Where I catalog the books!

Todd Leif Pratum Pratum Book Company Pratum Children’s Library

263 Athol Avenue, No.8, Oakland California 94606 510.835.1766 Knowledge@Pratum.com

www.Pratum.com Since 1981

List No.4 ~ Beautiful Art & Illustrated Books

(List No.2, Magic and the Occult, was posted to Facebook January 2017, List No.3, Rare Reference Sets & Serials, is available by PDF). Every book here has been chosen for their exceptional beauty and quality, most are from my own library, all are in fine condition (exceptions noted) and can be returned for any reason. Past customers will be billed, payment on receipt of books by check or PP. Please let me know if you have any questions. A flat $5.00 postage charged to all orders except very heavy orders, then at cost. Thanks for reading!

*

1) Alexander, Dorothy, editor. – THE GERMAN SINGLE-LEAF WOODCUT 1600-1700. A Pictorial Catalogue. NY: Abaris Books Inc., 1977 1st ed, quarto, two volumes, printed cloth, 827pp, hundreds of b & w illustrations, most of which are full or half-page, fine copy with errata material laid in. A monumental undertaking. $100.00

*

2) Altona) GEHEIME FIGUREN DER ROSEN-KREUZER, AUS DEM 16th & 17th Jahrhundert. Nd, np, np, 1960’s reprint of the Altona 1785 edition, folio, publ’s blue cloth, 57pp (i.e. 29 leaves of text and plates), 120 plates & illustrations in color, the spine is very slightly faded otherwise a fine copy, sewn. A faithful facsimile of the first, printed on excellent paper. The coloring of the plates may deceive the those without a sharp eye, they look handcolored, however they are photo-offset reproductions of the handcolored edition. The publisher of this quality reprint is unknown but I suspect AMORC of Germany. I had a rare chance to compare this edition with the Aries edition of Chicago and with the original 1785 edition, remarkably the coloring is almost identical in all three editions. $400.00

3) Avedon, John F., et al. – THE BUDHA’S ART OF HEALING. Tibetan Paintings Rediscovered. NY: Rizzoli 1998, quarto, boards & dj, 168pp, printed on coated stock, profusely illustrated in color, vf copy. Selected paintings from the Blue Beryl plus extensive text. $68.00

*

4) Blake, William. - THE ILLUMINATED BOOKS OF WILLIAM BLAKE. Published by the William Blake Trust in conjunction with Princeton University Press, 1990-1993. General editor David Bindman. Complete six volume set, very scarce as such, in almost new condition, small quarto, lovely cloth in dj, finely printed and bound, color plates throughout, op in cloth. Comprising: JERUSALEM: The Emanation of the Giant Albion. Blake’s Illuminated Books, Volume 1, edited with an introduction and notes by Morton D. Paley, 202pp. SONGS OF INNOCENCE AND OF EXPERIENCE. Blake’s Illuminated Books, Volume 2, edited with introduction and notes by Andrew Lincoln, 209pp. THE EARLY ILLUMINATED BOOKS. All Religions are One. There is No Natural Religion. The Book of Thel. The Marriage of Heaven & Hell. Visions of the Daughters of Albion. Edited with notes by Morris Leaves et al, Blake’s Illuminated Books Vol.3. THE CONTINENTAL PROPHECIES. America: A Prophecy. Europe: A Prophecy. The Song of Los. Blake’s Illuminated Books, Volume 4, edited with introduction and notes by D.W. Dorrbecker. 367pp. MILTON A POEM AND THE FINAL ILLUMINATED WORKS: The Ghost of Abel, On Homer’s Poetry [and] On Virgil, Laocoon. Blake’s Illuminated Books, Volume 5, edited with

introduction and notes by Robert N. Essick and Joseph Viscomi, 286pp. THE URIZEN BOOKS: The First Book of Urizen, The Book of Ahania, The Book of Los. Blake’s Illuminated Books, Volume 6, edited with introduction and notes by David Worrall. 286pp, fine copies all. The greatest collection of both images and text ever published. Mysteriously, volume three went out of print soon as it was published while the rest remained IP, thus volume three was scarce for a long time. I could not find any complete sets in cloth online. $1350.00

*

5) Blake, William. – JERUSALEM. Foreword by Geoffrey Keynes. London: Trianon Press for the William Blake Trust [1952], one of 2500 copies issued, small quarto, cloth & dj, spine and top edge gilt, 115pp plus 100pp facsimile of the complete original, dj with two tiny tears else fine, Bentley, Blake Books No.79a. Although wonderfully printed with very clear reproductions of the original book, this has--in most aspects--been superseded by the Princeton edition which is in color and still available on the internet for about $100-$150. There is however one advantage to this edition, because of

the stark contrast of the black-and-white printing here it is much easier to read the text of the facsimile than with the color reproductions by Princeton which are often unreadable in many places. While both editions provide a separately typeset text, I’m sure Blake would prefer you read it in this fine facsimile of the original! Jerusalem is the longest of Blake’s ‘Prophetic Books’, and his last. Because of the laborious nature of his unique process he only printed ten copies. It is the story of a man, Albion, who is also the archetypal Man, who is at once a venal man and a representation of Great Britain and the cosmos. The story recounts his fall, struggles with ‘Spectre” the ‘Satanic Mills’, corrupt Deists then his final and ultimate redemptive enlightenment. $90.00

