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Lux Mentis, Booksellers

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Achtes und neuntes Buch Mosis oder der sympathisch-magische Hausschatz [Anonym]: (Eighth and Ninth Books of Moses or the sympathetic- magical household treasure [Anonymous]). “The secrets of secrets” or Black Art books

Reprint. Hardcover. "The Sixth and Seventh Books of Moses is an 18th or 19th century magical text allegedly written by Moses, and passed down as hidden (or lost) books of the Five Books of Moses or Pentateuch. A grimoire, a text of magical incantations and seals, it purports to instruct the reader in the spells used to create the miracles portrayed in the Christian Bible. The work was printed with annexes or reputed Talmudic magic names, words and incantation, many taken from Christian biblical passages. Copies have been traced to 18th century German pamphlets, but an 1849 printing, aided by the appearance of the popular press in the 19th century, spread copies through Germany and Northern Europe, to German immigrants in the United States, to the African American South and Caribbean, and Anglophone West Africa. It influenced European Occult Spiritualism, as well as popular religious movements in the American South (Hoodoo), the Caribbean (Rastafarian), and West Africa."--Web. This book is the continuation of the more popular Sixth and Seventh book. Reprinted in many iterations, this copy is scarce from the early 20th century, as later reprints were printed in abundance, however, accessible for curious readers and occultists alike. These copies were put together by the publishers from books they had at hand; they cancelled the title pages and gave them a new title page: "Achtes und Neuntes Buch Moses". The books were sealed so the buyer could not peep inside (and detect the fraud).--Dr. M. Siefener. These are usually publisher's interpretation of pseudo-Judeo Christian and paganism in antiquity, however appropriated, assumed and hybridized, undoubtedly motivated at least in part by a desire to enhance the authority and prestige of its contents. The texts are broken into chapters of secret "found" documents from St. Bernard's Abbey; talismans; sympathetic remedies, i.e. blindness, various plant remedies, perfume making; hypnotism, and even references to Hildegard de Bingen. There are also recommendations and price lists for other material, including the Sixth and Seventh Book of Moses. A critical element to the evolution of magic manuals and linguistic literary subgenre of appropriated occult texts. Super example of a black art book. Shaken, rear split, but intact, minimal shelfwear; little scuffing; small tears/hole to tp, but uncompromised, light toning; otherwise tight, bright, and umarred. 8vo. 205pp. illus (b/w, charts). Bound in later vinyl over paper boards.
  • $325
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Retrospective

Cummins, Maureen Limited Edition. Hardcover. Retrospectivewas designed and printed in the winter and spring of 2022, with typographic assistance from Kathleen McMillan. Inspired by the fact that I recently celebratedmy thirty-fifth anniversary of making artist's books,Retrospectiveis a look back on my career. A delightful play upon the traditional catalogue raisonné,Retrospectivealso makes visual reference to scrapbooks, archives, and exhibitions. The text, which culminates in alist of works printed from 1985 to 2021, is comprised of one-page vignettes that speak to a variety of subjects: growing up with books, my early art training and interest in book illustration, apprenticeships and early projects, the influence of history in my work, the role of travel and research in my practice, and a variety of topics which I hopewill illuminate â€" for students, researchers, and collectorsalikeâ€"the nature and scope of an artist's life. The text ofRetrospectiveis juxtaposed against a variety of images: actual and reproduced bookpages; a diary page from age 18 describing my desire to be a book illustrator;documentation of early art projects,edited-out images fromeditions; and photographs of seminal places in my career, including the Yolla Bolly Press, where I apprenticed; my first printshop, in Brooklyn; the American Antiquarian Society,where I was an artist-in-residence, and Kinngait Studios, a printshop in the Eastern Arctic that I made a pilgrimage to. Many of the stories included are from past lectures given to students. I recount the story of how I fell in love with letterpress (by pieing a case of type), how I bought my firstpress (at an estate sale for $200), and how I was able to rentmy first studio when I only had twelve dollars in the bank(a process I now refer to as Indiegogo before Indiegogo). Ibelieve that an essential part of my role as an older artist is to demonstrate, with examples from my own life, the way in which being an artist is itself an ongoing act of creativity." [artist statement] All text inRetrospectivewas printed letterpress ontosheets of Arches Cover. The accompanying images provide a rich sampling of artistic methods and materials, including silkscreen, letterpress, collage, digital printing,watercolor, and colored paper. The structure of thebook â€" staggered pages which fan out like a card deck, allowing the viewer to see a slice of each image simultaneously â€" create a blur of color that invites the reader/ viewer to explore. The box which houses the book,specially designed and crafted by Jim Lee, contains a side piece which lifts up for easy access to and handling of thebook.The cover of the box, constructed out of plexiglass and laser-etched by Sarah Pike, allows the book to be displayed even when it is safely stored. Tight, bright, and unmarred. Unusual structure, printed using a variety of techniques (silkscreen, letterpress, collage, digital printing,watercolor, and colored paper); archival hinged box with plexi-element to allow viewing when sealed. fo. 66pp. Illus. (color and b/w plates). Signed limited edition of 30 copies.
  • $2,750
  • $2,750
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Secretary

