The Magus of Celestial Intelligencer by Francis Barrett
Publishing: 1875 Printed by Lackington, Allen and Co. Second Edition
The famous second London printing of Francis Barrett’s landmark occult manual, originally published in 1801. This 1875 edition contained two additional color plates, with a frontispiece portrait of Barrett and 22 full-page plates and diagrams, five of which are hand-colored. The 1875 edition was an exact reprint of the First Edition and even retained the original publication date and publisher’s details, causing it to be frequently mistaken for the 1801 printing. Five of the plates in this edition were colored whereas the First Edition usually contained only four colored plates.
Barrett helped preserve the Renaissance magical tradition at a time when many of its original sources had become difficult to obtain. He gathered the magical teachings of Agrippa, the Kabbalah, alchemy, astrology, talismanic magic, and ceremonial invocation into a single illustrated volume. The work went on to become one of the most influential magical treatises in the English language and played a significant part in inspiring the nineteenth-century occult revival.
This copy has been rebound in three-quarter leather with marbled endpapers, the title and author stamped to the spine, five raised bands. It has been well read, but remains in very nice condition. Many of the plates, which were not printed on the best paper, have chipping along the edges and have been repaired with Japanese paper. Some also have closed tears that have been strengthened on the reverse of the illustration. Small library blind stamp to the cover, ink inscription to the verso of the title page, overall the book remains in Very Good condition.
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