Grandier (Urbain).Livre Rare Book
1.871 resultados
1866ref. 40275Paris, Pincebourde, 1866. In-12 de 38 pp. frontispice, maroquin rouge, titre doré en long sur le dos, septuple filet doré en encadrement sur les plats, dentelle intérieure, non rogné, tranches dorées (reliure de l'époque).
1678ref. GEJ-9Lugduni (Lyon), sumpt. J. A. Huguetan, 1678. Book in Latin. In-4. Collation: [8], 576, [104]. Original full vellum, ink title on the spine. Title in red & black. Armorial bookplate of the Prince of Lichtenstein on the front pastedown. First and last blank endpapers intact. Some wear and soiling to vellum. Foxing. Overall Very good. Complete. 3rd edition of Summary of Crimes, or On Magic: In which open or hidden invocation of the demon intervenes, is a comprehensive legal guide on defining, identifying, and prosecuting acts of magic, witchcraft, and sorcery, heavily influenced by the Spanish Inquisition and demonological theory. The work categorizes different types of magic—distinguishing between "open" (explicit pacts) and "hidden" (implicit/superstitious) invocation of demons. It was a standard reference for canon law and criminal issues related to magic in the 17th century, including its use in Spanish and Portuguese colonial contexts. Book is devided into 4 parts + "Defensa". Pages 514-76 contain the author's "Defensa de los Libros Católicos de la Magia". Bibliography: Caillet 10764; Cornell Witchcraft Collection 53; Graesse (Magica) 53; Palau 334.827; Thorndike VII, 326-30; USTC No. 6080367; Coumont T.33.3; Goldsmith T-444; Crowe 551; OCLC: 11407716; Robbins 1026. "The work is divided into four books devoted to divining magic, operative magic, and its punishment in the forum exterior and juridical, and in the interior tribunal of the soul and confessional. Magic is defined after Proclus and Psellus as an exacter knowledge of secret things in which, by observing the course and influence of the stars and the sympathies and antipathies of particular things, they are applied to one another at the proper time and place and in the proper manner, so that marvels are worked. Torreblanca turns to diabolical magic and the extent of the powers of the devil to make it possible. Torreblanca has jumbled together natural and diabolical magic almost inextricably, but his remaining chapters are on witchcraft, with the two last on natural and divine remedies against it." (Thorndike VII, A History of Magic and Experimental Science). Provenance: Old Ex libris - (library ?) Lichtensteinianis (Armorial bookplate of the Prince of Lichtenstein?).
1611ref. GEJ-12Napoli, appresso Giovanni Giacomo Carlino, 1611, pp. [8] 725 [1]. In-4. Book in Italian. Original full vellum, ink title on the spine. Title in black. Small restoration on the title page. Old but later endpapers. Clean with a little foxing. Overall Very good. Complete. This rare 1611 Italian 1st expanded twenty-book version of Giambattista della Porta’s magnum opus, Della magia naturale (Natural Magic). Originally published as a shorter four-book treatise in 1558, della Porta spent decades expanding his observations into this monumental encyclopedia of Renaissance science, secrets, and experimental philosophy. Della Porta’s work serves as a fascinating intellectual bridge between medieval alchemy and the Scientific Revolution. To the author, natural magic did not mean sorcery, but rather the understanding and manipulation of the hidden laws of nature through rigorous observation and experimentation. Across its twenty books, this comprehensive volume covers an astonishingly diverse range of subjects. It includes early descriptions of the camera obscura and foundational concepts in optics that later influenced the invention of the telescope. It also delves into metallurgy, cryptography, agriculture, and botany, alongside practical recipes for cosmetics, perfumes, pyrotechnics, and early chemical warfare. As the founder of the Academy of the Secrets of Nature, della Porta was one of Europe’s foremost polymaths, and his writings heavily influenced contemporary titans of science like Galileo Galilei and Johannes Kepler. Capturing the very peak of late-Renaissance intellectual curiosity, this 1611 edition stands as a highly desirable and significant artifact for any collector of early science, occult philosophy, and the history of ideas. Bibliography: USTC No. 4025330; EDIT16; Riccardi II, 307; Caillet 8851; Duveen (Bibliotheca Alchemica et Chemica) p. 481; OPAC SBN Numer BVEE002361; Graesse V; Dorbon-Aîné 3710-20; STCN 833455907; Ferguson, II, p. 216.