*

6) Blake, William. – JERUSALEM. The Emanation of the Great Albion. Edited with an Introduction and Notes by Morton D. Paley. London: Folio Society & The Blake Trust 2007, quarto, quarter leather (probably bonded) with silk sides, in color illustrated slipcase, 303pp, 105 color plates, very fine condition. This reprints exactly the Princeton University Press edition of 1996 but with deluxe binding. Nice gift! $255.00

7) Blake) Essick, Robert N. - THE SEPARATE PLATES OF WILLIAM BLAKE. A Catalogue. Princeton: UP, 1983, Hardcover, heavy quarto, two-piece cloth, sewn, dj, 302pp, ten color illustrations, eight of which are full-page, including frontispiece, plus 114 b & w illustrations, most of which are full-page, bibliography, index, fine condition. $55.00

* 8) Breuer, David, [editor]. – AZTECS. [London: Royal Academy of Arts] 2004, 1st ed, large heavy quarto in wraps, sewn signatures, 520pp, elaborately illustrated with hundreds of color plates and text figures, a fine copy and unusually so for such a heavy volume. $26.00

*

9) Bruegel) Orenstein, Nadine M., editor. – PIETER BRUEGEL THE ELDER, DRAWINGS AND PRINTS. New Haven: Yale Univ Pr 2001, 2nd printing, heavy quarto, cloth & dj, 323pp, handsomely and fully illustrated in color, a fine copy of this extensive pictorial survey. $44.00

*

10) Burckhardt, Titus. – CHARTRES AND THE BIRTH OF THE CATHEDRAL. Ipswich: Golgonooza Press 1995, quarto, cloth & dj, 135pp, profusely illustrated with full page color and black-and-white plates and figures in the text, forward by Keith Critchlow, fine copy of this handsome work, printed on coated stock and gorgeously typeset. $300.00

*

11) Burland, C.A. - THE ARTS OF THE ALCHEMISTS. NY: Macmillan 1967, small quarto, 224pp, many plates, some in color, dj. This is not a “picture book” but a significant addition to the small number of works devoted to the iconography of alchemy. Cottie Burland was formerly with the Dept of Ethnography at the British Library. He has authored many interesting books on obscure art traditions, this is his most important book. Each chapter is devoted to a process or state in alchemy, i.e. sublimation, calcination, nigredo, etc. A number of the color plates are beautiful full page reproductions of the alchemical paintings that accompany Solomon Trismosin’s Splendor Solis (1582 edition) and are rarely seen printed in color. $68.00

*

12) Campbell, Joseph. - THE MYTHIC IMAGE. NY: Princeton UP 1975 (1974) second printing, large heavy quarto, quality decorated buckram with dj, 552pp, notes and index, 421 plates, most full page, some in color, plus 11 maps, small bump to one corner of the binding that creates a tiny wave to only the corresponding pages of the introductory material, else very fine, and far superior to the reprint. Campbell's most admired work next to his The Hero With a Thousand Faces. $60.00

*

13) Campbell, Joseph. – THE WAY OF THE ANIMAL POWERS. Historical Atlas of World Mythology, Volume 1. London: Times Books 1983 1st ed 1st printing, folio, lovely buckram cloth & dj, 303pp, profusely illustrated in color & b & w, vf copy. A major and compendious work with a complicated publishing history. This is Volume 1, then over the next five years further volumes were published but only in paperback. I can also supply those volumes, please enquire. $48.00

*

14) Carmichael, Alexander. - CARMINA GADELICA. Hymns and Incantations. With Illustrative Notes on Words, Rites, and Customs, Dying and Obsolete: Orally Collected in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland and Translated into English. Edinburgh: Scottish Academic Press 1970 2nd ed, (reprinting the 1928-40 ed, 1st ed was in 1900 in two volumes), six volumes, handsome polished red cloth, dust jackets, illustrated with hundreds of wood-cut illustrations in the text, fine condition throughout, a beautiful production. The definitive edition, never surpassed, a fine facsimile reprint. The publisher took the rare initiative to reproduce every production value of the original edition, nearly identical to the 1928 edition in paper and binding, and nothing compared to the Floris reprint of 2006. In the introduction Carmichael relates how he spent 44 years collecting “the old lore, written down from the recital of men and women throughout the Highlands and Islands of Scotland”. It is a compendium of prayers, hymns, charms, incantations, blessings, literary-folkloric poems and songs, proverbs, lexical items, historical anecdotes, natural history observations, and miscellaneous lore gathered in the Gaelic-speaking regions of Scotland between 1860 and 1909. This monument forms part of the backbone of Scottish

Gaelic folklore studies, especially faiery lore, and is unique in scope. My catalogue 72 was exclusively illustrated with illustrations from this work. $350.00

*

15) Coe, Michael. – THE ART OF THE MAYA SCRIBE. NY: Abrams 1998 1st American edition, tall quarto, cloth & dj, 240pp, vf copy. A stunning and large work with a plethora of color and b & w illustrations. Coe’s final full statement on the Maya after a lifetime of study. $60.00

