Weiser Antiquarian Books Catalog # 50.
Mythology and Folk-lore.
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Welcome to this, the fiftieth of our on-line catalogs: this time devoted to the subject of Mythology. It comprises an unusual collection of used and rare books, on a diversity of subjects including - but by no means limited to - Animism, Atlantis, Celtic Myth and Legend, Dioscuri, Dragons, Druidism, Emblems & Symbolism, the Evil Eye, Fairy Tales, 'False Sagas', Funerary Customs, Ghosts, Goblins, Goddess Worship, Greek Myths, Gypsies, Hawaiian Chants, Horse Lore, Icelandic Myth, Irish Folklore and Legend, Mesoamerican Myth and Religion, Monsters, Myths of Motherhood, Norwegian Folk Tales, Pan, Prehistoric Mythology, Serbo-Croatian Folk Songs, Serpent Worship, Sign Boards, Star Myths, Straight Tracks and Ley Lines, Symbolism, Teutonic Mythology, Traditional Erotica, Vampires, and Welsh Legends.
Perhaps the single most impressive item in the catalog is the massive Encyclopedia of Religion (16 Volumes, 1986-87) edited by Mircea Eliade, arguably one of the most important general reference works on comparative religion, mythology, and folk-lore ever published. Another compendious work is social anthropologist Robert Briffault's study of the mythologies and belief systems about motherhood and sex that defined the place of women in various cultures throughout the ages, The Mothers: A Study of the Origins of Sentiments and Institutions (Three Volumes, 1952. Second Impression). Amongst the rarer multi-volume works offered is a set of the First English Edition of Teutonic Mythology (Four Volumes, 1882 - 1888), a comprehensive overview of the religions beliefs, customs, and practices of the pagan Germanic tribes by Jacob Grimm, who gained international renown for the collection of Märchen, or fairy tales that he collected and edited with his brother Wilhelm (popularly known as "Grimm's Fairy Tales).
Other rarities include a copy of The Horse in Magic and Myth (1923, First Edition) by M. Oldfield Howey with a presentation inscription to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, from the author, and a presentation copy of Macleod Yearsley's The Folklore of Fairy-Tale (1924, First Edition), with an autograph letter signed, by the author included. Another work on fairy legends - though in this case it really covers the whole mythological system of ancient Ireland, and not just its fairy-lore - is Michael P. Mahon's Ireland's Fairy Lore (1919, First Edition), this copy signed and inscribed by author, in the year of publication.
Amongst the quirkier works in the catalog are two personal favourites: Jacob Larwood, and John Camden Hotten's delighful, The History of Signboards. From the Earliest Times to the Present Day. (1908, Reprint) from which the illustration on the left is taken, and Wirt Sikes' charming, British Goblins. Welsh Folk-lore, Fairy Mythology, Legends and Traditions (1880, First Edition) from the front cover of which provided the illustration on the right. As the title suggests the latter book is largely devoted to the Faerie mythology of Wales, though with material on ghosts and other related esoteric phenomena. The old religions and mythologies of Britain are particularly well represented in the catalog, with unusual works including Lewis Spence's The Mysteries of Britain. or the Secret Rites and Traditions of Ancient Britain Restored, [1928], D. Delta Evans' The Ancient Bards of Britain (Sometimes called "Druids") (1906, First Edition), James Rust's Druidism Exhumed (1871, First Edition). and Marie Trevelyan's Folk-Lore and Folk-Stories of Wales (1909, First Edition).
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As usual we have a variety of other catalogs in preparation. Future catalogs will be devoted to Eastern Religions, John Dee, Witchcraft, Astrology, Kabbalah, Grimoires, Theosophy, and other of our specialties, with a few suprises along the way. Of course we will also continue to regularly issue our Aleister Crowley catalogs and have several more on mythology still to come.
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Mythology.
Peter Christen Asbjornsen, & Jorgen Moe, Translated by Pat Shaw and Carl Norman. Norwegian Folk Tales. Oslo, Norway: Dreyers Forlag, 1960. First Edition Thus. Hardcover. Large 8vo. 190 pp. Brown cloth spine with cream papered boards, gilt titling to spine, title page vignette, b&w illustrations by Erik Werenskiold & Theodor Kittelsen. A retranslation of this classic selection of Norwegian folklore that was first published over a century ago. The "authors" Peter Christen Asbjřrnsen (1812-1885) and Jřrgen Engebretsen Moe (1813-1882) were famed collectors of Norwegian folklore, whose names became synonymous with the subject. Corners and spine ends bumped and lightly rubbed, paper a bit browned, otherwise a clean VG copy in Good dust jacket. (Dust jacket rubbed at all edges with some chipping at corners and spine ends, spine a little darkened, a few spots to upper panel, price clipped). (3857) Please check our website for current availability.
Bela Bartok, and Albert B. Lord, Foreword by George Herzog. Serbo-Croatian Folk Songs Texts and Transcriptions of Seventy Five Folk Songs from the Milman Parry Collection and a Morphology of Serbo-Croatian Folk Melodies. New York: Columbia University Press, 1951. First Edition. Hardcover. Large 8vo. xviii + 432 pp. Blue cloth with gilt titling to spine; blind stamped device to upper board; index. A study and collection Béla Viktor János Bartók (1881–1945) the renowned Hungarian composer and pianist, whose researches into folk music have seen him recognised as one of the founders of the discipline of ethnomusicology. A survey of the general characteristics of Serbo-Croation folk melodies, centred on seventy-five melodies. Includes transcriptions of the music and detailed studies of the works, as well as the text of the songs and accompanying English translation. Spine ends, corners and edges lightly rubbed; front and rear free end pages unevenly browned. Otherwise, a tight and unmarked VG+ copy in Good dust jacket. (Dust jacket spine and outer edges darkened; spine ends and edges creased with small tears and chips, not clipped.) (35561) SOLD
Harold Bayley, A New Light on the Renaissance. Displayed In Contemporary Emblems. London: J.M. Dent & Co., 1909. First Edition. Hardcover. Small Quarto. viii + 270pp [i pp advert] Original gilt decorated blue cloth with gilt titling to cover and spine. Notes and references, appendixes and index. Many b&w illustrations. With a slant toward the esoteric, Bayley provides fascinating information on the use of emblems in the Renaissance, the paper making of the Albigenses, the symbolism of the deity, Kabbalah, and the Philosopher's stone and most especially to the symbolism of the watermarks of medieval paper making and printing. This copy from the library of the Bedfordshire antiquary F.W. Kuhlicke with his bookplate on front paste-down and some thoughtful annotations in pencil. Cloth a little rubbed, all edges lightly chafed, corners and spine ends lightly bumped, endpapers unevenly browned, (35033) Please check our website for current availability.
Martha Warren Beckwith, The Kumulipo. A Hawaiian Chant. Chigago : University of Chicago, 1951. First Edition. Hardcover. 8vo. viii + 258 pp. Red cloth with gilt titling to spine; b&w illustrations, references. The "Kumulipo" is a Hawaiian genealogical prayer chant, and an important document in the study of Polynesian religion. This works contains a full translation of the chant, with comprehensive commentaries, as well as a transliteration of the original in the Kalakau language, a study of its social and historical background, and essays on various aspects of "The Polynesian Chant of Creation." The author was a student of the influential anthropologist and ethnographer Franz Boas. Spine slightly faded, spine ends lightly rubbed and bumped. Owner's name on front free end paper. Otherwise, a solid, unmarked VG+ copy. No dust jacket. (35559) SOLD
Robert Briffault, The Mothers: A Study of the Origins of Sentiments and Institutions (Three Volumes). London: George Allen & Unwin LTD, 1952. Second Impression. Hardcovers. Thick quartos. Three volumes. xx+ 784 pp. & xx + 792 pp. & xvi + 848 pp. Original purple cloth with gilt titling to spines; b&w illustrations, index, bibliography. Robert Briffault (1876 - 1948) was a French novelist, historian, social anthropologist. In this massive three volume work he explores the place of women in various cultures throughout the ages, and the mythologies and belief systems that defined their role, with a particular emphasis on sexual custom. Chapters include: "In the beginning was the Word"; Traditional Heredity; The Evolution of Motherhood; The Origin Of Love; The Herd and the Family Amongst Animals; The Primitive Human Group; The Motherhood; The Matriarchal Phase in Civilized Societies; Primitive Division OF Labor Between THE Sexes; The Institution Of Marriage; Group-Marriage And Sexual Communism; Group Marriage And Sexual Communism (continued) ; Promiscuity And Individual Marriage; Primitive Jealousy And Love; The Selection of a Husband and the Acquisition Of A Wife; The Social Evolution of Monogamic Marriage; Tabu; The Totem; The Witch And The Priestess; The Lord of the Women; The Resurrection and the Life; Primitive Cosmic Religion; The Magical Origin of Queens; The Great Mothers; Holy Matrimony; Modesty; Purity; Romance; Romance (continued); and The Mothers. Spines heavily faded, spine ends lightly chafed with a few tiny tears at lower ends, a few moderate bumps to lower edges, otherwise just light overall rubbing. Very slightly shaken. Endpapers unevenly browned, paper lightly browned but text bright and unmarked. Some rear page edges of Volume III bumped and creased at corners, not affecting text. Overall, a solid, clean VG set. No dust jackets. (3974) Please check our website for current availability.
Edward Clodd, Tom Tit Tot. An Essay on Savage Philosophy in Folk-Tale. London: Duckworth, 1898. First Edition. Hardcover. Small 8vo. x + 250 pp. Red cloth with gilt titling to spine; index. The book is based upon studies in the philosophy of folk-tales, in the course of which a large number of examples of curious beliefs and customs bearing on the main incident in certain groups have been collected." The principal group studied is that whose features are typified by the old Suffolk folk or fairy tale, Tom Tit Tot, which has a theme common to well know stories of other cultures: Rumpelstilzchen of Germany, Päronskaft in Sweden etc. Corners, edges and spine ends rubbed and bumped; spine darkened and outer edges of boards a little darkened; End papers, endpapers quite darkened, page edges and paper browned, most pages unopened. Overall, an unmarked near VG copy. (35557) Please check our website for current availability.
