For People who Laugh by Adair Welcker
Description
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.
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Codex 231 by Barry William Hale
£195.00
11 large format loose leaves, printed in six colours. Comes in artist portfolio (27" X 19") with silk ties. Signed by the artist. Limited to 231 exemplars only.
Published by Fulgur Limited in 2014. Long out of print.
Condition: Fine.
"Since it was first published in 1912, Aleister Crowley's LIBER CCXXXI has provided both fascination and inspiration for practitioners, artists and writers alike. Dealing with the spiritual forces at work in the Major Arcana of the tarot, LIBER CCXXXI includes two charts of 22 sigils relating to the jinn, or spirits, for the 'House of Mercury' and the 'Prison of Shells'. These jinn work in mysterious opposition, reflecting and contesting each other.
Drawing from this rich source, artist-practitioner Barry William Hale has produced a series of eleven symbolic images based upon an alternative form – a sigillic wheel – once described by Crowley himself. Around this wheel are interlocked figures that 'symbolise the ordeal of the Adept, upon the soul's journey.' As author Robert Fitzgerald cites in his introduction to the work;
"The eleven compositions of CODEX 231 center around twin wheels that house the branches of two trees – the Domes and Prisons of LIBER CCXXXI and their respective sigils. The interlocked figures comprise a chimeric embodiment of these trees, and fulfill the literal ordalium of the Sorcerer, Mystic, Adept and Magician as they struggle with the demons and angels within both Tree and Self. These entities are thus portrayed in Hale’s CODEX 231 are united, both in nature and composition, and held together by each other’s feet and hands, yet ultimately by the Wheels themselves. This unity represents primordial Opposition and Integration, Control and Constraint, of the forces within both the living Adepti and their symbolic representations."
Between 1994-2004 these charged images were the product of an intense period of magical working for the artist. Whether framed over an altar, or employed in ritual use, they serve to evoke the powerful jinn of LIBER CCXXXI."
Ritual & Monitor of the Martinist Order (deluxe edition) by Edouard Blitz
£99.00
Deluxe edition limited to 14 exemplars (10 numbered copies for sale, 3 named copies for private distribution, and 1 copy for our company archives.)
On the last bound page, there is a matching aphorism from LCdSM from The Red Book. The aphorism's number matches the limitation number of the book. These aphorisms are individually transcribed and not copies or scans, thus making each book unique.
Signed by the publisher on the last page of the forward. Publisher's personal seal stamped in wax on the last page of the forward. Printed and Handbound in Europe by our craftsmen in Serbia. Handmade Croatian marbled endpapers. Faux leather cover. Gold foil custom device hand-stamped on the cover.
While this book does not provide the reader with everything they need to confer the Degrees, they will find a wealth of information about Martinism in the Degree Rituals presented here. This is a book that both provides important Martinist information and respects the discretion with which Martinists preserve certain parts of their tradition. This edition will introduce Martinism to a wider audience and provide more experienced students with further material for reflection.
Fairy Tale that Never Ends by Louie Stacey
£95.00
Second Hand / Antiquarian
Fairy Tale that Never Ends by Louie Stacey, illustrated by Helen W. Young
Published: Published: T. N. Foulis, London 1906
Condition: Good, no dust jacket. This is an ex-library book, from the Besant Memorial Library. Binding is firm, pages are clean and unmarked.
This is a rare first edition of a classic fairy story. It follows a girl named Rosalind who falls asleep and wakes to find herself transported to a magical realm filled with enchanting creatures and ruled by a beautiful queen. It is a timeless tale of courage, friendship and the power and the power of imagination.