*

16) Collins, Jess. - JESS. A Grand Collage 1951-1993. Organized by Michael Auping, Buffalo: Albright-Knox Art Gallery and the Buffalo Fine Arts Academy, 1993 1st ed, oblong quarto, cloth & dj, profusely illustrated in color, printed on glossy stock, front flyleaf slightly creased, one tiny dent in jacket else fine. Essays by Michael Auping and others. Jess Collins (known simply as ‘Jess’ now, 1923-2004) was a professional artist, early graduate of the SF Art Institute, and longtime lover of poet Robert Duncan. In the late 1980’s they lived a few blocks away from Maelstrom Books where I worked in the Mission district of San Francisco. There I got to know them a little bit when they would come in the shop and hang out discoursing on alchemy and children’s books while keeping me informed of the underground art scene then. It’s obvious from looking at this book that Hermeticism was a big influence, and the dust jacket reproduces one of his paintings that follows a plate from Fludd’s Utriusque Cosmi. $60.00 17) Couchoud, Paul-Louis, [editor]. ASIATIC MYTHOLOGY. A Detailed Description and Explanation of the Mythologies of all the Great Nations of Asia. NY: Crowell nd, c.1960's, [reprint of the 1920 edition], heavy quarto, nice cloth binding, jacket flaps laid-in, 459pp, profusely illustrated in color and b & w, one tiny spot on front cover else fine copy. The later reprints of this grand volume were much inferior. Eight monographs, two by Joseph Hackin, others by Maspero and Marchal. $60.00

18) DOHENY) THE ESTELLE DOHENY COLLECTION. Complete in eight volumes. Christie 1987. Eight volume set. Vols. I-VII bound in gilt-stamped and titled red cloth covered boards. An additional volume featuring European and American art is bound in red paper. Quarto, 302+126+320+ 345+ 316+103+99+ 204pp. Profusely illustrated in color and b & w, one corner of cloth a bit bumped else a fine set, prices for part V are laid in. The catalog of one of the great auctions of the late 20th century, which included an original Blake book and the Gutenberg Bible. This set was owned and used at the auction by Bernard Rosenthal, famed 3rd generation manuscript dealer, with his many annotations in the margins, often with what the book brought and which ones he successfully bid on. $600.00 19) D.O.M.A. CODEX ROSÆ CRUCIS. A Rare & Curious Manuscript of Rosicrucian Interest, Now Published for the First Time in Its Original Form. Introduction and Commentary by Manly P. Hall. LA: Philosophical Research Society 1971 2nd ed, (1st ed 1938), folio, publ’s thick rose-colored gilt cloth, 114pp, title page rubricated, two color plates on glossy stock and 26 B&W plates, all from early books and manuscripts of the order, binding slightly marked but fine condition, nice book arts compared

to the later reprints. Clay Holden’s copy (John Dee Publication Project) with his sigil on the flyleaf and two original printings of Pagesgem and Bacap Laflos laid in. The illustrations include: The Dragon of Chaos, the folding and extending Magical Calendar of Tycho Brahe (detached and laid in); and a B&W plate of the great cross of the Rosicrucian adepts, neither of which appear in the earlier D.O.M.A. versions; and many pages with both English (black) and Latin (red) text translated from the original manuscripts; along with other text illustrations. There have been two different “editions” of Hall’s book, yet all are textually the same. Hall states in his preface here that “ Since the first edition of this book, nothing has come to light which would require a revision of the text. As far as we can learn, no other work has been published which sheds additional light on the DOMA manuscript or the related reference works which we have mentioned.” However the presentation of the illustrations has varied a bit in some printings, and even though I've handled all of them it's difficult to keep straight the differences. Some printings only have B&W plates, the first edition is the best as it is larger in size and of superior binding, but that is quite rare. Besides Hall’s annotated facsimile of the original edition, he provides an extraordinarily detailed iconographic examination of every symbol, plus an expose of “The Hartmann Hoax.” $185.00

* 20) Dante) Nassar, Eugene Paul. – ILLUSTRATIONS TO DANTE’S INFERNO. Rutherford: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press 1994 1st ed, large heavy 8vo, cloth & dj, 398pp, profusely illustrated in color and b & w, fine copy, out of print though there was a paper edition some years ago. This is the only handy one volume study that covers all the early illustrations. $140.00

*

21) De Simone, Daniel. – A HEAVENLY CRAFT. The Woodcut in Early Printed Books. NY: Braziller in association with the Library of Congress, 2004, quarto, cloth & dj, 222pp, hundreds of plates & illustrations in lovely sepia and color, vf copy. For me there are two types of surveys of old woodcut art, those that document the margins and binding of the book containing the illustration, i. e. showing the book in situ, and those that only illustrate the woodcuts so as to give you a full view of the artistry and skill of the cuts, this is the former, with many plates that show you exactly where the woodcut appears in the book and it’s format, binding, condition, etc. A magnificent tome and a bargain at this price. $22.00

*

22) Fontein, Jan & Money L. Hickman. – ZEN PAINTINGS AND CALLIGRAPHY. Boston: Museum of Fine Arts 1970 1st ed, large 8vo, cloth & dj, 173pp, beautifully illustrated in b & w throughout with a few color plates, back of jacket slightly torn and dust-darkened else fine condition, a handsome production. The catalogue of a major exhibition with all kinds of additional material, prefaces and introductions etc. Many of the works exhibited were lent by temples in Japan and China. The poetic inscriptions are translated here for the first time into English. $145.00

* 23) Gillipsie, Charles Coulston & Dewachter, Michael. - MONUMENTS OF EGYPT. THE NAPOLEONIC EDITION. Princeton: Princeton Architectural Press, 1987, heavy quarto, two volumes in slipcase, cloth & dj, erratic pagination but about 400pp total with 421 plates, many folding, 31 in color, plus 46pp of text in volume two which is devoted to the folding and extending plates, very fine copy. A complete reproduction of the famed work begun in 1809 and printed in 23 mammoth elephant folios, the fruit of 400 engravers and 160 scholars. $150.00