Theony Condos, Translation and Commentary. Star Myths of the Greeks and Romans: A Sourcebook Containing "The Constellations" of Pseudo-Eratosthenes and the "Poetic Astronomy" of Hyginus. Grand Rapids, MI: Phanes Press, 1997. Softcover. 8vo. 288 pp. Original wrappers; frontis, b&w illustrations, bibliography, index. A comprehensive study of the 48 classical constellations, including translations of the only surviving works on the constellation myths to have come down to us from antiquity. Lower corner of front wrapper very lightly creased. Otherwise, a tight and bright Near Fine copy. (16307) Please check our website for current availability.
Jeremiah Curtin, Myths and Folk-Lore of Ireland. New York, NY: Weathervane Books, 1975. Hardcover. 8vo. 346 pp. Light green papered boards with black titling to spine, b&w frontis, notes. Twenty traditional tales collected by the author during travels in Kerry, Galway, and Donegal in the 1880s. Very light rubbing to lower edges, paper lightly browned, otherwise a tight, unmarked VG + copy in VG dust jacket. (Dust jacket a little rubbed and creased at edges, spine slightly faded, price clipped). (4170) SOLD
R. E. Dennett, Introduction by Mary H. Kingsley. Notes on the Folklore of the Fjort (French Congo). London: David Nutt for the Folklore Society, 1898. First Edition. Hardcover. 8vo. xxxii + 170pp, xii, 14pp. Black and gilt decorated brown cloth with gilt titling to spine, b&w frontis w/ tissue guard, b&w illustrations. Appendix, index. List of officers & members of The Folk-lore Society, Prospectus and List of Publications of the Folk-lore Society. Notes on the Folklore of the Fjort is a collection of more than 30 traditional stories from the region then known as French Congo (now comprising the Republic of the Congo, Gabon, and the Central African Republic) that were collected in the late nineteenth century. The introduction is by Mary H. Kingsley (1862 – 1900) the English writer and traveller whose works on Africa had a profound influence on the Victorian perception of the region and its inhabitants. Spine slightly darkened, a few faint spots to cloth, light bruising to spine ends and corners, glue residue from bookplate on front pastedown, front endpapers lightly split at inner hinge but hinge quite sound, paper a little browned at outer edges and outer margins. Still a tight, bright VG + copy. (35535) Please check our website for current availability.
Ignatius Donnelly, Edited by Egerton Sykes. Atlantis: The Antediluvian World. New York, NY: Gramercy Park, 1949. A Modern Revised Edition. Hardcover. 8vo. xix + 356 pp. Blue papered boards, black lettering to spine. Reference notes, index. b&w illustrations. The definitive edition of Donnelly's well-known work on Atlantis. First published in 1882 it gained widespread attention, and soon became the foundation stone upon which most later investigation into the "lost continet" was built. Boards unevenly browned particularly at spine, page edges foxed, early and later pages lightly foxed with some occasional spotting to text pages, otherwise a solid unmarked near VG copy in Good dust jacket. (Dust jacket creased and rubbed, light chipping and tearing to edges, not clipped). (35606) Please check our website for current availability.
Mary Huse Eastman, Index to Fairy Tales, Myths and Legends, Boston: Boston Book Company, 1915. First Edition. Hardcover. 8vo. x + 312 pp. + [vipp.]advertisements. Maroon cloth with gilt titling to spine. A work designed to help identify the source of particular fairy tales or fables, indexed according to popular titles, characters, etc. and cross-referenced under subject to aid in identification when the title is not known. Includes references not only to fairy tales and fables, but also stories from Greek and Norse mythology etc. Ex-library copy with call numbers on spine, book plate on front paste down, markings on verso of title page, library ink stamp on a few pages. Cloth a little darkened; corners bumped. Otherwise, a tight, near VG copy. (35569) Please check our website for current availability.
Mircea Eliade, (Editor-in-chief), et al. The Encyclopedia of Religion (16 Volumes). New York: MacMillan Publishing Company, 1986-87. First edition. Hardcovers. Quartos. Sixteen volumes (complete). Over 8,000 pages in all with Volume 16 comprising an index to all other volumes. Seen by many as the crowning of his life's work, the 16-volume Encyclopedia of Religions for which Eliade was Editor-in-Chief was published by Macmillan in 1987, less than a year after his death. Eliade was Sewell L. Avery Distinguished Professor Emeritus of History of Religions at the University of Chicago Divinity School, and is widely known on account of the 150 books that he wrote, co-authored, or edited. The Encyclopedia is an extraordinary work - idiosyncratic and not without it's shortcomings - but still arguably one of the greatest references on comparative religion and mythology. Original maroon cloth with silver rules and embellishments, gilt titling to spine and upper boards. Ex-library with some markings: some ink stamps to upper page edges and a few pages, anti-theft device on rear pastedowns. Cloth a little rubbed, light bumps to edges, some corners bumped and rubbed, some pages a little creased at edges. Still, overall solid, text unmarked - VG condition. (no dust jackets issued). (35612) SOLD
Bergen Evans, The Spoor of Spooks and Other Nonsense. New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf, 1954. Second Printing. Hardcover. 8vo, iv, 296 pp, xiipp. Original green cloth with gilt title, etc to spine, blind stamped design on front cover, index. "Couched in sparklingly humorous terms, this is a basically serious frontal assault -with intent to maim -on illogic, wishful thinking, and cockeyed gullibility." The author pillories many popularly held occult beliefs, superstitions, myths, common assumptions, etc. such as ghosts, ESP, homing dogs, talking horses, dowsing, the concept of the 'Dark Ages', the belief in soul mates and love at first sight, alternative medicines, etc. etc. Cloth lightly faded and rubbed at edges, spine ends a little bruised, otherwise a solid, clean VG copy in VG- dust jacket. (Dust jacket spine darkened, all edges a little rubbed and lightly chipped, not clipped). (10911) Please check our website for current availability.
D. Delta Evans, The Ancient Bards of Britain (Sometimes called "Druids"). Being a Critical Inquiry into Traditions Concerning their History, Philosophy, Religion, Ethics, and Rites in the Light of Science and Modern Thought. Merthyr Tydfil: The Educational Publishing Company, 1906. First edition. Hardcover. 8vo. xvi + 340 pp. Green cloth with gilt titling to spine and upper board; frontis, b&w illustrations. A detailed study - surely one of the first - of the ancient Bards of Britain, their relationships with Druidism and other religions, and their beliefs, songs and forms of worship. Corners, spine ends and edges rubbed and lightly bumped; top edge a little darkened and dusty; lacking front free endpaper, very light foxing to front paste down; one inch tear on first page of text. Overall, a tight, clean better than VG copy. (35552) SOLD
W.Y. Evans Wentz, The Fairy-Faith in Celtic Countries. London: Henry Frowde, 1911. First Edition. Hardcover. 8vo. xxxvi + 524 pp. Original green cloth with gilt titling to spine; frontis, index. A study of fairies: drawing from individual accounts of fairy contacts as well as recorded traditions in Celtic literature and mythology. The author also examines the different theories about fairies and their meaning - he himself is clearly a believer. Cloth generally shelf worn, rubbed and with a few spots. Spine ends and corners bumped, rubbed and frayed. Spine a bit cocked. owner's name on front free end paper, scattered pencil underlining and margin notes - particularly on last pages; uneven browning to early and later pages; front hinge a little loose but holding firmly. Overall, a solid Good copy. No dust jacket. (35572) Please check our website for current availability.
W. Y. Evans-Wentz, with new Introduction by Leslie Shepard. The Fairy-Faith in Celtic Countries. U.S.A.: University Books, 1966. First Edition Thus. Hardcover, large 8vo, xxxvi + 524pp. Original navy cloth with silver title, etc. to spine and front board, top edge gold, index. A reprint of the 1911 edition, with a new Introduction by Leslie Shepard.. Spine ends a little bruised, light rubbing to all extremities, paper very slightly browned, bookplate, otherwise a solid, clean VG + copy in VG dust jacket (Dust jacket lightly chafed at spine ends and corners, with a bit of rubbing to edges, price clipped). (35548)Please check our website for current availability.
David Fontana, The Secret Language of Symbols. A Visual Key to Symbols and their Meanings. San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books, 1994. Softcover. Large square 8vo, 192 pp. Printed card covers with French folds, well illustrated in colour. Index. A beautifully illustrated general introduction of the visual symbolism of all ages and cultures. Covers lightly rubbed, corners a little chafed with some lifting of clean lamination at front lower corner. Still, overall a tight, clean VG copy. (11526) Please check our website for current availability.
Sir James Frazer, Folk-Lore in the Old Testament (3 Volumes). London: MacMillan & Company, Limited, 1918. First Edition. Hardcover. Large 8vo. Three volume set. xxvi + 570pp & xxii+ 572pp & xviii + 568pp. Original green cloth with gilt titles, etc. to spines. An exhaustive study in which the author of The Golden Bough, compares accounts of episodes in the Old Testament: the Creation, the Flood, the Fall of Man, the Tower of Babel, etc. etc., with similar legends in other, often earlier cultures of the ancient world. Cloth rubbed, corners well bumped with some light bumping to edges, corners and spine ends lightly chafed, spine a bit darkened with some light chipping at head and tail of spine. Page edges a little darkened, paper lightly browned. Otherwise a solid, unmarked near VG set. (no dust jackets) (35533) Please check our website for current availability.