1676ref. GEJ-5Nuremberg: Johann Daniel Tauber, 1676. Book in Latin and German. In-8. [12], 162; 102; 256, [73] pages, including errata leaf at end. Contemporary vellum, ink title on the spine, occasional light foxing. Title in red & black. Later edition of this work on magic and witchcraft by J.G. Godelmann (1559-1611), German diplomat and professor of law at Rostock University. Book contains 3 parts. The 1st and 2nd part contains information on magic, sorcerers, and witches, the 3rd part dedicates to legal procedures in witchcraft cases. The book was placed on the Index of prohibited books in 1601. Bibliography: Ref. VD-17 1:0629512, Caillet 4226, Coumont G 43.5., Thorndike VI, 535-37. USTC 2589027. Not in BL London. Coumont G 43.5. - "Godelmann's greatest achievement lies in his, for this time, exceptionally decisive stance against the belief in witches". Provenance: From the library of André Lambert, with ex-libris. Ownership sticker: Oskar Gershel, Buchhandlung Stuttgart, Kronprinzstrasse 32. bound with Law book by MEVIUS (David) titled: Considerationes juridicae super Sex diversis punctis, indeque resultantibus Quaestionibus, in Causis Proprietariorum Pensionariorum subinde occurrentibus. Hall. Saxon.[Halle-sur-Saale], Sumptibus Simon. Joh. Hubneri, 1675.
1837ref. 156383London: John Russell Smith 1837-38. Arraignment Tryall Confession and Condemnation First edition thus part of the publisher's "Library of Old Authors". Smith issued numerous reprints of early tracts such as Puritan discipline works the ballads of Captain Cox and reports of 15th-century battles. This collection was followed in 1862 by a volume on the witch trials of New England. The tracts were printed separately and have separate title pages but were published as a single edition with a collected contents page. Octavo 209 x 129 mm. Portrait frontispiece. Contemporary black half calf brown morocco spine label marbled boards brown endpapers edges speckled red binder's ticket of W. Isacke London on front pastedown. Contemporary shelf label on front pastedown; a handful of neat annotations to contents. Binding rubbed front inner hinge cracked contents lightly foxed and browned: a very good copy. hardcover
1581ref. GEJ-8Ingolstadt, apud Davidem Sartorium, 1581. pp. [80] 542 p. Book in Latin. In-8. Beautifull ornamented white blind stamped calf. Additionally black engreved to front cover. Two original clasps. Fist and last blank leaf missing. Title page in black. 80 unnumbered and 542 numbered pages. Blue paper edges. Clean endpapers with small pencil annotation on the first back cover. Nice ornameting, wide margins and initial letters. Very clean and bright interior. Franziskaner Kloster Dettelbach stamp and hand-written anotations on the title page. Complete. Very good condition. 2nd rare edition (First, 1580) of interesting and influential work on heresy. Very uncommon issue on the market. Rare in any edition. "Hammer of Heretics" is a Catholic counter-reformation text by Georg Eder, published in Ingolstadt, that defends Catholicism against Protestant doctrines, particularly Lutheranism and Anabaptism. It is distinct from the 1487 Malleus Maleficarum (witch-hunting manual), focusing instead on combating heresy through theological argumentation. Eder was a lawyer and Catholic theologian (1523 - 1587), Imperial Court Councillor and advisor to Emperors Ferdinand I, Maximilian II, and Rudolf II. Best known for his theological polemical writings. "His oratorical and literary talent, the decidedly Catholic orientation from his Bavarian homeland, which deepened in Cologne and, in Vienna, where he immediately sought contact with the Jesuits, manifested itself in tireless activity, making Eder a champion of Catholicism struggling for its existence in Austria" (NDB IV, 311 f.). "Eder's writings from this period all deal with the question of church confession with regard to the differing and opposing positions of the Protestants" (ADB V, 318). Bibliography: USTC No. 674751, VD16 E 541, Stalla 1413, Adams E 64. Provenance: Franziskaner Kloster Dettelbach.