24) Gupte, Ramesh Shankar and B. D. Mahajan. – AJANTA, ELLORA AND AURANGABAD CAVES. Bombay: Taraporevala 1962 1st ed, quarto, publ’s green fabrikoid, XX+288pp, 150 b & w illustrations on glossy stock, many full page, some in color with glassine guards, vg-f copy with the signature of the Buddhist scholar Joanna Macy on the front flyleaf. These temple-caves are best known for their erotic iconography. $70.00

*

25) Heninger, S. K. – THE COSMOGRAPHICAL GLASS. Renaissance Diagrams of the Universe. San Marino: Huntington Library 1977 1st ed, quarto, cloth & dj, 209pp, 117 plates and text illustrations, jacket a touch sun-faded but a fine copy. One of my favorite books, a unique volume. $110.00

*

26) Houlihan, Patrick F. - THE ANIMAL WORLD OF THE PHARAOHS. London: Thames and Hudson 1996, quarto, hardcover with dj, 245pp on coated stock, 153 B&W figures and 35 color plates plus map, notes, bibliography, indexes, and chronology, fine copy. Beautiful art book from Thames & Hudson, one of the last few publishers who knows how to do it. Much on Egyptian religion and mythology. $16.00

* 27) Kama Sutra) Burn, Barbara, editor. – THE KAMA SUTRA ILLUSTRATED. Erotic Art of India. NY: Abrams 2002, 1st ed in English, folio, boards & dj, 252pp, printed on glossy stock with color on every page, many plates are folding, a fine copy, especially for such a large and heavy book. There are a jazillion editions of this, but what I offer here is very special, edited in conjunction with a staff of world-renown scholars and spiritual advisors. It does not pretend to contain the entire text but instead has been edited to make prominent the themes that “are congruent with our times.” Scarce and important for the iconography. $55.00

*

28) Kircher) Stolzenberg, Daniel, editor. - THE GREAT ART OF KNOWING, THE BAROQUE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ATHANASIUS KIRCHER. Stanford: Stanford University Libraries 2003, 1st & only edition, quarto, sewn folding wraps, 160pp, magnificently illustrated, very fine condition, a beautifully designed and printed volume. This catalog celebrates in part Stanford’s acquisition of 50 rare books by Kircher and serves as a catalog to an exhibition held in the Green Library (Stanford’s rare book library). Not long before this, Kircher’s works were considered fringe and of dubious value even for the most adventurous academic researchers, then suddenly he became--as Paracelsus has, and Cardano, and the Hermetic world in general--worthy of such a prestigious institution. Late-comers for sure. $350.00

*

29) Kramrisch, Stella. - THE ART OF INDIA. Traditions of Indian Sculpture, Painting and Architecture. NY: Phaidon 1954, 1st ed, tall quarto, beautiful patterned cloth binding, 231pp, 180 plates, some mounted, the rest in gorgeous photogravure, fine in slightly worn dj. Kramrisch held the History of Indian Art chair at the University of Calcutta for ten years and is a favorite among students of the Traditionalist School. A wonderful presentation. $100.00

*

30) Kraus) IN RETROSPECT. A Catalogue of 100 Outstanding Manuscripts Sold in the Last Four Decades by H. P. Kraus. NY: Kraus 1978, quarto, cloth & dj, 255pp, each mss illustrated with a full page plate in b & w, jacket a bit faded, wrinkled and chipped, book fine, very stoutly bound. Kraus is easily the greatest rare book dealer of the 20th century, this is a bargain. $25.00

*

31) Krishnamurti) Blau, Evelyne, Editor. KRISHNAMURTI, 100 YEARS. Stewart, Tabori & Chang 1995, tall 8vo, sewn in glossy picture boards with portrait dj, 284pp, profusely illustrated, fine. A collection of photographs, excerpts, and memoirs of JK and the many people connected with him, an uncommon marriage of book arts and elucidation of esoteric philosophy. Contributors include HPB, Besant, Leadbeater, Lutyens, Theodore Besterman, G.B.Shaw, Anita Loos, Joseph Campbell, Aldous Huxley, David Bohm, Howard Fast, T.K.V. Desikachar, Henry Miller, Deepak Chopra, Van Morrison, Larry Dossey. $14.00

* 32) Lee, Georgia. – THE ROCK ART OF EASTER ISLAND. Symbols of Power, Prayers to the Gods. LA: Inst of Archaeology, Monumenta Archaeologica 17, 1992, cloth & dj, 224pp, plates in color plus many b & w text figures, very handsome book arts, fine copy. One of the great illustrated books on this still mysterious culture. $90.00

* 33) LUXOR MUSEUM OF ANCIENT EGYPTIAN ART. Catalogue. Cairo: American Research Center in Egypt, 1979, quarto, fairly cheap color printed boards, 219pp, sewn signatures, fully illustrated in color and b & w, tiny bits of the spine have been chipped away else fine copy. This appears to be an entirely new edition of the museum’s catalog, which has been through numerous editions for at least 60 years and sold in the gift shop. The reproductions are average, but the aura of the book excels. It was once owned by Gene Pippin, old friend of Jack Kerouac who appears as “Gene Dexter” in On the Road. Pippin lived in Cairo, other books in this list are from his library. $28.00