Edward S. Gifford, The Evil Eye. Studies in the Folklore of Vision. New York, NY: The Macmillian Company, 1958. First edition. Hardcover. 8vo. 216 pp. Quarter red cloth with patterned papered boards; index, bibliography and b&w illustrations by Virginia Mason Gifford. An interesting study of folklore and superstition surrounding the human eye and vision. The author does not restrict himself to the "evil eye" of the title, but also examines a wide variety of beliefs about fascination, those who fascinate, protective measures against fascination, patron Gods and Saints of vision, folklore and eye symptoms, and the "sexual behaviour of the human eye." Spine ends and corners rubbed and a little bruised. Otherwise, a tight and bright VG + copy. (no dust jacket) (35555) Please check our website for current availability.
Lucy Goodison, & Christine Morris, (Editors). Ancient Goddesses. The Myths and the Evidence. Los Angeles, CA: British Museum Press, 1998. First edition. Hardcover. Large 8vo. 224 pp. Maroon cloth with gilt titling to spine; frontis; b&w illustrations; notes, bibliography, index. A series of essays by respected authorities on the realities, and otherwise, ancient Goddess worship. From the publisher: "The idea of a Mother Goddess, or Earth Goddess has become a rallying-point for those weary of male-orientated religions and concerned about human destruction of the natural world. But is the idea of a Goddess at the dawn of civilization a historical fact or consoling fiction? While Goddess mythologies proliferate and the public devours a stream of books by artists, psychotherapists, ecologists and enthusiastic amateurs, it is remarkable that the experts in the field of prehistory have remained largely silent. Is the evidence for a mother Goddess really lacking? What actually remains from the earliest cultures, and what can it tell us? What can we learn from the study of prehistoric carvings, pottery, pictures, stone circles figurines, amulets tombs and temples about the early stages of human religion? In this book for the first time historians and archaeologists speak with a human and accesible voice about this intriguing and controversial topic. A number of significant early civilizations of Europe and the Mediterranean are included: Predynastic and Early Dynastic Egypt; “Old Europe;” Early North West Europe; “Celtic” civilization; the Prehistoric Aegean; Malta; the Ancient Near East; Old Testament Israel; Çatalhöyük; and Archaic Greece." Overall, a tight and bright Near Fine copy in Near Fine dust jacket. (Dust jacket with small creases along lower edge; not price clipped.) (11447) Please check our website for current availability.
Robert Graves, Introduced by Kenneth McLeish. The Greek Myths (Two volumes). London: The Folio Society, 1999. Hardcover. 8vo. Two volumes: 342 pp & 343 - 700 pp. (358 pp. Quarter brown cloth with illustrated boards; gilt titling to spine; maps on end papers; b&w illustrations and index in Volume II. A beautiful edition of the idiosyncratic - and generally acclaimed - retelling of the myths of Ancient Greece by poet Robert Graves. Volume I: Small match-head sized flaw to cloth in lettering at mid-spine. Otherwise, a tight and bright Near Fine set in Near Fine attractive burnt orange slipcase. No dust jacket. (Slip case has gilt titling to front and elegant border. A lovely set. (3698) Please check our website for current availability.
Jacob Grimm, Translated by James Steven Stallybrass . Teutonic Mythology (Four Volumes). London: George Bell and Sons, 1882 - 1888. First English language Edition. Hardcover. 8vo. Four volumes. Continuous pagination. 1887pp. Original brown cloth with gilt titling and rules to spine, blind rules upper boards. Publisher's catalog at rear of Vol. I, index at rear of Vol. IV. The First English language edition of a work that is still a standard reference on the subject, and difficult to find in hardcover edition. A comprehensive overview of the religions beliefs, customs, and practices of the pagan Germanic tribes. The work was first published in German in 1835 by Jacob Ludwig Carl Grimm (1785 – 1863), the German philologist, mythologist, and jurist, who gained international renown for the collection of Märchen, or fairy tales that he collected and edited with his brother Wilhelm (popularly known as Grimm's Fairy Tales). His "Deutsche Mythologie" (translated as Teutonic Mythology) is one of Jacob Grimm's best known works in the German-speaking world, and explores the mythology and beliefs of the Ancient Germanic peoples ancient time to modern survivals in folklore and popular expressions. This English translation was completed by James Steven Stallybrass in 1888. Spines very slightly darkened, corners and spine ends bumped and lightly chafed, light rubbing to all extremities and joints, small penned owner's name on front endpapers, paper lightly browned at edges and outer margins, most pages unopened. Bookplate in Vol. II only, title page of Vol. i unevenly browned. Overall a tight, bright VG+ set. (35537) Please check our website for current availability.
Rendel Harris, Boanerges. Cambridge: University Press, 1913. First Edition. Hardcover. Large 8vo. xxiv + 424 pp. Original blue cloth with gilt titling to spine; index. A far-ranging study of the cult of Heavenly twins: the title is taken from Boanerges; "sons of thunder"): the surname Christ is said to have given James and John, the sons of Zebedee, and is regarded by some as an equivalent of the "Heavenly Twins," known collectively in Greek as the Dioskouroi or Dioscuri, "sons of Zeus. " The author writes: "It was inevitable that the discovery which I made of the existence of pairs of twin saints in the Church calendars, and which led back naturally to the place of the Heavenly Twins in the religions of Greece and Rome, should require to be approached from the side of anthropology rather than from that of ecclesiastical or classical culture, as soon as it became clear that the phenomena under examination were world wide, and that the religious practices involved were the product of all the ages of human history." Chapters include: I. Boanerges .... II. The Parentage of the Twins III. The Thunder Bird, IV. The Red Robes of the Dioscuri; V. The Twin-Cult in West Africa; VI. The Twin-Cult in South Africa; VII. The Twin-Cult in East Africa; VIII. The Twin-Cult in Madagascar; IX. The Twin-Cult in South America; X. The Twin-Cult amongst the North American Indians; XI. Of Twins in Ancient Mexico, XII. The Twin-Heroes of North and South America; XIII. The Twin-Cult in Saghalien, Northern .Japan, and the Kurile Islands; XIV. Of Twins in Burma, Cambodia, and the Malay Archipelago; XV. The Twin-Cult in Polynesia, Melanesia, and Australia ..... XVI. The Twin-Cult in Assam, etc. XVII. The Twin-Fear in Ancient India, XVIII. The Twin-Cult in Central Asia Minor XIX. Why did the Twins go to Sea ? XX. The Twins and the Origin of Navigation, XXI. The Twins in Phoenician Tradition (and so on: XLV chapters in total). Spine darkened; corners and spine ends bumped and a little chafed with some very light fraying, all edges rubbed. End papers unevenly browned, paper a bit browned, bookshop sticker on front fly. Otherwise, a solid, unmarked VG copy. No dust jacket. (35544) Please check our website for current availability.
Jane Ellen Harrison; Gilbert Murray and F. M. Cornford. Themis. A Study of the Social Origins of Greek Religion with Excursus on the Ritual Forms Preserved in Greek Tragedy and a Chapter on the Origin of the Olympic Games. London: Cambridge University Press, 1927. Second Edition, revised. Hardcover. 8vo. xxxvi + 560pp. Original black cloth with gilt titling to spine, b&w illustrations, index. Jane Ellen Harrison (1850–1928) was one of the leading figures in the modern study of Greek mythology, applying the results of recent archaeological and epigraphical evidence to the study of religion and myth in a way that is now considered commonplace. She devoted much attention to the study of the anthropological origins of Greek religion, which she examined in works such as Prolegomena to the Study of Greek Religion (1903), Themis: A Study of the Social Origins of Greek Religion (1912, revised 1927), and Epilegomena to the Study of Greek Religion (1921). Cloth a little rubbed, spine ends and corners bumped and lightly bruised, page edges browned and lightly thumbed, paper lightly browned. A tight, clean VG+ copy. (35546) Please check our website for current availability.
W. Carew Hazlitt, Faiths and Folklore. A Dictionary of National Beliefs, Superstitions and Popular Customs, Past and Current, with their Classical and Foreign Analogues, Described and Illustrated Forming a New Edition of "The Popular Antiquities of Great Britain" by Brand and Ellis, [etc.]. (2 Volumes) London: Reeves & Turner, 1905. First Edition. Hardcover. Large 8vo. Two volumes. x + 334pp & 335 - 672pp + 24 pp Publisher's catalog at rear of Vol. II. Original maroon cloth decorated in blind on boards, gilt on spine. Gilt titling to spines. b&w frontispieces with tissue guards. Perhaps the best edition of the compendium of British folklore, superstition, mythology, and obscure history. The work first appeared under the auspices of Henry Bourne with the title Antiquitates Vulgares, in 1725, and it is testament to its useful and reliability that new editions were being printed nearly two centuries later. A useful source for many oddities concerning traditional occult and witchcraft practices. Spine ends and corners bumped and a little bruised, all extremities a bit rubbed. End pages unevenly browned and moderately foxed, paper a bit browned. Still, a bright, unmarked VG set. (35545) SOLD
Frank A. Hoffmann, Analytical Survey of Anglo-American Traditional Erotica. Bowling Green, OH: Bowling Green University Popular Press, 1973. First Edition. Hardcover. 8vo. x + 310pp. Original mauve cloth with black lettering to upper board and spine, appendixes, bibliography. The author is a professor emeritus of English at SUNY Buffalo who has been involved with the Kinsey Institute since he did research for his Doctorate using its archives in the ’60s. In the "Analytical Survey of Anglo-American Traditional Erotica" Hoffmann analyses books, manuscripts, ephemera, stag films and other erotic materials for their folkloe elements, looking to identify recurring themes, and examples of particular superstitions, customs etc. Spine faded, a few faint marks to cloth, spine ends & corners a little bruised and lightly rubbed, top edge a little dusty. Still, an unmarked VG copy. (35547) Please check our website for current availability.
M. Oldfield Howey, The Encircled Serpent. A Study of Serpent Symbolism in All Countries and Ages. London: Rider & Co., ca 1926 (ND) . First Edition. Hardcover. Large 8vo. xii+ 412 pp. + 1 page advertisement. Blue cloth with gilt titling and rules to spine, blind rules to upper board; color frontis of Stonehenge, b&w illustrations, index. A broad-ranging study of the serpent motif in all its diversity, a symbol regarded by the author as - "the most widespread, comprehensive, and marvelous, ever conceived by the human race."