1731ref. 42632S.l.n.d., , (1731 circa). Manuscrit in-8 calligraphié de (24) ff., texte encadré, maroquin rouge, dos lisse orné, titre doré en long sur le dos : Chansons manuscrites du Père Girard, filets d’encadrement dorés sur les plats, frise intérieure (Purgold).
1674ref. GEJ-2Basel, Getrukt bey Johann Heinrich Meyer, 1674. In-8. Latin & German text. 1 volume complete itself. 1107 p. Colation complete. First edition of kind of warning against sorcery by the XVII c. Swiss Protestant pastor Bartholomäus Anhorn. Contains chapters on dreams, palmistry, duelling, witches, alchemy, and charming. Very rare book including an introductory eulogy by Johannes Tonjola. Internal condition: original gold ornamented brown calf binding. Rubbed, bumped, with minor defects on the spine with missing the closure ribbons. Title page and engraved title printed in black. Slightly browned due to paper, dampstained in places and few corners bent with XIX c. unknown bookplate on the endpaper. Red paper edges. Rare first edition. Bibliography: VD17 3:600284P. Graesse, BMP, 51. Goedeke III, 241, 22. Por. Faber du Faur 1265 and Jantz 378. Hayn-Gotendorf III, 172. USTC 6144407. Faber du Faur 1265: "Anhorn believed in devils and witchery, but advocated caution as regards such phenomena as the bleeding of corpses in the presence of their murderers, and thought that no one should be imprisoned and questioned under torture on such kind of evidence alone". Jantz 378: "A partially critical survey of occult phenomena and popular superstitions". Provenance: Unknown, probably XIX c. coat of arms bookplate on the first endpaper.
1597ref. 16014Eisleben, Henningus Grosius, 1597. Petit in-4 (14 x 19 cm) de 8 ff. 478 pp. 1 f.bl. 14 ff. d'index 2 ff.bl. veau brun, dos orné à nerfs, armes sur les plats dans un encadrement de double filet doré (reliure de l'époque).
1626ref. 42497Paris, Jean Libert, 1626. In-12 de (28)-476-(56) pp., maroquin vert, dos lisse orné, frise et roulette dorées d'encadrement sur les plats (reliure du XVIIIe siècle).
ref. 13464La philosophie Occulte.Divisée en trois livres et traduite du latin. Deux tomes en deux volumes in 8 (185x110mm) plein cuir fauve glacé d’époque, à nerfs, titre, roulette, tomaison, filets,caissons, palmettes dorés, roulette dorée sur les coupes. Tome premier : titre avec figure gravée, XX, 427 pages. Tome deuxième titre avec figure gravée, 317 pages, tranches rouges Nombreux tableaux et figures cabalistiques gravés, dans le texte et 12 planches gravées hors texte certaines dépliantes, nombreux bandeaux et fleurons gravés. Première édition de la traduction française par A.A Levasseur. A Lahaye chez R.Ch Alberts 1727. Très bon état. Fort rare. Caillet 95. « capital pour l’étude de la science occulte » DORBIN
1607ref. GEJ-7A Paris: chez Francois Huby, 1607. Book in French. In-12. Engreved title page in black, 7 sheets unnumbered and 242 numbered sheets. Later XIX c. full brown blind stamped calf. Gold lettering and ornamenting spine, red lables. Red paper edges. Clean ecrue endpapers. Nice ornameting and lettering, initial letters, some light browning and few water stains inside. Otherwise very clean without any anotations, marks or stamps. Complete. 2nd rare edition (First, 1605) of interesting and influential work on demonology and angelology. Very uncommon issue on the market. Rare in any edition. Tratise deals with the angels' names, their immortality, movement and the power by Spanish Jesuit theologian Juan de Maldonado (1533-1583). Juan Maldonado was a scholar and demonologist known for his profound knowledge of ancient languages. "Traicté des anges et demons" is a translation of some lectures of Maldonado, collected and translated by Canon Fr. Arnault de La Borie (1525?-1607) in 1605 and published in the same year in French. Bibliography: Coumont M:11.8., Wellcome I:3996., Not in Caillet (other ed. 7042), USTC No. 6024485. Provenance: No markings (?).