*

34) MacPhail, Ian, editor. – ALCHEMY AND THE OCCULT. [four volumes] A Catalogue of Books and Manuscripts from the Collection of Paul and Mary Mellon Given to Yale University Library. Compiled by Ian MacPhail, with Essays by R. P. Multhauf and Aniela Jaffe and Additional Notes by William McGuire. New Haven: Yale University Library 1968 & 1977, four volumes, large heavy quarto, two-piece grey & blue cloth binding with gilt

lettered leather spine labels, in cloth slipcase, 309 titles described, including rare and first editions of alchemical and magical texts, like Roger Bacon’s Le Miroir d’alquimie; John Dee’s Monas Hieroglyphica; George Ripley’s The Compound of Alchymy; Salomon Trissmoisin’s Aureum Vellus; Robert Fludd’s Utriusque Cosmi and Maier’s Atalanta. One spine label lifting slightly, another slightly worn else mostly fine copy, one of 500 sets, handsomely printed by the Spiral Press of New York. Accompanying each title is a full page plate in B & W. Jaffe’s essay is on the influence of alchemy on the work of Jung, and McGuire’s text explains Jung’s references to these books in The Collected Works of C. G. Jung. McGuire was the longtime editor of the Bollingen series, of which the Mellon’s were the financial and visionary co-founders of. These volumes were separately edited by Laurence C. Witten II who was a legendary rare book dealer in Connecticut. In the last two volumes Witten tells the story of how Mellon obtained this collection, “probably the largest such collection in the United States”. We learn that when Denis Duveen sold his entire library to the University of Wisconsin, he did not sell his manuscripts, which were later were sold to Mellon after being bought by the bookseller William Gannon. These four volumes are the scholarly crown-jewels of the kingdom of Hermetic bibliography. Paul Mellon did some great things for books after he was inspired to collect alchemy via his analysis with Jung and then by visiting Jung’s library of alchemical books in Switzerland. Most of the books and manuscripts described here are cited in Jung’s Collected Works and hence these are a fantastic reference to have next to those 20 odd volumes. $1100.00

*

35) MacWilliam, Susan. – REMOTE VIEWING. Edited by Karen Downey. London: Black Dog 2008, quarto, sewn paperback, 182pp, illustrated in color on nearly every page, fine copy, laid-in is an unpublished 8pp color illustrated monograph she wrote on this book, an impressionistic account of the Parapsychology Foundation library, (this is not about remote viewing in the psychical sense, the title is an allusion to life after death). MacWilliam visited the library of the Parapsychology Foundation and interviewed Garrett’s daughter and granddaughter. Many of the photographs are of the rare books there, many interviews with the three generations of women who have taken care of this precious library. I spent a week there and oh the treasures they have, including a copy of the Fox Sister’s pamphlet that started the entire Spiritualist movement. $22.00

*

36) McLean, Adam. - THE SILENT LANGUAGE: THE SYMBOLS OF HERMETIC PHILOSOPHY. Amsterdam: In de Pelikaan, Netherlands, 1994, quarto paperback, 92pp fully illustrated in b & w, one corner slightly bumped else very fine. $125.00

*

37) Masonry) Abrines, Lorenzo Frau. – DICCIONARIO ENCICLOPEDICO DE LA MASONERIA… [Edited by] Luis Almeida. Barcelona: Libreria Sintes, no date [c.1945, 1st ed was 1891], two volumes complete, large heavy quarto, red morocco-backed red cloth boards, extra gilt, raised bands, embossed covers, decorative ep’s, 1599pp, 16 color plates and 14 b & w illustrations, in excellent state of preservation, two small bumps to one corner and foredge of volume two creating a very slight “wave” to some corresponding pages else very fine, gilt bright, binding very strong, hinges firm. A monumental reference covering every imaginable aspect of masonry including nearly every known masonic rite, ritual and the major and minor figures. There was a reprint in 1985 (reprinted again in 1988) that claims “corrigenda” but after examining both editions it is clear the corrections were almost non-existent and the term was used to puff the reprint. This is the 1945 edition which combined the three volumes of the 1891 first edition into two very large volumes. A handsome copy of the definitive masonic reference in Spanish. $960.00.

*

38) Otto, Eberhard. – ANCIENT EGYPTIAN ART. The Cults of Osiris and Amon. NY: Abrams nd c. 1967, quarto, cloth & dj, 144pp plus innumerable plates and figures in b & w and a few mounted plates in color, very fine copy. A little known classic, Otto is a German Egyptologist. For my entire life I’ve been obsessed with the first flowering of Egypt, the Old Dynasty, the mountain-top from which everything fell, yet surprisingly hard to find books devoted to this period. Otto fills in some important gaps. $50.00

*

39) Pal, Pratapaditya. - ART OF NEPAL. A Catalogue of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art Collection. LA County Museum 1985, quarto, lovely dark green silk cloth, 257pp, profuse color illustrations, fine in jacket. A perfect mix of scholarship and fine book arts. Pal is the world’s leading authority on Nepalese art. He highlights many rare books and manuscripts and their iconography, each of the 300+ illustrations are fully described. In print in paperback for $44.95. $35.00

* 40) Pang, Hildegard Delgado. - PRE-COLUMBIAN ART. Investigations and Insights. Norman: University of Oklahoma 1992, large quarto, cloth in jacket, 330pp, illustrated with line drawing-reproductions of glyphs and art and black & white photographs of monuments, mint copy. Fantastic presentation. Published at $70.00. $23.00