Cummins, Maureen Limited Edition. Hardcover. Typographic assistance by K. McMillian and binding by Lisa Hersey. Letterpress printed on Asian paper, titling redacted by hand in graphite. All photos reproduced from original 35mm film. Bound in the form of a stenographer's notepad. The work "deconstructs the life and death-by-suicide of her mother, Dolores Bodkin, an aspiring artist who was forcibly committed in 1963 after attempting to leave her violent and abusive husband. Using language that is factual and at times chilling, the artist plays upon the original meaning of the word secretary--"secret keeper"--to allude to the secrecy and shame that existed in her household, as well as the cultural silencing of women around the experience of sexualized violence. Cummins uses several layers of information to tell this story: her own memories; excerpts from a diary her mother kept for two years before her suicide; a list of roles that Bodkin embodied, all crossed on the final page; and most dramatic of all--photographs taken by her father that span the period 1956-1975. These images, reproduced in ghostly silver ink and retaining film-strip terminology such as "Hypersensitivity" and "Kodak Safety Film," are both beautiful and deeply disturbing. Repeatedly the subject is photographed without her consent: while angry, while sleeping, while contemplating the dilemma of her broken leg. Viewed together, and with the accompanying text, these portraits serve as a documentation of Bodkin's destruction. By bringing a critical female gaze to bear upon classic examples of the male gaze, Cummins invites her audience to become aware of, and truly see, multiple forms of invisible violence. By the end of the book, an act that many call "senseless" makes perfect sense." [artist's statement]. Tight, bright, and unmarred. Quarterbound, blue paper boards, black leather spine, black ink lettering, cave paper endpages. 4to (8.5x14.5). np. Illus. (b/w plates). Numbered limited edition, this being 19 of 30.
  • $2,500
  • $2,500
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Dreams of Witches

Harrington, Christina Oakley Limited Edition/First Edition. Hardcover. "A book about the free, pagan, transgressive aspects of witches down the centuries. Free, pagan, transgressive: worshippers of Pan, devotees of Diana. The men and women who meet under a full moon in the wild woods danced, sing, made music, and made love; in the home they make potions and mutter spells, be it to curse or cure. The witch image infused the European imagination down the centuries, appearing in court records, prose, and poetry. The impulse the literature described finally became a practiced mystery religion in the twentieth century, in the form of Wicca as it coalesced in the New Forest in the 1930s and 30s. The poems and passages in this book illustrate the supportive imagination of the New Forest Coven and its most famous initiate, Gerald Gardner. They date from the late medieval period through the Edwardian age, and all were instrumental, influential - inspiring early pagans, and hopefully, too, readers today."--Publisher. The cover design shows an elaboration of 1898 Fischblut by Gustav Klimt, his greatest work of graphic design and a seminal artistic statement for him. Its imagery embodies Klimt's metaphysical view of life as an endless floating form. Limited edition crowdfunded edition, design out of print. Fine. Printed and bound in Venice by Grafiche Veneziane in Night-Blue Fedrigoni Imitlin or Assuan cloth. Front and spine are decorated and titled in gold gilt, features marbled endpapers and printed on rough ivory, wood-free, age resistant paper. 8vo. 297pp. index.
  • $250