1575ref. GEJ-14Romae (Rome), In Aedibus Populi Romani, 1575. [24], 262, [2] pp. In-4°. Book in Latin. The work is adorned with a woodcut printer’s device on the title page, fine ornamental initials, and an extensive, enlarged index preceding the main text. Old handwriten title letering to spine. Full original vellum binding and endpapers. XXth century bookplate with the initials J.B to front pastedown. Some early shelf-mark on first blank leaf and annotaions on the last pastedown. Foxing, worholes and some discolorations. Otherwise good and complete copy. This volume represents the important and rare second edition of De strigimagarum, daemonumque mirandis (“On the Marvels of Witch-Magicians and Demons”), a landmark early modern treatise on witchcraft, demonology, and inquisitorial procedure. First published in Rome in 1521 by Antonio Blado, the text was reissued in this substantially revised edition more than fifty years later. As noted on the title page, this 1575 printing was meticulously corrected and purged of the countless typographical errors that plagued the earlier publication. The author, Silvestro Mazzolini da Prierio (ca. 1456–1527), known as Prierias, was a distinguished Dominican theologian, inquisitor, and Master of the Sacred Palace under Pope Leo X. Famously remembered as one of the earliest Catholic theologians to publicly challenge Martin Luther, Prierias skillfully combined scholastic theology, canon law, and his extensive personal inquisitorial experience to address the contemporary socio-religious crisis of witchcraft. The treatise is organized into three distinct books. The first explores the theoretical, theological, and philosophical foundations of demonology, examining the nature of the soul, angels, and demons, alongside the limits of their influence on the physical world. The second book focuses directly on the witches themselves (strigimagae), providing a detailed contemporary account of diabolical pacts, harmful magic (maleficium), nocturnal flight, and the reality of the witches' Sabbath. Historically, Prierias's work is of paramount importance due to its radical reinterpretation of the medieval Canon Episcopi. While that traditional authority dismissed the nocturnal journeys of women as mere demonic illusions, Prierias argued that early modern witchcraft had evolved into a far more dangerous threat. In his view, the witch was not merely suffering from delusions, but was actively guilty of heresy, superstition, apostasy, and deliberate maleficium. This pivotal intellectual shift effectively bridged older canon-law precedents with the increasingly aggressive sixteenth-century prosecution of witchcraft. The third book shifts entirely to a juridical framework, treating witchcraft strictly as a form of heresy. It serves as a practical manual for magistrates and inquisitors, offering concrete guidance on investigating accusations, evaluating evidence, conducting formal trials, and determining punishments. This pragmatic approach is explicitly signaled in the title: una cum praxi exactissima, et ratione formandi processus contra ipsas (“together with a most exact practice and method for conducting proceedings against them”). While developing its arguments within a strict Dominican and Thomistic framework, the work belongs to the same influential tradition of judicial demonology as the Malleus Maleficarum. Ultimately, De strigimagarum stands as a crucial transition point in European history, mapping the evolution from late-medieval theological theory to the highly systemic, institutionalized judicial demonology that fueled the great witch trials of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. This 1575 edition remains an indispensable primary source for the study of Renaissance demonology and early modern jurisprudence. Bibliography: USTC 841748; OCLC 79459438; Folger Shakespeare Library, BF1520 .M2; Robbins Collection, University of California, Berkeley, BX1713 .M39 1575; Caillet, Caillet 8974; Graesse V, p. 442; Bibliotheca Magica 833; Michael Tavuzzi, Prierias: The Life and Works of Silvestro Mazzolini da Prierio, 1456–1527, Durham & London, 1997. Provenance: Old Ex libris with initials J.B. - (library ?) or Private Collection (?).