* 41) Petrarch. THE TRIUMPHS OF FRANCESCO PETRARCH, FLORENTINE POET LAUREATE. Translated by Henry Boyd with an Introduction by Doctor Guido Biagi, Librarian of the Royal Medicean Laurentian Library, Florence. London: Murray 1906, one of 100 copies printed, quarto, publ’s blue cloth heavily embossed

in blind with gilt lettered spine and raised bands, unpaginated [181pp], six initial letters hand painted in gold (or perhaps applied gold foil), six full page (copperplate?) engravings, rear joint a bit worn else fine copy of this handsome and strongly bound quarto, an important source work for the history of the tarot. Another 200 copies were printed in Boston, both are rare, combined WorldCat records only three copies, (however there is one copy for sale online, $2,000). Boyd’s translation was first published in London in 1807, here with a new afterword by Sydney Colvin, who writes “the plates are by an unknown artist from the early Florentine school, each illustrating a personified triumph.” Colvin was keeper of prints and drawings at the British Museum. $800.00

* 42) Posnansky, Ing Arthur. – TIHUANACU. The Cradle of American Man. NY: J. J. Augustin 1945, 2nd ed of volume one, large heavy quarto, publ’s printed tan cloth, two volumes in one, 158+246pp, cloth a bit marked, foot of spine a bit frayed, front hinge a bit wobbly else vg, strongly bound, text in fine condition. Illustrated with a profusion of plates and illustrations in color and b & w, text illustrations, charts, maps, diagrams, photographs, line drawings, transparent overlays, architectural plans, including many that are folding and some folding and extending. Bilingual edition with English and Spanish in parallel columns. Posnansky (1873–1946) is easily one of the most colorful scholars in the world of alternative interpretations of American civilization. He believed Tihuanacu was the 17,000 year old birthplace of all Mesoamerican civilizations. Orthodoxy has discredited his work, but others such as Charles Hapgood (Maps of the Ancient Sea-Kings) have seen genius in his prodigious researches. Posnansky wrote many books, including the monumental seven volume Mapa del rio Acre (1897), but this was his last and greatest contribution, the summation and recapitulation of all before. In 1958 there were two further volumes published in Bolivia, those are not hard to find on the net, however these first two volumes are very scarce. Now he is probably best known through the writings of Graham Hancock, but I think Colin Wilson and Rand Flem-Ath’s The Atlantis Blueprint gives a better estimation of his contributions. $520.00

43) Rawson, Philip. – PRIMITIVE EROTIC ART. NY: Putnam 1973, quarto, cloth & dj, 308pp, crammed with all kinds of illustrations in both color and b & w, a very fine copy. Rawson wrote a number of simplistic books on erotic art of the east with very similar titles to this which can confuse the browser, this however is his major work, a revised and expanded edition of his Erotic Art of the East (1968). $28.00

*

44) Riches, Samantha. - ST GEORGE, HERO, MARTYR AND MYTH. Thrupp: Sutton Publishing, 2000, small quarto, boards & dj, 237pp, many plates in color, fine copy. The author is a medievalist with a specialty in the lives of saints. Heavily remaindered, thus the low price. $12.00

45) Ritman Library) Ritman, J. R. and F. A. Janssen, editors. - 500 YEARS OF GNOSIS IN EUROPE: Amsterdam: In de Pelikaan 1993 quarto, thick color printed card covers, 312pp, sewn, profusely illustrated with title pages and book covers and rare engravings, some in color, wraps a bit dust-soiled with a tiny bump but a fine copy of this gorgeous production. One of the most extraordinary publications the Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica has issued. The full subtitle reads: ‘An Exhibition of Printed Books and Manuscripts from the Gnostic Tradition, Organized by the Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica and the M. I. Rudomino Russian State Library for Foreign Literature from the Collections of Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica, Russian State Library, National Library of Russia, M. I. Rudomino Russian State Library for Foreign Literature, Central State Archives of Ancient Acts, and the All-Russian Pushkin Museum’. It contains many commentaries including those by Joseph Ritman, Carlos Gilly, A.I. Serkov, and Frans A. Janssen. Still available from the Ritman Library. No US copies online. $100.00

*

46) Ritman Library) CIMELIA RHODOSTAUROTICA: Die Rosenkreuzer im Spiegel der zwishen 1610 und 1660 entstandenen Handschriften und Drucke. Ausstellung der Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica Amsterdam und der Herzog August Bibliothek Wolfenbuttel. Amsterdam: In de Pelikaan [Ritman Library] 1995, quarto, sewn paperback, 191pp, numerous title pages and frontispieces, index, mint copy. Another gorgeous production from the Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica, documenting books some of which were eventually seized by the Dutch government, robbing this world-class treasure-house of many of their rare Hermetic books and manuscripts for non-payment of back taxes. No US copies online. $55.00

*

47) Ritman Library) Gentile Sebastiano E Carlos Gilly, A Cura Di. MARSILIO FICINO E IL RITORNO DI ERMETE TRIMEGISTO/ MARSILIO FICINO AND THE RETURN OF HERMES TRIMEGISTO. Firenze: Centro Di 1999, heavy quarto, sewn wraps, 328pp, profusely illustrated in color and b & w, vg-f copy. Dual English & Italian language edition. $160.00

* 48) Ritman Library) Ford, M. Lane, Editor. - CHRIST, PLATO, HERMES TRISMEGISTUS: THE DAWN OF PRINTING. Catalogue of the Incunabula in the Biblioteca Philosophica Hermetica. Biblioteca Philosophica Hermetica 1990, quarto, two volumes, cloth, in cloth slipcase, the slipcase is in fine condition but has a light “tide mark” from some watery exposure but the volumes are entirely free of any intrusion and are mint. 405pp. 192 extraordinary rarities by Ficino, Lull, Pico, Plotinus, etc., each accompanied by a full-page color plate and a page of text, with complete collations, provenance, and history. The Biblioteca Philosophica Hermetica houses perhaps the finest public collection of rare Hermetica in the world. Handsome book production by In De Pelikaan, the library's publishing house. $225.00

49) Robicsek, Francis. – THE SMOKING GODS. Tobacco in Maya Art, History, and Religion. Foreword by Michael D. Coe. Norman: Univ of Oklahoma Press 1978 1st ed, heavy quarto, cloth & dj, 233pp, approximately 180 plates & text figures, some in full page color but most in b & w, jacket a bit edge-chipped, book fine. This book changed everything for me when it comes to Mesoamerican civilization. Their dedication to tobacco was a revelation! $26.00

*

50) Salomon, Richard. – ANCIENT BUDDHIST SCROLLS FROM GANDHARA. The British Library Kharosthi Fragments. Foreword by the Dalai Lama. Seattle: Univ of Washington Pr 1999 1st ed, quarto, cloth & dj, 273pp, 34 color plates and many more in b & w, fine copy. The oldest Buddhist texts, here restored from fragments that survive. Though the paleography will be beyond most, the essential texts and their history is quite interesting. $30.00

*

51) Schmandt-Besserat, Denise. – BEFORE WRITING. VOLUME I, FROM COUNTING TO CUNEIFORM. Austin: Univ of Texas 1992 1st ed, quarto, cloth & dj, 269pp, many text figures in b & w plus charts, fine copy of this scholarly treatment, one of the most interesting books I’ve seen on the very earliest forms of writing. I have many other books on ancient writing. $28.00

*

52) Schwaller de Lubicz, R.A. - THE TEMPLE OF MAN. Translated from the French by Deborah Lawlor and Robert Lawlor. Illustrations by Lucie Lamy. Rochester: Inner Traditions International 1998, two volumes quarto, cloth-backed boards in slipcase, sewn signatures, alkaline paper, 414 plates and illustrations, handsomely produced. After decades of neglect, and after years of publishing delays, Schwaller de Lubicz’s great masterpiece is finally available in English. The Lawlor’s have translated three previous books by Schwaller de Lubicz. For some, this is the most important work of all 20th century scholarship, because it lays out in detail, proof of the advanced sacred science that so few have known but so many have suspected, “revolutionizing our view of history” (John Michell). This has led some to explain this profound Sacra Scientia by extraterrestrial intervention, but this only insults the truth of Egyptian genius, and the work of the author, who would be horrified by such postulations. Remarkably still in print at $195.00. (I also have the companion volume, The Temples of Karnak, same binding and mint for $70.00). $125.00

*

53) Sesti, Giuseppe Maria. - THE GLORIOUS CONSTELLATIONS, HISTORY AND MYTHOLOGY. Introduction by Elemire Zolla. NY: Harry N. Abrams 1991 1st ed, large quarto, silk cloth & dj, 495pp, profusely illustrated in color and b & w, mint. Perhaps the most magnificently illustrated English language book on the history of constellations in all ancient and medieval civilizations. Gorgeous book arts. $360.00

*

54) Silverman, David P, editor. - SEARCHING FOR ANCIENT EGYPT. Art, Architecture, and Artifacts from the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. Dallas Museum of Art & Cornell University Press 1997, heavy quarto, cloth in jacket, 342pp, profusely illustrated in color and B & W , mint copy. The collection, which includes architectural pieces from an Old Kingdom tomb chapel, is divided up into sections such as private art, royal art, divine art, etc. Published at $60.00 but remaindered hence the low price. $12.00

* 55) Smith, Beatrice Scheer. – A PAINTED HERBARIUM. The Life and Art of Emily Hitchcock Terry 1838-1921. Minneapolis: Univ of Minn Pr 1992 1st ed, quarto, cloth & dj, 194pp, profusely illustrated in color, a lovely scholarly art book, vf condition. Bargain price. $10.00

56) Soustelle, Jacques. – ARTS OF ANCIENT MEXICO. London: Thames & Hudson 1967, quarto, cloth & dj, 160pp plus 206 plates, most in glorious photo-gravure, the finest printing technology ever invented for reproducing b & w plates, now abandoned for the “glossy look”, a fine copy of this major monograph. $24.00

* 57) Stacy-Judd, Robert. - ATLANTIS, MOTHER OF EMPIRES. LA: Devorss 1939 1st ed, large quarto, publ’s plain brown fabrikoid, XXIX+336pp, No.1145 of 1500 copies printed on thick cotton stock, color frontispiece and numerous plates in half-tone printed on matte stock, line drawings by the author plus two folding chronological charts, spine lettering dull else very good to fine condition, strongly bound. Apparently at one point the binder ran out of the decorative paper cover used for earlier numbers and substituted this for the binding, otherwise identical. The author’s rather astounding architectural career is detailed in Robert Stacy-Judd, Maya Architecture and the Creation of a New Style by David Gebhard (Capra Press 1993), a monograph that minutely documents his visionary designs for contemporary buildings in Los Angeles, many that were actually built. $220.00

*

58) Sutton, Peter et al. – DREAMINGS: THE ART OF ABORIGINAL AUSTRALIA. NY: Braziller 1988 1st ed, quarto, cloth & dj, 266pp, deliciously illustrated throughout with color plates, b & w text figures, portraits of artists, etc, fine copy. One of the great books on the subject, bridging both the ancient and traditional art with their modern practitioners. $40.00

* 59) Timm, Regime. – SPIEGEL KULTURELLER WANDLUNGEN. Hamburg: Maximillian-Gesellschaft and Wolfgang Metzner Verlag, Frankfurt & Berlin, 1998, quarto, two volumes, cloth in cardboard slipcase, 426+299pp, very fine condition. The co-publisher is the father of psychedelic pioneer Ralph Metzner and this comes from Ralph’s library. Hundreds of woodcuts, a superlative production as the Germans know how to do still. $65.00

* 60) Townsend, Richard J., editor. – ANCIENT WEST MEXICO. Art & Archaeology of the Unknown Past. London: Thames & London 1998 1st ed, quarto, cloth & dj, 308pp, over 100 color plates, fine copy, lovely book. $50.00

*

61) Underwood, Paul A., editor. - THE KARIYE DJAMI. Four volumes. NY: Princeton: Princeton Univ Press 1975 (Bollingen Series, LXX), 1966, quarto, cloth with dj, slipcase. Volume 1: Historical Introduction and Description of the Mosaics and Frescoes, 321 pp. plus 12 figures, color frontispiece; Volume 2: The Mosaics, 288pp, plus plates 1-334 (several in color); Volume 3: The Frescoes, 301pp with plates 335-553 (a few in color), Volume 4, titled STUDIES IN THE ART OF THE KARIYE DJAMI, 370 pp, followed by numerous plates, fine copy but for volume four whose jacket has a fair amount of silverfishing to the surface. This mosque is the last great flowering of Byzantine art, exhaustively documented here as only the Bollingen Foundation could do. $400.00

* 62) Vallee, Jacques & Chris Aubeck. WONDERS IN THE SKY. Unexplained Aerial Objects from Antiquity to 1879 and their Impact on Human Culture, History and Beliefs. In Collaboration with Yannis Deliyannis and the Web-based Magoniax Research Team. San Francisco: Documatica Research LLC, 2015, 2nd ed, large very heavy quarto, cloth & dust jacket, two volumes, 465pp, printed on thick glossy acid-free paper, sewn signatures, with hundreds of illustrations many of

which are full page and in color, including Renaissance paintings, old woodcuts, early printed books, charts and maps, plus a cloth portfolio of 20 rare Medieval and Renaissance broadsheets (i.e. posters) 11” x 8” and suitable for framing, plus a facsimile of a 17th century coin representing a legendary round shield from the sky, everything contained in a stout Saifu cloth slipcase, each copy signed and numbered by the authors, limited to 500 copies and never to be reprinted. ISBN 978-1-5323-2348-5. This is entirely different from the 2010 Tarcher paperback edition, greatly revised and expanded. A gorgeous production of the highest quality, a rare blending of world-class scholarship and exceptional book arts. Great care has been taken to produce both a beautiful book and one that will last down through the ages. Copies in stock. Because of the weight extra postage is required, $14.00 in the US, approximately $85.00 overseas (depending on the country, we will quote exact postage). Exclusively distributed to the trade by Todd Pratum. $260.00. Discounts to the trade available.

*

63) Wardwell, Allen. – ISLAND ANCESTORS. Oceanic Art from the Masco Collection. Seattle: Univ of Washington Pr 1994 1st

ed, quarto, cloth & dj, 282pp, full page color plates on almost every-other page, vf copy of this handsome luxurious volume. Includes many magical implements and sacred objects, a stunning and revealing work examining a culture that still is little known or understood, argued by some as ancient as Australian Aboriginal culture. Remaindered recently hence the low price. $12.00

*

64) Warner, Nicholas. – THE MONUMENTS OF HISTORIC CAIRO. A Map and Descriptive Catalogue. Cairo: American Univ in Cairo Press 2005, heavy folio, boards & dj, 250pp, numerous b & w plates and text figures plus 31 folding city plans at back, this is essentially an antiquarian architectural and cartographic wonder-book as most of the text and plates are concerned with these issues. Note that the focus is on Islamic themes. $42.00

* 65) Zadrobilek, Vladislav, editor. - OPUS MAGNUM. Trigon 1997, small folio, printed glossy boards, sewn, in dj, 327pp, profusely illustrated in color, fine copy. This is the catalogue of the exhibit of alchemy books and documents in Prague to honor the 400 hundredth year of the reign of Rudolph II, the great patron of alchemists and

artists. The book is in Czech but in the back is a complete English translation, including the captions to the illustrations which have thoughtfully been given their own section of text. Scarce. $300.00 66) Zimmer, Heinrich. - THE ART OF INDIAN ASIA. Its Mythology and Transformations. Edited by Joseph Campbell. NY: Pantheon 1955 1st ed, two volumes, large heavy quartos, publ’s stout two piece cloth binding, 465+614pp, fine copy of this handsomely bound study, lacks the cardboard slip case. The importance of this massive iconography rests in the wealth of mythological and symbolic detail that Zimmer marshals here. $166.00. Extra postage.

DARK IMPRESSIONS

I have slightly bumped copies of my 67pp illustrated memoir Dark Impressions, 35 Years as a Dealer in Books on the Occult, contained in Octagon II, edited by Hans Thomas Hakl, which documents (in part) the Octagon Library, the largest occult library in private hands. *$55.00, discounted from $100.00 and post paid in the US. One corner is very slightly dented but the text blocks are untouched, most would consider this trivial but the publisher generously allowed me a discount on them. My memoir is succinctly described and perfectly summarized by James Fergusson in the latest issue of The Book Collector, ask for PDF. There are 21 other authors who have contributed to this unique volume.