Chapter headings: 'The Uraeon', 'The Serpent-Gods of Egypt', 'The Ruined Temples of Cambodia', 'Krishna and the Nagas', 'Buddha and the Nagas', 'The Serpents of Siva', 'The Caduceus', 'Nehushtan, or The Brazen Serpent', 'Aesculapius or the Healing Serpent', 'The Heraldic Serpent', 'The Serpent and the Tree', 'The Serpent as a Phallic Emblem', 'Apollo and the Python', 'Perseus and the Gorgons', 'Bel Merodach and Tiamat', 'St. Michael and the Dragon', 'St. George and the Dragon', 'St. Patrick and the Irish Serpents', 'Women Serpent Subduers', 'The Fascination of the Serpent', 'The Serpent as Amulet and Charm', 'Serpent Charmers', 'The Serpent as a Portent', 'The Ophites', 'Negro Ophiolatry', 'Chinese Serpent Lore', 'Japanese Ophiolatry', 'Australian and Polynesian Ophiolatry', 'North American Ophiolatry', 'The Solar Serpent in Mexico', 'The Amphisbaena', 'The Basilisk', 'The Lamiae', 'Serpent Genii and Jinn', 'The Furies', 'The Snake Stone', 'The Naga in Nature Myth', 'Satan as a Serpent', 'The Sea-Serpent', 'The Midgard Serpent.' Spine and upper edges of cloth quite faded; upper spine end and upper corners bumped, rubbed & slightly frayed; very light foxing to early and later pages, text block pulled apart at page 320-321 - but binding sound. Overall an unmarked better than Good copy. (35568) Please check our website for current availability.
M. Oldfield Howey, The Horse in Magic and Myth. London: William Rider & Son, Ltd., 1923. First Edition. Hardcover. 4to. xii + 238pp. Gilt decorated maroon cloth with gilt titling and rules to spine, blind rules to upper board. Colour frontis and b&w plates. Presentation copy from the author to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, with the inscription on the front endpaper "Sir A. Conan Doyle, with the Author's compliments." A broad compendium of the mythology and and lore of the horse drawm from classical mythology, Biblical lore, popular folklore, and the mythologies of many cultures. Chapter headings: Fairy Horses; Angel Horses; Ghostly Horses; The Demon Horse: Mare and Others; Demon Horses: The Wild Huntsman; The Headless Phantom Horse; The Saxon Horse; The Trojan Horse; The Hobby-Horse; The Hooden Horse; The Bridal Horse; The Horse-Shoe; The corn-Horse; Sun-Horses; The Moon-Horse; The Wind-Horse; Sea-Horses; The Night-Horse; The Horse in Charm and Incantation; The Prophetic Horse; The Symbolic Horse; Witches, Fairies, and Horses; The Gods and Patron Saints of Horses; The Sacrificial Horse; Other Sacred Horses; The Horse-Loosed; The Funeral Horse; The Horse and Metempsychosis; The Horse in Creation Myths; The Moral and Legal Responsibility of the Horse; Lucky and Unlucky Coloration of Horses; Centaurs, Hyppogryphs, and Unicorns. Spine and outer margins of boards a bit darkened, edges and points are lightly rubbed with a few bumps to edges, vertical crease near fore-edge of rear board, endpapers unevenly browned. Still overall a solid, clean VG copy with an interesting association. (35609) SOLD
Ernest Ingersoll, Introduction by Henry Fairfield Osborn. Dragons and Dragon Lore. New York: Payson & Clarke, 1928. First Edition. Hardcover. 8vo. xii + 204 pp. Quarter black cloth with patterned papered boards; gold titling to spine; coloured top edge, b&w illustrations, index. A popular "study of the history of the Dragon Myth which, now largely confined to China, once spread all over Asia and Europe, as dominant not only in mythology but entering even into the early teachings of Christianity, as so many other pagan myths have done." Contents: I Birth of the Dragon II Wanderings of the Young Dragon III Indian Nagas and Draconic Prototypes IV The Divine Spirit of the Waters V Draconic Grandparents VI The Dragon as a Rain-God VII Korean Water and Mountain Spirits VIII "The Men of the Dragon Bones" IX The Dragon in Japanese Art X The Dragon's Precious Pearl XI The Dragon Invades the West XII The 'Old Serpent' and His Progeny XIII Welsh Romances and English Legends XIV The Dragon and the Holy Cross XV To the Glory of St, George. Bibliography. Index. Edges and corners bumped & rubbed; titling to spine faded, publisher's file copy with their slip with release date tipped onto front end paper; notes in pencil on rear paste down and page. Still overall, a tight and generally clean VG copy. (35563) Please check our website for current availability.
Thomas Inman, Ancient Pagan and Modern Christian Symbolism. London: Trubner & Co., 1875. Second edition, revised and enlarged. Hardcover. Large 8vo, xl + 148 pp. Blue cloth decorated in blind, gilt lettering to spine and upper board, b&w frontis & plates with tissue guards, b&w in-text illustrations, appendix and index. Errata. A revised and enlarged edition of the work first published in 1869. The author, Thomas Inman, a British doctor (1820-1876) with a passion for folklore and the study of comparative religion and mythology gently introduces the Christian reader to the idea that many of the familiar symbols and concepts of Christianity are actually shared with the religions of the ancient world Assyria, Babylonia, Egypt, India, etc. and that - as in the case of some phallic symbols - their original meaning has sometimes been lost in the transmission. Spine and little darkened and lightly chafed at ends, corners rubbed, a few light bumps to edges, armorial bookplate of Charles Penruddocke on pastedown, previous owner's bookplate on fep, page edges lightly foxed, pencil notes on rear blank and a few stray pencil notes to text (easily erased). Overall a tight, about VG copy. (1732) Please check our website for current availability.
E. O. James, The Cult of the Mother-Goddess. An Archeological and Documentary Study. London: Thames and Hudson, 1959. First Edition. Hardcover. 8vo. 300 pp. Red cloth with gilt titling to spine and gilt illustration to upper board; notes, bibliography and index. A landmark work in Goddess literature. In this book, first published in 1959, E. O. James, a Professor Emeritus of the History of Religion, assembled all the then-available evidence "concerning the unique position occupied by the Goddess Cult in myth and ritual, especially in the Ancient Near East, India, and the eastern Mediterranean, and has subjected it to scholarly examination." His conclusions were that the cult had been of great significance, but this had largely ignored by modern scholars, and his book remains important, as attested by the fact that it remains in print nearly fifty years after its first publication. Boards lightly rubbed at edges with some light rubbing to corners and spine ends, endpapers lightly spotted, top and fore-edge foxed and dusty; book seller's label on front free end paper. Otherwise a tight and unmarked VG+ copy in VG- dust jacket. (Dust jacket price clipped and rubbed at all edges, a few tiny chips to fore-edge). (32048) Please check our website for current availability.
C. W. King, The Handbook of Engraved Gems. London: Bell & Daldy, 1866. Hardcover. Small 8vo. xvi + 396 pp + xv pp of advertisements. Green blind-stamped cloth with gilt titling to spine; frontis w/ tissue guard, b&w illustrations; printed endpapers, index. An erudite text covering the history of Western intaglio gems from antiquity to the Renaissance with emphasis on ancient Greek and Roman gems. Includes considerable information on talismanic and magical gems, their use as rings, and the artists who created them, and numerous copper plate and woodcut engravings. Spine and outer edges of boards a little darkened, spine ends, corners and edges rubbed and lightly bumped, light fraying to spine ends and front gutter, front endpapers split at inner hinge - but holding firmly, paper lightly browned. Overall, a solid, unmarked VG copy. (35541) SOLD
G. S. Kirk, The Songs of Homer. Cambridge, MA: University Press, 1962. First Edition. Hardcover. Large 8vo. xiv + 424 pp. Red cloth with gilt titling to spine; b&w illustrations and maps, index. From the publisher: "The literature of the western world begins with one of its greatest achievements. The stories of the wrath of Achilles and its consequences, and of the wanderings of Odysseus, have been admired from ancient times to the present day. ..... Professor Kirk's book [provides] ...a vivid and comprehensive account of the background and development of the Homeric poems and of their quality as literature. The epics are seen primarily as oral poetry, sung for centuries by illiterate singers; and from this view rises discussion of the problems of authorship and transmission. The historical, archaeological and linguistic evidence is also examined; and the possible contributions of the Mycenaean period and of the subsequent Dark Age are shown in a fresh light." Very light bumping to corners, lower spine a little bruised, page edges lightly thumbed; previous owner's name on front free end paper. A tight and bright VG+ copy in VG- dust jacket. (Dust jacket rubbed, spine darkened, price clipped.) (35558) Please check our website for current availability.
Jacob Larwood, and John Camden Hotten, The History of Signboards. From the Earliest Times to the Present Day. London: Chatto & Windus, 1908. Twelth Impression. Hardcover. Small 8vo. x + 536 pp. Red cloth with gilt titling to spine; black device to upper board; index; b&w illustrations, frontis with tissue guard; index. A well illustrated history of signboards - mostly English - from trades and taverns through historic and commemorative. Much on the legend and lore behind the boards. An unusual, charming book. Spine and edges a little darkened; corners and spine ends bumped and lightly rubbed; paper lightly browned; owner's name and ink stamp on front paste down; uneven browning to end pages; book seller's sticker on front free end paper. Overall, a tight, unmarked VG copy. (35542) Please check our website for current availability.
Claude Lévi-Strauss, (Translated from the French by John and Doreen Weightman). Introduction to a Science of Mythology: Vol. 1 The Raw and the Cooked. Vol. 2 From Honey to Ashes. Vol. 3 The Origin of Table Manners (3 Volumes). New York, NY: Harper & Row, 1969, 1973, 1978. First US Editions. Hardcovers. 8vo. Three volumes. 388 pp & 512 pp. & 552 pp. Original cloth with titling to spines; bibliographies, indexes, b&w illustrations and diagrams. The first three volumes of A Science of Mythology, (originally published in France with the collective title Mythologiques), in which Levi-Strauss gave a Structuralist interpretation of South Smerican Indian myths. A fourth volume The Naked Man, was published in 1981. Rubbing to spine ends, corners, and edges; owner's name on front free end paper in first two volumes. Volume III: red stamped star on bottom edge of pages. Overall, tight, unmarked VG copies in near VG dust jackets. (Dust jackets spine lightly faded with some small chips and tears along bottom edge, price clipped. Volume III: Price sticker on inside flap, not price clipped.) (35532) Please check our website for current availability.
Gertrude Rachel Levy, The Gate of Horn. A Study of the Religious Conceptions of the Stone Age, and their Influence upon European Thought. London: Faber and Faber Ltd., 1948. First Edition. Hardcover. 8vo. xxxii + 350pp. Red cloth with gilt titling to spine, b&w illustrations, indexes. Gertrude Rachel Levy (1884-1966) was known for her writings on comparative mythology, epic poetry archaeology, prehistory and matriarchy. In this work she explores the nature of religious beliefs in Paleolithic times, and traces them forward through the ancient civilizations of Egypt and Mesopotamia, Central America and Crete, to its survivals in classical antiquity. Corners lightly rubbed and bumped, edges slightly rubbed, paper a bit browned; owner's name & date in pencil on front free end paper. Otherwise a tight and clean VG+ copy in VG- dust jacket. (Dust jacket spine a bit darkened, rubbed at edges with some minor chipping and short tears, not price clipped.) (35554) Please check our website for current availability.
Kenneth Lindley, Of Graves and Epitaphs. London: Hutchinson of London, 1965. First edition. Hardcover. Large 8vo, 172pp ( iv ). Black cloth with gilt title, etc. to spine, gilt cherub on upper board, b&w photographs, line drawings, and reproductions from rubbings. Frontispiece and illustrated endpapers by John Piper. List of churchyards. A study of the architecture, artistry, and history of English church-yard cemeteries, and what they tell us about the English character: particularly its penchant for eccentricity. Chapters on Churchyards, Nonconformist Graveyards, Historical Background, Sepulchral Architecture, Tombs Eccentric and Unusual, Materials, Lettering, Folklore and Fable, Sculpture, Trades and Professions, Unusual Circumstances, and Epitaphs. Lower spine a little bruised and rubbed, otherwise a tight, clean Near fine copy in VG+ dust jacket. (Dust jacket lightly rubbed at spine ends, clipped). (9758) Please check our website for current availability.
Donald A. Mackenzie, Indian Myth and Legend. London: Gresham Publishing Company Limited, nd [ca 1910]. Hardcover. Thick 8vo. xlviii + 464 pp. Green cloth with gilt titling to spine and upper board; spine and upper board illustrated; index, b&w and color illustrations by Warwick Goble; color frontis with tissue guard. A handsomely produced popular Introduction to the myths, legends and beliefs of India, Hindu, Buddhist, Jain etc., with passages from the Vedas, the Ramayana, the Mahabharata, etc. etc. and illustrated with eight rather charming almost pre-Raphaelite coloured illustrations by Warwick Goble and numerous fascinating contemporary photographs. Corners, spine ends and edges bumped and rubbed; cloth a bit chafed; spine slightly darkened, a few light spots to cloth; page edges lightly browned; owner's details on front free end paper. Otherwise, a solid and clean VG copy. No dust jacket. (26451) SOLD
Michael P. Mahon, Ireland's Fairy Lore. Boston, MA: Thoms J. Flynn & Co., 1919. First Edition. Hardcover. Small 8vo. xvi +220 pp. Brown cloth with gilt titling to spine and upper board; blind rules to upper board; frontis, top edge gilt. Signed and inscribed by author, "Respectfully inscribed by the author, Michael P. Mahon, to Julia M. White. Christmas 1919." A series of essays - now collected into book form - that were first published in the journal 'Pilot' under the series title "Ancient Irish Paganism." This is perhaps a more apt title than that given to the book, as the author, a Reverend gentleman skilled in Gaelic, ultimately provides a survey of the whole mythological system of ancient Ireland, rather than simply it's fairy-lore. Second gift inscription on lower portion of front endpaper. Cloth slightly darkened at spine and outer edges of boards. Corners, edges, and spine ends bumped and lightly chafed; half inch nick to cloth on top edge of upper board. Paper a little browned, slight damp mark to extreme outer edge of most pages. Still overall a solid near VG copy. (35567) Please check our website for current availability.
Roberta H. Markman, & Peter T. Markman, The Flayed God: The Mythology of Mesoamerica. Sacred Texts and Images from Pre-Columbian Mexico & Central America. San Francisco, CA: Harper Collins, 1992. First Edition. Hardcover. Small 4to. 456 pp. Black cloth spine with blue/green papered boards, spine lettered in gilt, b&w and colour illustrations, index. Bibliography. Traces "the development of the myths of creation, fertility, rulership, hero journeys, and migration within the urban mythic traditions of the Olmc, Toltec, Maya, Mixtec, and Aztec cultures" through a carefully selected group of translations of sacred texts and images. Light rubbing to edges, otherwise a tight, clean Near fine copy in VG+ dust jacket. (Dust jacket lightly rubbed at edges). (4641) Please check our website for current availability.
Patricia Merivale, Pan the Goat-God. His Myth in Modern Times. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1969. First Edition. Hardcover. 8vo. xiv + 286 pp. Green cloth with brown titling to spine; b&w illustrations, appendix, bibliography, index. "Patricia Merivale chronicles the many appearances of Pan in modern literature, giving the main emphasis to English writing, where he is in fact most often encountered. The literary structure has been built upon several basic concepts of the goat-god's nature: the Orphic or universal Pan; the pastoral, benevolent Pan; the sinister Pan of sex and terror; and the dual identification of Pan with either Christ or the Devil. It begins with the classical sources and stories that make up the elemental Pan legend--Plutarch's tale of the death of Pan; Ovid's Judgment of Midas, and Pan and Syrinx; Apuleius' Pan and Psyche.
In the first chapter, the author examines the development of these various Pan images from classical through eighteenth-century literature. The rest of the book analyzes more fully the modern literary manifestations of the god: especially the Orphic Pan of the Romantic poets, the Plutarchan Pan of the Victorians, and the double cult of the benevolent and the sinister Pan from 1890 to 1914, when Pan was the most fashionable mythic motif for the minor writer. .... the author observes, paraphrasing Lawrence, that "Pan keeps on being reborn, in all kinds of strange ways." Ex-library copy with bookplates on front paste down and rear free end paper, ink stamp on verso of title page. Minor tape residue at upper and lower edges of boards, inside and out. Still, overall a tight, unmarked VG copy in VG - dust jacket. (Dust jacket rubbed and chipped at upper edge, horizontal crease along bottom edge, price clipped.) (35553) Please check our website for current availability.
Erich Neumann, Translated by R.F.C. Hull, Foreword by C. G. Jung. The Origins and History of Consciousness. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1971. Second Edition. Softcover. Large 8vo. xxiv + 496 pp. Original wrappers; frontis, index, bibliography, b&w illustrations. Bollingen Series XLII. A study of the psychology of mythology, by Erich Neumann, one of Carl G. Jung's best known students. "According to Dr. Neumann's thesis, individual consciousness passes through the same archetypal stages of development as marked the history of human consciousness as a whole. The stages begin and end with the symbol of the Uroboros, or tail-eating serpent; the intermediary stages are projected in the universal myths of the World Creation, Great Mother, Separation of the World Parents, the Birth of the Hero, the Slaying of the Dragon, the Rescue of the Captive, and the Transformation and Deification of the Hero. The Hero throughout the sequence is the evolving ego consciousness." (From the Foreword by C. G. Jung). Light foxing to page edges and wrappers. Overall, a tight a clean VG copy. (16018) Please check our website for current availability.
Martin P. Nilsson, The Mycenaean Origin of Greek Mythology, London: Cambridge University Press, 1932. First Edition. Hardcover. Large 8vo. (ii) 258pp. Maroon cloth with gilt titling to spine, index. (Sather Classical Lectures, Volume 8). A study of the origins of Greek mythology in the Mycenaean era. The author - a highly respected scholar - looks at both the symbolism and history behind the evolution of the Greek myths, examining import aspects of myth in the light of archaeological evidence of Mycenaean origin. Ex-library with minimal markings: blind seal to lower corner of title page, residue from bookplate to front pastedown. Spine a little darkened, corners and spine ends bumped and lightly chafed, very light fraying at rear gutter of upper spine, paper a bit browned. Still, overall a solid, clean VG copy without dust jacket. (35534) Please check our website for current availability.
C. F. Oldham, The Sun and the Serpent. London: Archibald Constable, 1905. First Edition. Hardcover. 8vo. 208 pp. Textured green cloth with gilt titling to spine and gilt decoration to upper board; top edge gilt, frontis, b&w illustrations. A study of the history and mythology of serpent worship, which the author regards as having once been near universal (as a form of solar-phallic worship). The author was a long resident of India, and much of the work is drawn papers read before the Royal Asiatic Society in 1901 which dealt largely with various local forms of serpent worship, although in the book he has broadened the theme to explore the nature and origin of the cult, and its practice in areas as diverse as ancient Egypt and Babylonia, and South America. Most of the illustrations reproduce photographs taken by the author, and give a fascinating cameo of surviving Indian serpent worship practices in the late nineteenth century. Spine ends very lightly bruised and rubbed; small nick to cloth at upper fore-edge of top board, page edges foxed; uneven browning and light scattered foxing to endpapers & early and later pages. Otherwise, a solid and clean VG copy. (35570) SOLD
Trevor Ravenscroft, & Tim Wallace-Murphy, The Mark of the Beast. The Continuing Story of the Spear of Destiny. York Beach, ME: Samuel Weiser Inc., 1997. Reprint. Softcover. 8vo, 246 pp. b&w illustrations. The sequel to Trevor Ravenscroft's The Spear of Destiny in which the author further speculates on the history, meaning and spiritual symbolism of the object said to have pierced the side of Christ. Light rubbing to covers, otherwise Near fine condition. (10367) Please check our website for current availability.
Peter G. Roe, The Cosmic Zygote. Cosmology in the Amazon Basin. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1982. First Edition. Hardcover. 8vo. xvi + 384pp. Rust cloth with gilt titling to spine, references & index. b&w frontis and illustrations. An anthropological study of the cosmology of Amazon Indian religious and shamanic practice. The author contends that "underlying the plethora of recorded myths from the South American tropical forest, there is a basal cosmology built out of animal and other natural symbols. These symbols, if not exactly invariant, nevertheless represent highly clustered sets of meanings." Using his field work with the Shipibo Indians of the Peruvian Montana as a starting point, he sets out to "to construct a general model that both transcends and includes the cosmologies of any particular group, such as among whom I have worked and whom I have used here as a reference point." Very light bruising to lower spine, light rubbing to edges and corners, faint Rutgers Library stamp to upper page edge - otherwise a tight clean VG+ copy. (no dust jacket issued?) (35608) Please check our website for current availability.
Géza Róheim, Animism, Magic, and the Divine King. London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co, 1930. First Edition. Hardcover. 8vo. xviii + 390 pp. Brown cloth with gilt titling to spine; index. A study of Animism by the Hungarian-born author and anthropologist Géza Róheim (1891-1953). Contents: (I) Animism and the Other World; Sympathetic Magic; The Moment of Death and the Soul; Osiris and other Mortals; The Passage of the Dead; (II) The Psychology of Magic; The Black Art; The Rain Maker; Love Magic; (III) The Medicine Man and the Art of Healing: The Sucking Cure; Magic Wand and Medicine Pipe; Mana; The Holy Ghost, disease and the art of Healing, Addenda; (IV) The Divine King: Introduction, Tammuz and the King, Adonis and other Lords, Attis and Midas, Pharaoh and Other African kings, Cecrops and other Serpents, May King, Apollo and Cadmus; (V) The Scapegoat: The King as Scapegoat, Cock and Wren, Mars and the Salii, Goat of Azazel, Thargelia, Scapegoats and Initiations, Carthartic Ritual. Summary. Corners and spine ends bumped and rubbed; edges lightly rubbed; lilght scratch and slight ripple to cloth of rear board. Slightly canted. Page edges lightly foxed; sticker and label residue on rear paste down. Overall, a clean VG copy. No dust jacket. (35543) Please check our website for current availability.
James Rust, Druidism Exhumed in two parts Part I. Proving that the Stone Circles of Britain were Druidical Temples; Being an Analysis and Refutation of the Treatises on "Stone Circles" in the Late Spalding Club's "Sculptured Stones of Scotland." Part II. Containing other important collateral Archaeological Matter. Edinburgh: Edmonston & Douglas, 1871. Hardcover. Small 8vo. xviii + 312 pp. Rust cloth with blind decorative borders, gilt titling to spine, gilt and black rules to spine ends, b&w frontis, index. The author provides a spirited defence of the belief that the standing stones and stone circles of England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, were temples for Druidical religious worship. Ex-library with a few markings: paper label to spine with call nos. & call numbers and inked no. on contents page. Joints and edges lightly rubbed with a few bumps, spine ends and corners bumped and a lightly chafed, endpapers split at inner hinges - but hinges sound. Early and later pages very lightly foxed, paper a little browned, a few pages roughly opened. Overall a solid, generally clean near VG copy. (35611) SOLD
A.L. Sadler, (Translator). The Ten Foot Square Hut and the Tales of the Heike Being Two Thirteenth Century Japanese Classics, "The Hojoki" and Selections from "The Heike Monograph." Sydney, Australia: Angus & Robertson Limited, 1928. First edition. Hardcover. Small 8vo. xii + 274 pp. Original maroon cloth with gilt titling to spine, blind borders to upper cover, b&w frontis and illustrations. Translations of two classic works of medieval Japanese literature: the Hojoki ( "The Ten Foot Square Hut") and selections from the Heike Monogatari or the Story of the Heike clan. The Hojoki give the reflections of a hermit, who withdrew himself in disgust from a world filled with violent contrasts and cataclysms. Tales of the Heike describes the rise and fall of the Heike clani is an epic - almost Homeric - poem describing the war between the Heike and Genji clans that took place around the 12th Century and giving much insight into the development of the Samurai code and Japanese feudal culture. Very slightly canted. Cloth a little rubbed, corners & spine ends a bit bruised and lightly chafed, early and later pages unevenly browned, some scattered foxing, paper lightly browned. Still, overall an unmarked VG copy. (no jacket). (5469) Please check our website for current availability.
Margaret Schlauch, Romance in Iceland. London: George Allen & Unwin, 1934. First Edition. Hardcover. 8vo. viii + 202 pp. Green cloth with gilt titling to spine; appendix, index. Very light rubbing to spine ends, edges, and corners; page edges slightly browned and foxed; owner's details in pencil on front free end paper. "Miss Schlauch has traced the course of the many weird tales brought home by far-travelling Icelanders to the audiences at home thirsting for tidings of the outside world. There were romantic tales of chivalry from France and England, voluptuous and fantastical Oriental romances, bits of Celtic fairy lore, marvelous accounts of Byzantium and India, waifs and strays of classical tradition, echoes ofTalmudic commentary of the life of Buddha. All these were intermingled in the most audacious manner with native lore about trolls and giants and witches to form what the Icelanders with fine irony called 'lying sagas.' The book is a scholarly study of a fascinating subject." A tight and clean VG+ copy in VG- dust jacket. (Dust jacket spine and edges darkened and rubbed, small creases and tears on top spine end, not price clipped.) (35560) Please check our website for current availability.
Wirt Sikes, British Goblins. Welsh Folk-lore, Fairy Mythology, Legends and Traditions. London: Sampson Low, Marston, Searle & Rivington, 1880. First edition. Hardcover. Large 8vo. xvi + 412 pp + 32 pp. publisher's catalog at rear. Original black and gilt decorated brown cloth; frontis and b&w illustrations by T. H. Thomas, index. As the title suggests the book is largely devoted to the Faerie mythology of Wales, though with material on ghosts and other related esoteric phenomena. A fabulous collection, arranged into four sections or books: The Realm Of Faerie, The Spirit-World, Quaint Old Customs, and Bells, Wells, Stones, And Dragons. Each of these is divided into a number of chapters. SOME sample listings of the contents (there is much more): Book I. The Realm Of Faerie: Chapter I. Fairy Tales and the Ancient Mythology - The Compensations of Science - Existing Belief in Fairies in Wales - The Faith of Culture - The Credulity of Ignorance - The Old-Time Welsh Fairyland - The Fairy King - The Legend of St. Collen and Gwyn ap Nudd - The Green Meadows of the Sea - Fairies at Market - The Land of Mystery, ……. Chapter VII. Fairy Music - Birds of Enchantment - The Legend of Shon ap Shenkin - Harp Music in Welsh Fairy Tales - Legend of the Magic Harp - Songs and Tunes of the Tylwyth Teg - The Legend of Iolo ap Hugh - Mystic Origin of an old Welsh Air, ….. Chapter X1. Origins of Welsh Fairies - The Realistic Theory - Legend of the Baron's Gate - The Red Fairies - The Trwyn Fairy a Proscribed Nobleman - The Theory of hiding Druids - Colour in Welsh Fairy Attire - The Green Lady of Caerphilly - White the favourite Welsh Hue - Legend of the Prolific Woman - The Poetico-Religious Theory - The Creed of Science.
Book II. The Spirit-World. Chapter I. Modern Superstition regarding Ghosts - American 'Spiritualism' - Welsh Beliefs - Classification of Welsh Ghosts - Lady Stradling's Ghost - The Haunted Bridge - The Legend of Catrin Gwyn - Didactic Purpose in Cambrian Apparitions - An Insulted Corpse - Duty-performing Ghosts - Laws of the Spirit-World - Cadogan's Ghost. CHAPTER III. Spectral Animals - The Chained Spirit - The Gwyllgi, or Dog of Darkness - The Legend of Lisworney - Crossways - The Gwyllgi of the Devil's Nags - The Dog of Pant y Madog - Terrors of the Brute Creation at Phantoms - Apparitions of Natural Objects - Phantom Ships and Phantom Islands, …. Chapter IX. The Corpse Candle - Its Peculiarities - The Woman of Caerau - Grasping a Corpse Candle - The Crwys Candle - Lights issuing from the Mouth - Jesting with the Canwyll Corph - The Candle at Pontfaen - The Three Candles at Golden Grove - Origin of Death-Portents in Wales - Degree of Belief prevalent at the Present Day - Origin of Spirits in General - The Supernatural - The Question of a Future Life, …. Book III.Quaint Old Customs. Chapter I. Serious Significance of seemingly Trivial Customs - Their Origins - Common Superstitions - The Age we Live in - Days and Seasons - New Year's Day - The Apple Gift - Lucky Acts on New Year's Morning - The First Foot - Showmen's Superstitions - Levy Dew Song - Happy New Year Carol - Twelfth Night - The Mari Lwyd - The Penglog - The Cutty Wren - Tooling and Sowling - St. Valentine's Day - St. Dewi's Day - The Wearing of the Leek - The Traditional St. David - St. Patrick's Day - St. Patrick a Welshman - Shrove Tuesday ) … Chapter VII. Death and Burial - The Gwylnos - Beer-Drinking at Welsh Funerals - Food and Drink over the Coffin - Sponge Cakes at Modern Funerals - The Sin-Eater - Welsh Denial that this Custom ever existed - The Testimony concerning it - Superstitions regarding Salt - Plate of Salt on Corpse's Breast - The Scapegoat - The St. Tegla Cock and Hen - Welsh Funeral Processions - Praying at Cross-roads - Superstition regarding Criminals' Graves - Hanging and Welsh Prejudice - The Grassless Grave - Parson's Penny, or Offrwm - Old Shoes to the Clerk - Arian y Rhaw, or Spade Money - Burials without Coffin - The Sul Coffa - Planting and Strewing Graves with Flowers. Book IV. Bells, Wells, Stones, and Dragons. Chapter II. Mystic Wells - Their Good and Bad Dispositions - St. Winifred's Well - The Legend of St. Winifred - Miracles - St. Tecla's Well - St. Dwynwen's - Curing Love-sickness - St. Cynfran's - St. Cynhafal's - Throwing Pins in Wells - Warts - Barry Island and its Legends - Ffynon Gwynwy - Propitiatory Gifts to Wells - The Dreadful Cursing Well of St. Elian's - Wells Flowing with Milk - St. Illtyd's - Taff's Well - Sanford's Well - Origins of Superstitions of this Class, …. Chapter IV. Early Inscribed Stones - The Stone Pillar of Banwan Bryddin, near Neath - Catastrophe accompanying its Removal - The Sagranus Stone and the White Lady - The Dancing Stones of Stackpool - Human Beings changed to Stones - St. Ceyna and the Serpents - The Devil's Stone at Llanarth - Rocking Stones and their accompanying Superstitions - The Suspended Altar of Loin-Garth - Cromlechs and their Fairy Legends - The Fairies' Castle at St. Nicholas, Glamorganshire - The Stone of the Wolf Bitch - The Welsh Melusina - Pare y Bigwrn Cromlech - Connection of these Stones with Ancient Druidism, … Chapter V. Baleful Spirits of Storm - The Shower at the Magic Fountain - Obstacles in the way of Treasure-Seekers - The Red Lady of Paviland - The Fall of Coychurch Tower - Thunder and Lightning evoked by Digging - The Treasure-Chest under Mod Arthur in the Vale of Clwyd - Modern Credulity - The Cavern of the Ravens - The Eagle-guarded Coffer of Castell Coch - Sleeping Warriors as Treasure-Guarders - The Dragon which St. Samson drove out of Wales - Dragons in the Mabinogion - Whence came the Red Dragon of Wales? - The Original Dragon of Mythology - Prototypes of the Welsh Caverns and Treasure-Hills - The Goblins of Electricity. Spine ends and corners lightly rubbed, considerable moderate foxing throughout, still overall, a solid and clean VG+ copy. (35566) Please check our website for current availability.
Rudolph Simek, Translated by Angela Hall. Dictionary of Northern Mythology. Berkeley, CA: D. S. Brewer, 1992. First English language edition. Softcover. Large 8vo. xiv + 424. Dictionary format. Bibliography at rear. A scholarly survey of the mythology and religion of Northern Europe. From the publishers: "For two and a half thousand years, from 1500 BC to AD 1000, a culture as significant as the classical civilisation of the Mediterranean world settled an immense area in northern Europe that stretched from Iceland to the Black Sea. But the sources of our knowledge about these societies are relatively few, leaving the gods of the North shrouded in mystery. In compiling this dictionary Rudolf Simek has made the fullest possible use of the information available -Christian accounts, Eddic lays, the Elder Edda, runic inscriptions, Roman authors (especially Tacitus), votive stones, place names and archaeological discoveries. He has adhered throughout to a broad definition of mythology which presents the beliefs of the heathen Germanic tribes in their entirety: not only tales of the gods, but beings from lower levels of belief: elves, dwarfs and giants; the beginning and end of the world; the creation of man, death and the afterlife; cult, burial customs and magic - an entire history of Germanic religion. Rudolf Simek is Professor of Medieval German and Scandinavian literature at the University of Bonn in Germany." Light creases to spine, light rubbing to covers, otherwise Near fine condition. (35607) Please check our website for current availability.
Piazzi Smyth, With a New Foreword by Fatma Turkkan. The Great Pyramid: Its Secrets and Mysteries Revealed. New York, NY: Bell Publishing Company, 1978. Hardcover. Large 8vo, xviii + 676 pp, Original textured green cloth with gilt titling to spine, index. With 25 Explanatory Plates, Giving Maps, Plans, Elevations, and Sections of all the more Difficult and Crucial Parts of the Structure. Inspired by the work of John Taylor, Smyth paid his own way to Egypt to examine and measure the Great Pyramid. The result was this book (first published in 1880 under the title Our Inheritance in the Great Pyramid), which alongside Taylor's The Great Pyramid: Why Was It Built? & Who Built It?, became one of the core works of the Pyramid as tool of Biblical Prophecy school of thought. Corners and spine ends a little bruised and rubbed, otherwise tight, bright Near Fine copy in VG dust jacket. (Dust jacket panels a little rubbed, edges lightly chafed, some adhesive residue on upper panel, short closed tear lower rear, not clipped0. (35605) Please check our website for current availability.
Lewis Spence, The Mysteries of Britain. or the Secret Rites and Traditions of Ancient Britain Restored. London: Rider & Co., nd [1928]. First UK edition. Hardcover. Large 8vo. 256 pp. Original red cloth with gilt titling and rules to spine, blind rules to upper board. b&w frontis and illustrations by Wendy Wood. The author James Lewis Thomas Chalmbers Spence (1874 - 1955) was a Scottish journalist, folklorist, and prolific author of books on the occult etc. He was a major populariser of the Celtic revival, with this perhaps his best known work on the subject. Chapters include: The Cult o f the Dead, The Mystery of Keltic Philosophy, "Barddas", The Arcane Tradition in Mediaeval Literature, The Mystery of the Grail, The Secret Tradition in Rite and Legend, The Higher Philosophy of British Mysticism, The Way of Initiation, The Writings of "Morien", Druidism and the Secret Tradition in Ireland Summaries and Conclusions. Spine very slightly sunned. Edges, corners and spine ends lightly rubbed. Page edges lightly foxed. Otherwise a tight, bright VG+ copy. (35028) Please check our website for current availability.
Montague Summers, The Vampire in Europe. London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co. Ltd., 1928. First Edition. Hardcover. Large 8vo. xii + 330 pp. Original deep red cloth with gilt titling to spine and blind rules to upper board; frontis, b&w illustrations, index. Summer's second work on Vampires, concentrates on the history of the Vampire and Vampire-panics, which were often not dissimilar to and provide an interesting point of comparison with the Witch Panics in Europe. Spine ends and corners slightly rubbed and bumped; spine and upper edge of cloth very slightly faded; page edges foxed; book seller's label on front paste down. Overall, a tight and bright VG+ copy. No dust jacket. (35564) SOLD
C. J. S. Thompson, Foreword by Sir D'arcy Power. The Mystery and Lore of Monsters, with accounts of some Giants, Dwarfs and Prodigies. London: Williams & Norgate, 1930. First edition. Hardcover. Large 8vo. 256pp. Orginal red cloth with gilt titling to spine, frontis. b&w plates and illustrations, biblio and index. Accounts of giants, dwarfs and prodigies - those whom society once termed "freaks" - drawn from history and mythology. The author, C. J. S. Thompson (1862-1943), was in charge of acquisitions for Henry Wellcome, and thus had access to what would become the library of the Wellcome Institute, one of the greatest collections of medical, alchemical, and related books and manuscripts in the world. Contents: Monsters In Tradition And Mythology; The Monsters Of Babylon Four Thousand Years Ago; Monsters In The Early Centuries; Monsters Of The 16th Century; Monsters Described by Ambroise Pare in the 16th Century; some Monsters And Prodigies of the 17th Century; Some Curious Monsters and Prodigies and Their Bills; Extraordinary Monsters and Prodigies; Some Celebrated Conjoined Twins; The "Two headed Nightingale" and other Notable Twins; Of Crafty Tricks And Cozenage; Wild Men of the Woods and some Horrible Monstrous Beasts; Monsters Of The Deep; Monsters in Art; The Psychology of Monsters, The Law Of Monsters; Giants in Mythology, Giants in Ancient Times; Giants in Legend and Story; Giants in the 16th Century; Some Giants of the 17th and 18th Centuries; Some Famous Irish Giants of the 18th Century; Some Giants of the 19th Century; Early Traditions Concerning Dwarfs And Pygmies; Dwarfs At The English Courts; Dwarfs And Prodigies of the 17th century; Remarkable Dwarfs and Prodigies of the 18th Century; the Count Boruwlaski and other Court Dwarfs; Eccentric and Musical Dwarfs; General Tom Thumb and his Carrier; Dwarfs at Bartholomew Fair, A Curious Gathering. Cloth a little darkened, lightly rubbed at edges, spine slightly sunned, page edges a little darkened, otherwise a tight, unmarked VG+ copy. No dust jacket. (35009) Please check our website for current availability.
J. M. C. Toynbee; Death and Burial in the Roman World. Aspects of Greek and Roman Life. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1971. First edition. ISBN: 0-8014-0593-9. Hardcover. Large 8vo. 336 pp. Purple cloth with gilt title, etc. to spine, b&w illustrations, notes, index. The author, J. M. C. Toynbee was Lawrence Professor of Classical Archaeology at Cambridge University and a highly respected writer on classical antiquity. This work was the first comprehensive study of death customs and funerary practices, and beliefs about death and the afterlife. It ranges from the rites and tombs of the Roman's Etruscan antecedents, to the last days of empire, and covers the whole of the Roman world from Britain to Jerusalem, and the peoples, Pagan, Christian, and Jewish, who were a part of it. Tiny publisher's ink stamp to top edge, otherwise Fine condition in lightly rubbed Near fine dust jacket. (9505) Please check our website for current availability.