1595ref. GEJ-15Venezia, apud Francesco De Franceschi, 1595. In-8, pp. [8] 199 [13]. Small octavo (16 x 10 cm). 8 leaves, 199 (paginated) leaves, 25 unnumbered pages (index), 1 leaf (Errate sic corrige). Complete. Contemporary overlapping vellum with handwritten spine titles and 4 leather-band straps, but only 1 full lenght functionally. Interior minimally rubbed and bumped, slightly stained and dusty. 1st edition, Very Rare!!! Ex-libris on the first bookplate belonging to Georg Christoph Petri von Hartenfels, who was a 17 century notable physician and polymath, professor, and later the Rector of the University of Erfurt. The treatise under title De morbis veneficis ac veneficiis (On Poisoning Witches and Spells), published in 1595 in Venice by the physician Giovan Battista Codronchi (1547–1628), is a significant, is rare 16th-century work focusing on the intersection of medicine and demonology. Codronchi wrote the treatise to analyze "diabolical illnesses" (specifically regarding his daughter) and to define the roles of physicians versus exorcists in cases of presumed poisoning or witchcraft. (Akademia.edu) Author has an extensive account of the present work is given by Thorndike who deals with its role in the history of witchcraft. Codronchi (1547-1628) was a physician from Imola, whose works according to Hirsch all show deep knowledge and originality. Bibliographie: USTC No.823353; Caillet, 2435, Dorbon (Bibliotheca Esoterica), 829; Yvesa Plessis, 224; Graesse (Bibliotheca Magica et Pneumatica), Chapter VIII: "Von den Zauberkrankheiten" (On diseases caused by witchcraft); Garrison & Morton, A Medical Bibliography, 1718; Cornell University Library Witchcraft Collection, 114, Thorndike, VI; Hansen, "Quellen und Untersuchungen zur Geschichte des Hexenwahns; Bibliotheca Osleriana, 2343; OCLC: 165994812. "Plessis, like Caillet, appreciates Codronchi for his attempt to systematize medical knowledge in the forensic service (recognizing whether a given case is a natural disease or the effect of "maleficia".(Plessis) "Grässe appreciated this work as one of the first systematic treatises in which a physician attempted to provide scientific (for that time) criteria for distinguishing natural diseases from the effects of "magical poisons".(Graesse) "Garrison and Morton mention De morbis veneficis... They indicate that it was this work on poisons and witchcraft, published two years earlier, that prepared the ground for the later treatise on forensic medicine". (Garrison and Morton). Provenance: Ex-libris on the first bookplate belonging to Georg Christoph Petri von Hartenfels, who was a 17 century notable physician and polymath, professor, and later the Rector of the University of Erfurt. Book is bound with: Bartholomäus Carrichter: Kräuterbuch. Darinnen begriffen, under welchen zeichen Zodiaci, auch in welchem Gradu ein jedes Kraut stehe, wie sie in Leib unnd zu allen Schäden zu bereyten, und zu welcher zeit sie zu colligieren sein. Anton Bertram 1589. Kl.-8° (16 x 10 cm). 8 Bll., 223(1) S., 8.
1555ref. GEJ-11Pescia: Lorenzo Torrentino, 1555, 4to, [13] 18-126 [1] of colophon 1 blank. Book in Italian. 1st Italian Edition (2nd overall) of this rare demonology tratise. Later (18/19 .century) later half morocco with gold lettered spine and blank pages. Marbled endpapers. Architectural woodcut border on title-page with a small view of Florence and with Medici coat of arms. Woodcut initials, woodcut vignette on verso of A4. Colophon leaf at end. Very ginuine interior, clean, without marks, annotations, stamps and ex libris. No foxing and stains. Complete. First Italian edition and the first translation from the 1523 Latin original by Turino Turini, marking the earliest book on witchcraft printed in the Italian vernacular. While the dialogue format reinforces the grim theological framework of the Malleus Maleficarum and contemporary inquisitorial manuals regarding sabbaths and demonic pacts, it stands apart for its erudition. By sophisticatedly weaving classical and pagan citations into medieval scholastic precepts, Pico della Mirandola effectively pioneered the "humanistic literature of witchcraft," bridging Renaissance intellectualism and counter-reformation demonology. The work embodies the Renaissance approach to demonology, demonstrating how a humanist could substantiate the reality of witchcraft, transvection, and the sabbath using classical sources alongside scripture and inquisitorial manuals. Ultimately, the early modern obsession with demonology is presented not as an irrational residue of a rational age, but as a foundational conceptual nexus essential to understanding sixteenth-century philosophy. Bibliography: Censimento 16 CNCE 34704; Riccardi II, 281; Moreni, Annali della tipografia di Lorenzo Torrentino, s. 394; Sander 5688; Graesse V, 283; USTC No. 848435; Caillet 8654; Encyclopaedia of Witchcraft 2006.
1733ref. GEJ-16Wolffenbüttel [Wolfenbüttel]: Zu finden bey Johann Christoph Meißner, 1733. In-8, 136 pp., [4] leaves (Register). Small octavo (17 x 10 cm). Contemporary red cardboard binding, incorporating the original paper wrapper. Covering material stained. Paper greyed. Interior minimally rubbed and bumped, slightly stained and dusty. 1st and only edition, Extremely Scarce!!! First edition of this exceptionally and unique rare and foundational text-monument of early European vampirology, published at the absolute zenith of the 18th-century "Vampire Controversy" (Vampyrstreit). This seminal octavo volume comprising the one-color title page in black, 136 pages of gothic Fraktur text, and the final index leaves, stands as one of the most critical contemporary intellectual responses to the vampire panic that swept Central and Southeastern Europe. The hysteria, which gripped the public imagination following the official Habsburg military and medical reports from the Serbian borders—most notably the grim exhumations related to Peter Plogojowitz in 1725 and Arnold Paole in 1732—effectively introduced the Slavic concept and the very word "vampire" into the lexicon of Western European Enlightenment discourse. The author, Johann Christoph Harenberg (1696–1774), an eminent German theologian, historian, and school rector, approaches this terrifying contemporary phenomenon with a sophisticated blend of early scientific rationalism and Protestant orthodoxy. While providing his readers with highly detailed, sensational, and meticulously recorded case studies of alleged vampiric attacks and ritualistic desecrations of corpses along the volatile Ottoman-Serbian frontiers ("Gräntzen des Servien-Landes"), Harenberg systematically deconstructs the supernatural myths surrounding them. He fiercely rejects the physical reality of the animated dead, brilliantly diagnosing the epidemic not as a literal threat, but as a "disease of the imagination" (Phantastische Seuche). He argues that the perceived visitations are the tragic products of mass psychological trauma, rural ignorance, premature burials, and the natural, misunderstood processes of bodily decomposition. Furthermore, from a theological standpoint, Harenberg maintains that God would never permit the souls of the deceased to return to the mortal realm for such grotesque purposes, attributing the sightings to demonic illusions or sheer human sensory deception. Preceding Dom Augustin Calmet’s celebrated and widely translated phantom treatise by more than a decade, Harenberg’s work represents a vital, transitional milestone bridging the late-baroque fascination with the occult and the burgeoning skepticism of the Age of Reason. Recorded in the German national bibliography under VD18, this remains a highly coveted, profoundly influential masterwork for specialized collections focusing on the history of magic, early medicine, folklore, and the European Enlightenment. An item of legendary rarity on the open market, this 1733 first edition represents an exceptional, census-proven acquisition opportunity for the discerning collector of early occult and Enlightenment literature. According to worldwide institutional databases and international library union catalogs (including WorldCat and the Karlsruhe Virtual Catalog / KVK), fewer than 12 institutional copies of the physical 1733 original printing are recorded globally, with the vast majority permanently secured within key European state repositories such as the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek in Munich, the Herzog August Bibliothek in Wolfenbüttel, and the Universitätsbibliothek Göttingen. The vast majority of library search results for this title point strictly to modern digital facsimiles, microform copies, or late 20th-century reprints, masking the true, extreme scarcity of the physical artifact. Since virtually all known original copies are institutionalized and perpetually removed from commerce, public auction appearances of this seminal vampire tract are virtually non-existent. A profoundly elusive work of early Vampyrologia, this piece stands as an ultimate desideratum that has historically escaped even the most exhaustive collections of early horror and paranormal history. Bibliographie: VD18 14205289; OCLC/WorldCat: 257577536 / 934812328; Hamberger-Meusel: III, 75; Summer, Montague: The Vampire: His Kith and Kin (London, 1928) – Cited as one of the critical early German works addressing the Serbian vampire epidemics of 1725–1732; Hock, Stefan: Die Vampyrsagen und ihre Verwertung in der deutschen Literatur (Berlin, 1900), p. 34; Not in Caillet; Graesse [Grasse]: Bibliotheca Magica et Pneumatica (1843), p. 125; Not in USTC; Cornell Library: Witchcraft BF1556 .H27. Provenance: Antiquariat Peter Fritzen, January 2018, No. 93., Librairie ancienne LIRI, 2025. Since 1990 only one auction record (2004, Falk & Falk, 12, no. 20). This copy has no owners annotations (ex-libris, marks, stamps, handwritten notes).
1615ref. GEJ-13Paris, Jean Millot, 1615. In-12 : 109pp, (1). Full original vellum binding and endpapers with blank pages. Parchment with defects on the cover, few stains at the end of book. Shorter page 103/104 due to handmade paper inperfections. Some worm holes. Bright and complete copy. Two old ink different anotations on the first endpaper. This exceptionally rare 1615 Parisian first edition, published by Jean Millot, represents a foundational cornerstone in early modern demonological literature and the history of psychiatry. Written by the French physician Jean de Nynauld, De la lycanthropie, transformation et extase des sorciers is widely celebrated by historians Evans and Bartholomew as "the most extensive and detailed description of ointments in relation to both witchcraft and lycanthropy." Across four meticulous chapters dedicated entirely to the salves of sorcerers, Nynauld documents the grim contemporary lore surrounding these unguents, including the notorious belief that they utilized the fat of sacrificed children. However, rather than validating these horrors as supernatural reality, Nynauld applies a brilliant, early medical rationalism to the phenomenon. He boldly declares the numerous reports of murderous, cannibalistic shapeshifters and sabbat flights to be powerful hallucinations brought on by diabolical chemistry—specifically, the pharmacological effects of psychoactive herbs. Defying the harsh inquisitorial consensus of his era, he firmly regards those who claim they metamorphose into animals not as literal monsters or heretics, but as sufferers of severe mental disorders and clinical delusion. Consequently, this prized editio princeps stands as a crucial historical milestone, marking the transition from superstitious witch-hunting to a rational understanding of early pharmacology and mental health. Bibliography: "One of the "classic" works on Witchcraft and nevertheless one of the rarest." (Caillet 8124), The Encyclopedia of Extraordinary Social Behavior 333-39; Guaita, Bibliothèque occulte 774; Coumont, Demonology and Witchcraft: An Annotated Bibliography N38.3; Laehr, Die Literatur der Psychiatrie, Neurologie und Psychologie I: 159; Cioranescu 51435; Yve-Plessis, 975; USTC No. 6013581. Keywords : Keywords : Grimoire, Magie, Occultisme, Charmes, Sorcellerie, Diables
1561ref. GEJ-10Paris, apud Gilles Corrozet, 1561, [1], 40, [1] pp, 8°. Book in Latin. RARE AND UNCOMMON ON THE MARKET FIRST PARISIAN PRINTING! 17/18 century full calf binding, gold lettered spine, marbled endpapers, owner's ex libris of Emeric Bigot (?) on title page. Good antiquarian condition, woodcut printers device to title, woodcut initials. Few stains and discolorations. Complete. Published in Paris by Gilles Corrozet in 1561, this rare edition of Ulrich Molitor’s Tractatus de lamiis et pythonicis stands as a definitive cornerstone of early occult literature and a fascinating, skeptical counterpoint to fanatical witch-hunting manuals like the Malleus Maleficarum. Written by a prominent German jurist, the treatise is historically significant for its early skepticism, as Molitor boldly argued that supernatural acts like shape-shifting or flying to sabbaths were merely illusions and dreams induced by the Devil rather than physical realities. This text is equally famous for containing the earliest printed depictions of witches, establishing the modern iconography of the occult through striking woodcut imagery that includes scenes of witches brewing storms in cauldrons, a wizard riding a wolf, and the Devil corrupting a woman. Composed as a direct response to Europe's rising witchcraft hysteria, this treatise introduces cold legal logic and canonical jurisprudence into a debate previously dominated by religious fanaticism. Moving away from dry academic lecturing, the