Second Hand / Antiquarian
For People who Laugh – Showing How, Through Woman, Came Laughter into the World
by Adair Welcker
Published: Adair Welcker, San Francisco 1904
Condition: Good, no dust jacket. An ex-library book, from the Edinburgh Lodge of the Theosophical Society. There is a library plate attached to the inside of the front board. On the front flyleaf, possibly from around the time the book was published, someone has written in blue fountain pen the words of dedication purportedly inscribed by the author in the copy sent to the German Emperor. Also an extra page has been inserted just prior to publication with a concise statement by the author outlining his aim. This page features an additional inscription by the same hand as the one on the front flyleaf drawing attention to the author’s mention of a copy sent to the Archbishop of Canterbury. The binding is firm, the pages (apart from the inscriptions mentioned) are clean and unmarked.
Adair Welcker (1858-1926) was a California-based lawyer. His works, including plays and poems, drew on science, law journalism and historical research. He styled himself ‘the Sacramento Shakespeare’. The response of critics at the time was scorn and bewilderment. Despite rejection from commercial publishers he self-published and sent copies of his works to major libraries and universities worldwide. The University of Chicago keeps an extensive archive of his writings. He argues in this work that laughter was introduced to the world specifically by women. The text explores how women have have shaped comedy and entertainment from ancient times to the modern era.
£175.00
Second Hand / Antiquarian
First English language edition published at the Spring Equinox, by Ixaxaar in March 2013. First pressing, published in an edition of 1300 copies, of which 1100 (including this copy) are hardbound copies in black faux leather with a dust jacket.
Condition: Some very minor tears on dustwrapper. A couple of minor stains on the bottom text block (tea?). Otherwise a very good copy without inner markings etc.
One of the most intellectually sophisticated and in-depth texts of modern Satanism/ Left Hand Path and its spirituality ever produced. This valuable occult study plunges the student of the Left Hand Path into a comprehensive philosophical system providing a Study on the Being & Essence of Satan, exploring topics such as the Philosophy of God, Philosophical Anthropology, Eschatology, Metaphysics, Cosmology, and various other subjects of Satanism and Mysticism which guide the serious seeker to a complete worldview. With the aim of total unity and of understanding opposites, considering even the most significant arguments of the downward path of the soul's death in an unbiased way, Fosforos seeks to build on the fundamental doctrine of Oneness: the quintessences of both the Right Hand Path and the Left Hand Path are joined into one - as they have always been, in the heart of a true aspirant. Fosforos begins with the principle of absolute unity, Polyharmonia- The Philosophy of Oneness. The second part, Discordamelior- The Philosophy of Perdition discusses the fundamental problem of seeming duality, the breach within the cosmic harmony, manifesting itself as Evil. In the third part, Necrosophia - The Philosophy of Death, the almost collapsed and already rotten state of the world we know is observed as leading towards purifying Death and Rebirth. The fourth part, Pentagrammaton - The Consistency of Man and the Practice of Magic, turns its attention towards the microcosm and man as the demiurge, capable of harnessing his mental prowess for the work of very deep and real magical creation. It also explores how this hermetic and metaphysical worldview can be studied with a rational mindset. The fifth part, Cista Mystica - The Symbology of Satanism, introduces several important Satanic themes and symbols, like Demonology, the problem of universal paradox and suffering, and the prophesied coming of the Antichrist. The last of the book's parts, Legifer & Clavis Magica, gives us a law and scheme to reach out for a higher and more permanent kind of self-realization and occult development, along with the key or Magic formula with which to utilize that development with the aid of Prayers and Spells both in the work of theurgy or the Divine Magic and Goetia or the magic worked with the aid of Elemental or, as they are called, Demonic powers.
£150.00
Second Hand / Antiquarian
Published by Scarlet Imprint in 2009. First Edition, limited to 1000 hand-numbered copies: includes loose talisman of green butterfly. Deep olive green cloth dramatically illustrated with a metallic red "death's head" stamped on the upper board. Red endpapers, notes and index. Well illustrated in b&w with characters, sigils, magic squares, and pontos riscados.
Condition: Some very minor rubbing on cover (fingerprints). Spine ever so slightly bent. Otherwise a very good copy.
£450.00
Deluxe edition. Hand-bound in full bistre goatskin with slipcase. Limited to 50 copies.
Condition: Fine / As new.
"THREE HANDS PRESS is proud to announce Penumbrae, a collection of thirteen works of Occult Fiction by some of that genre's great luminaries. The locus of this anthology lies in tales that embody a metaphysical position, as opposed to fiction that merely employs metaphysical trappings to enforce a materialist worldview. Occult fiction, by contrast, strives to evoke the energies that inform such symbols, and create a vital experience for the reader. Far beyond mere description, this is work that proves its value through its capacity to seduce, captivate, and incept states of magical consciousness. Like the practice of magic itself, the finest works of occult fiction will be distinguished by their power to evoke an embodied experience, and to tangibly compel shifts in consciousness while arousing the uncommon. It intoxicates the rite of reading as much as it permeates the spaces between readings.
Marriage between the objective and the imaginative often results in an enrichment of existence. All spiritual traditions stand upon a foundation of both worldly Act and transcendent Idea. Idea becomes Image, Image becomes Symbol, Symbol becomes Portal. Through the Act of passing through it, one is thereby transformed. It thus stands to reason that the annals of occultism are lush with fable, poetry, mythology, and tales. A delicate but highly potent quality of this work is the creation of a spirit-trap wherein the words and images themselves act as hosts to the experience itself. Under auspicious conditions, a reader may encounter a tale that hews so closely with their own interior universe that a Key is thereby given."
Penumbrae features a cover image by surrealist painter Mike Davis tales from the following authors: