numbers written in pencil on the front endpapers and some in gall ink on the rear endpapers. A well used copy that is nonetheless complete and legible, with lots of great masonic occult imagery and musical scores.

RARE with the interesting William Buell and William Buell, Jr. provenance.

REGULA EMBLEMATICA SANCTI BENEDICTI. Opus Posthumum Admodum Reverendi Patris BONIFACII GALLNER [Bonifaz Gallner], Monachi Benedictini in Coenobio Mellicensi - Nunc Primum Bibliotheca ejusdem coenobii luci publicae datum A.R.S. MDCCLXXXIII.

VINDOBONAE (Vienna): Carl Wilhelm Holle Bibliopola Universitatis, MDCCLXXXIII (1783). Latin text.

Large Format Hardcovers, cloth covered boards with leather covered spine and corners (front cover present but detached), 4to. 9.5x14 inches (23.5x35.5 cm). Pagination: [18] Introductory pages, A1-Aaa3 (187 pages) EMBLEMATICA PLATES, [2] Index.

ILLUSTRATED with 187 ENGRAVED PLATES of ESOTERIC CATHOLIC OCCULT EMBLEMATICA. Each engraved plate and its accompanying Latin text is printed on its own leaf (i.e. blank backsides).

Condition: The front cover is present but detached (i.e. laid on loosely), the rear cover is almost detached and just holding on with its two upper binding cords; the spine covering is worn, scraped, faded and chipped, the boards are worn and chipped primarily at the corner and spine margin leather. Internally complete, the front free endpaper is chipped along the edges and corners and separating from the spine at the top five inches, the blank prelim page is also chipped along the edges; the first three introductory pages and the rear two index pages seem to have been printed on lesser paper and have toned / browned, but are still solid and completely legible, the 187 EMBLEMATICA ENGRAVED PLATES are all lovely, some light yellowing at the margins, some waviness at the bottom (likely from the plate printing process), a few with some toning, and a spot or two here and there; overall the plates are striking and gorgeous, and each suitable for framing imho. A complete copy with wonderfully esoteric plates that is more than suitable for rebinding / rebacking.

This 1783 edition is very scarce.

BOGEY BEASTS. By Sidney H. Sime. Music by Josef Holbrooke.

A collection of Sime's imaginary and fantastic creatures, each accompanied by a short song written by the well known but controversial composer Josef Holbrooke. Holbrooke wrote numerous symphonies and orchestral works based on the macabre writings of Edgar Allan Poe. A perfect accompaniment for this book filled with eccentric beasts.

Published by Purple Mouth Press in a LIMITED EDITION of only 500 copies. A facsimile of the 1923 edition published in London by Goodwin & Tabb.

Illustrated wrappers, 8.5x11 inches, 62 pages. Illustrated throughout with Sime's beasts and odd creatures.

FINE condition, looks and feels unused.

SIDNEY HERBERT SIME (S.H. Sime), b.1865 d.1941, was an English artist in the late Victorian and succeeding periods, mostly remembered for his fantastic and satirical artwork, especially his story illustrations for Irish author Lord Dunsany. - Wikipedia

JOSEPH CHARLES HOLBROOKE, b.1878 d.1958, was an English composer, conductor, and pianist...Holbrooke was fascinated by the writings of Edgar Allan Poe which deal with the supernatural and the macabre, eventually producing over thirty compositions which he referred to as his Poeana. These included orchestral works (The Raven, Ulalume, The Sleeper, Amontillado, and The Pit and the Pendulum), a double concerto for clarinet and bassoon (Tamerlane), choral works (a choral symphony Homage to E.A. Poe, and a poem for chorus and orchestra The Bells), a ballet (The Masque of the Red Death), a multitude of chamber works (such as the Clarinet Quintet Ligeia, the Trio Fairyland, and the Nonet Irene) and several piano pieces. - Wikipedia

CAGLIOSTRO (Joseph BALSAMO) : La Franc-Maçonnerie et l'Occultisme au XVIIIe siècle (Freemasonry and Occultism of the 18th century). D'Apres des Documents Inedits (From Unpublished Documents). By Henri d'ALMERAS.

PARIS : Société Française d'Imprimerie et de Librairie, 1904. First Edition. TEXT IN FRENCH.

Hardcovers (front cover disbound but present),

leather covered spine and paper covered boards, top page edges gilt, marbled endpapers. Pagination: [2] blank prelim leaf, [1] first title page with small engraving of Cagliostro, [1] blank verso, [1] half title page, [1] Du Meme Auteur / List of Author's Previous Works, [1] Frontispiece leaf with tissue guard, [1] title page, [1] blank verso, 386 pages.

Condition: The front cover is disbound but present, the rear cover's spine fold is worn and tender but holding, the spine covering is chipped and peeling, the boards are worn at their edges and have some scratches and rubs. Internally, the pages are toned along their edges, there is a previous owner's signature on the first blank page, otherwise the pages are tight, bright, clean and unmarked.

A complete copy of this SCARCE 1904 work on the Freemason and Occultist, Cagliostro, by the noted historian Henri d'Almeras.

About CAGLIOSTRO (from Wikipedia):

******Count Alessandro di Cagliostro, b.1743 d.1795, was the alias of the occultist Giuseppe Balsamo (Joseph Balsamo).

Cagliostro was an Italian adventurer and self-styled magician. He became a glamorous figure associated with the royal courts of Europe where he pursued various occult arts, including psychic healing, alchemy and scrying. His reputation lingered for many decades after his death, but continued to deteriorate, as he came to be regarded as a charlatan and impostor, this view fortified by the savage attack of Thomas Carlyle in 1833, who pronounced him the Quack of Quacks. W.R.H. Trowbridge in his Cagliostro: the Splendour and Misery of a Master of Magic (1910), attempted a rehabilitation.

Portuguese author Camilo Castelo Branco credits to Balsamo the creation of the Egyptian Rite of the Freemasons and intensive work in the diffusion of Freemasonry, by opening lodges all over Europe and by introducing the acceptance of women into the community. Occult historian Lewis Spence comments in his entry on Cagliostro that the swindler put his finagled wealth to good use by starting and funding a chain of maternity hospitals and orphanages around the continent. Occultist Aleister Crowley believed Cagliostro was one of his previous incarnations.******

ABHANDLUNG VON DEN FINGERN, deren Verrichtungen und symbolishe Bedeutung, in so serne sie de deutschen Sprache Zusatche geliesect aus aller Art Alterthumer erwogen... by Friedrich GROSCHUFF [sometimes also attributed to Michael Gottlieb Griessbach.]

Rare study of the aspects of the hand, finger by finger, with historical, literary, scientific, and occult references to our digits.

LEIPZIG & EISENACH (Germany): Michael Gottlieb Griessbach, 1757. GERMAN TEXT.

Later Plain Paper Wrappers, 5x7.25 inches. Pagination: [14] prelim pages (title page and introductory pages), 312 numbered pages, [24] Register and Errata. Illustrated with Engraved Printer's Device on the title-page and on the last page of Errata, and with a few head and tail pieces.

Condition: The pages are toned / lightly browned with age, there is some foxing throughout (heavy on only a few pages), overall the pages are bright and the printing is clear and fully legible. A nicely maintained vintage book.

About FRIEDRICH GROSCHUFF (from a German Internet site):

****** Groschuff (1700-1784), German philologist. He studied theology and law at Konigsburg and Leipzig and then tutored several noble families. He was the secretary of Prince Wilhelm of Hesse-Philippstahl, governor of Breda. He afterwards served as a lawyer and counselor. He published a number of works on various subjects, including two on hands and fingers******