Marie Trevelyan, Introduction by E. Sidney Hartland. Folk-Lore and Folk-Stories of Wales. London: Elliot Stock, 1909. First Edition. Hardcover. Large 8vo. xiv + 350 pp. Red cloth with gilt titling to spine; gilt blocked blind stamped dragon to upper board, index, sources. A huge collection of traditional lore about Wales: much of which seems to be focussed on the occult. Chapter titles: The Sea, Lakes, Rivers and Wells; Fires and Fire Festivals; The Heavens and Earth; Hounds of the Underworld and Others; Water-Horses and Spirits of the Mists; Animals, Birds of Prey and Insects; Plants, Herbs and Flowers; Trees, Birds and Water-Fowl; Wind and Weather; Stones and Caverns; Secret Hoards and Treasure; The Devil and his Doings in Wales; Dragons, Serpents and Snakes; Corpse-Candles; Phantom Funerals; Weird Ladies and Their Work; Charms, Pentacles and Spells; Days and Months; Births, Weddings and Funerals; Death: Its Omens and Personifications; Transformations and Transmigration; Colour-lore and Old-Time Remedies; The Leasing. Spine ends, edges and corners bumped and lightly chafed; spine a little faded; top edge a little darkened; light foxing to page edges. Front and rear end papers slightly foxed and unevenly browned and a little foxed; book plate on front free end paper. Otherwise, a tight, unmarked VG copy. No dust jacket. (35556) SOLD
John Symonds Udal, Dorsetshire Folk-lore. Hertford: Stephen Austin & Sons, Ltd., 1922. First Edition. Hardcover. Large 8vo. xii+ 406pp. Grey papered boards, printed spine label. An unusual and important regional study. The author was an Hon. Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, Member of Council of the Folk Lore Society and a Vice president of the Dorset Natural History and Antiquarian Field Club. Includes chapters on The Customs and Superstitions Appertaining to Particular Days of the Calendar; The Customs Appertaining to Particular Seasons of the Year, Local Customs, Local Legends and Superstitions, Birth, Death and Marriage Customs and Superstitions; Witchcraft and Charms, Superstitions Relating to Natural History; Weather Lore, Miscellaneous Customs and Superstitions; Proverbs and Proverbial Sayings, Ballads and Songs; Children's Games and Rhymes. List of Subscribers (includes such notables as Sir James G. Fraser, and Macleod Yearsley, and novelist Thomas Hardy). Index. Spine a little darkened and creased. Slightly canted. Otherwise a sound, internally bright VG+ copy. Scarce. (35031) Please check our website for current availability.
C. Staniland. Wake, Serpent Worship and other Essays, with a Chapter on Totemism. London: George Redway, 1888. First Edition. Hardcover. 8vo. + iv + 300 pp. + xxxx page publisher's catalog at rear. Original green cloth with gilt titling and rules to spine and gilt serpent to upper board. The author follows on from Forlong's Rivers of Life, and the works of Godfrey Higgins in his search for the origins of religious life. In particular he concentrates on serpent-worship and phallicism: with chapters on Phallism in Ancient Religion, The Origin of Serpent-Worship, The Adamites, The Descendants of Cain, Sacred Prostitution, etc. etc. Ex-library copy with minimal markings; blind and ink stamps on title page. Cloth lightly rubbed overall. Spine a little chafed. Spine ends, edges, and corners rubbed and bumped with some light fraying at spine ends; book plate on front paste down, a very few pencil marks to text (easily erased). Overall, a solid VG- copy. (35571) Please check our website for current availability.
William Walsh, Curiosities of Popular Customs and of Rites, Ceremonies, Observances, and Miscellaneous Antiquities. Philadelphia: Lippincott Company, 1925. Reprint. Hardcover. Thick 8vo. 1018 pp. Quarter black leather with green textured cloth boards, gilt titling to spine; b&w illustrations. A massive reference work: effectively a dictionary or encyclopaedia of popular customs, rites, ceremonies, etc. etc., from The Fast of Ab, Adam's Peak and Adam's Tomb, to Yule-Logs and Zem-Zem. Much fascinating and unusual material. Spine ends chafed and lightly chipped, light rubbing to all extremities, page edges a little darkened with a few faint spots; endpapers unevenly browned. Otherwise, a tight and clean VG copy in VG- dust jacket. (Dust jacket spine darkened, all edges rubbed & creased with a few small tears and chips, not price clipped.) (35562) Please check our website for current availability.
Alfred Watkins, The Old Straight Track. Its Mounds, Beacons, Moats, Sites and Mark Stones. London: Methuen & Co., 1948. Fourth. Hardcover. 8vo. xviii + 234 pp. Blue cloth with white titling to spine; frontis; b&w illustrations and maps, fold-out map, index. First published in 1925, this remains an important source book on Leys--Straight Tracks--in Britain. The author had personally surveyed many of the mounds, moats, beacons, hill-notches, and other objects which he believed the trackmakers of prehistoric Britain used as markers, and his photographs record for posterity those sites as they were then found. Ex-library copy with a few markings,a few tape marks at edges of cloth, residue from old bookplates on front pastedown; library book plate on rear free end paper, call nos removed from dust jacket spine. Edges, corners, and spine ends rubbed and bumped; Otherwise, a solid and clean VG - copy in VG - dust jacket. (Dust jacket spine faded, small tears on spine ends and corners, not price clipped.) (35550) SOLD
H. E. Wedeck, With the assistance of Wade Baskin. Dictionary of Gypsy Life and Lore. New York, NY: Philosophical Library, 1973. First edition. Hardcover. 8vo, vi + 518 pp. Red cloth with gilt title, etc. to spine. An alphabetically organized reference with b&w illustrations. An encyclopaedia of gypsy, life, lore, history and legend. Cloth a little faded and rubbed at spine ends and corners, foxing to page edges, otherwise a tight, unmarked VG+ copy in VG- dust jacket. (Dust jacket spine and outer margins foxed, lightly rubbed, not price clipped). (9541) Please check our website for current availability.
Phillip Wheelwright, The Burning Fountain. A Study in the Language of Symbolism. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 1954. First Edition. Hardcover. Large 8vo. x + 406pp. Light grey cloth with bronze titling to spine, colored top edge, notes and index. A study of poetic and linguistic symbolism, metaphor, emblem archetype, myth and patterns of tragedy. The Burning Fountain is a rejection of the positivist interpretations of mid-twentieth century literary and mythic theory, in favour of a thesis that "religious, poetic and mythic utterances at their best really mean something, make a kind of objective reference, although neither the objectivity nor the method of referring is of the same kind as in the language of science." Spine slightly canted and a little faded, spine ends and corners lightly chafed with a bit of fraying, page edges darkened, some light foxing to early and later pages. Still overall an unmarked VG copy in near VG dust jacket. (Dust jacket faded at spine, all edges and extremities a little rubbed and lightly chipped, a few light creases, not clipped). (4426) Please check our website for current availability.
Macleod Yearsley, The Folklore of Fairy-Tale. Los Angeles, CA: Watts & Co., 1924. First edition. Hardcover. 8vo. xiii + 240pp. Original maroon cloth with gilt titling to spine. Index. Presentation copy, with an autograph letter, signed, from the author, tipped onto the ffep. In the letter, dated Feb. 12, 1928, the author apologises for his delay in forwarding the promised copy, and tells of someone - presumably one of his children - having contracted chicken pox. The book itself is an overview of the nature, philosophy and origin of fairy-tales, with chapters on the beliefs systems that they reveal, and an exploration of recurring themes such as those of the Cinderella and Bluebeard figures, etc. etc. Boards show a hint of superficial wear around the edges, some spot fading to edges of boards, and there is some foxing, mainly confined to the preliminaries and last few pages. Otherwise a a tight clean VG copy, in the scarce dustjacket (a bit dusty and with quite a few chips and tears around the edges and a few tiny holes in the spine and panels, but 95% intact). (20591) Please check our website for current availability.
Eberhard Zangger, With a Foreword by Anthony Snodgrass. The Flood from Heaven. Deciphering the Atlantis Legend. London: Sidgwick & Jackson Limited, 1992. First Edition. Hardcover. Large 8vo, 256 pp. Blue cloth with gilt titling to spine, notes, bibliography and index, illustrated in b&w. The author revists the original accounts of Atlantis - from Plato onwards - and posits a new theory about the location and story of the fabled "lost continent." Corners and spine ends very lightly bumped & rubbed, otherwise tight & clean VG+ copy in VG dust jacket. (Dust jacket a little rubbed at all edges, some adhesive residue to front panel, not price clipped) (35604) Please check our website for current availability.
Heinrich Zimmer, Joseph Campbell, Editor. The King and the Corpse. Tales of the Soul's Conquest of Evil. Washington, D.C.: Pantheon Books, 1956. Second edition. Hardcover. Large 8vo. x+ 338pp. Quarter black cloth w/ brown cloth boards, gilt title, etc. to spine, b&w frontis, index. "Drawing from Eastern and Western literatures, Heinrich Zimmer presents a selection of stories linked together by their common concern for the problem of our eternal conflict with the forces of evil. In the retelling of the tales, Zimmer discloses the meanings within each apparently unrelated symbol and suggests the philosophical wholeness of this assortment of myth. Beginning with a tale from the Arabian Nights, this theme unfolds through legends from Irish paganism, medieval Christianity, the Arthurian cycle, and early Hinduism (the tale which gives this volume its title) and cullminates in a classic Hindu myth of superhuman love, given here for the first time in a Western language." Heinrich Zimmer (1890 - 1943) was a highly respected Indologist, whose other works include Myths and Symbols in Indian Art and Civilization and Philosophies of India. Slightly canted, cloth lightly rubbed and faded at points & edges, page edges lightly foxed and with a few faint spots. Overall a solid, clean VG copy in VG- dust jacket. (Dust jacket rubbed, lightly creased and chipped and all edges, not clipped) (17400) Please check our website for current availability.
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Last Updated Saturday, December 27, 2008.