text adopts the dynamic structure of a scholarly dialogue between three real historical figures: Archduke Sigismund of Austria, the ruler of Tyrol, who acts as the voice of skepticism by raising logical doubts and challenging the validity of witch trials; Conrad Schatz, the magistrate of Constance, who champions the strict, traditional view by defending the physical reality of witchcraft and demanding harsh punishments; and Ulrich Molitor himself, the author, who serves as the impartial arbiter utilizing Roman and Canon law to systematically resolve the disagreements between his interlocutors. Ulrich Molitor (c. 1442–1507) was a pioneering German jurist, humanist, and diplomat who shaped early modern legal thought. After studying humanities in Basel, he earned a prestigious doctorate in civil and canon law from the University of Pavia, positioning him at the forefront of Renaissance jurisprudence. He spent the pinnacle of his career as a trusted legal advisor to Archduke Sigismund of Austria in Innsbruck and later served as chancellor to the Bishop of Worms. Molitor’s enduring legacy is his 1489 masterpiece, Tractatus de lamiis et pythonicis, which stands as one of history's earliest legal critiques of witch-hunt fanaticism. By utilizing rigorous Roman and Canon law to argue that witchcraft was largely a demonic illusion, he became a vehement opponent of judicial torture, forever marking his place as a trailblazer of European rationalism. Provenance: Emeric Bigot (?) - Ex Libris: Emeric Bigot (1626–1689) was a prominent French humanist, bibliophile, and a central figure in the 17th-century European intellectual network known as the Respublica Literaria (Republic of Letters). Born and based in Rouen, he used his substantial wealth to amass one of the most legendary private libraries in Europe, renowned for its rare Greek and Latin manuscripts and early printed books. Though he published little under his own name—focusing primarily on editing early Christian texts—Bigot served as an indispensable international scholarly coordinator. He maintained a vast correspondence with major thinkers like John Milton and Nicolas Heinsius, utilizing his unparalleled bibliographic expertise to source texts, verify translations, and generously assist scholars across the continent in preparing their own monumental works for print. Bibliography: Herbert M. Adams, M 1573; USTC, 153205; Pettegree i Walsby, 153205, only found in one US institution (Yale University, Beinecke Library), Not in VD 16, Yve-Plessis, Dorbon-Aîné and Bibliotheca Esoterica; Caillet, II, 7641; Grässe, p. 55; Bibliotheca Daemonologica (Robbins).
1600ref. ST21089England: Printed by the English secret press 1600. FIRST EDITION. 187 x 128 mm. 7 3/8 x 5". 4 p.l. 24 106 2 pp. Very pleasing early 20th century grained calf gilt covers with French fillet border and rosette cornerpieces raised bands spine panels with small daisy centerpiece gilt lettering densely gilt turn-ins marbled endpapers all edges gilt. STC 6288; ESTC S109297. See also Freeman "Demons Deviance and Defiance: John Darrell and the Politics of Exorcism in Late Elizabethan England" in Conformity and Orthodoxy in the English Church c. 1560-1660 ed. P. Lake and M. Questier Boydell Press 2000 pp. 34-63. Short faint scratch to front board extremities lightly rubbed text washed and pressed title and final two leaves somewhat grayed and grubby margins trimmed a bit close occasionally grazing headlines or shoulder notes but a perfectly readable copy in an attractive binding. This scarce clandestine imprint is a central publication in of one of the strangest religio-political controversies of the turn of the 17th century involving demonic possession witchcraft accusations and an anti-Puritan crusade by a Church of England bishop. Our author Puritan exorcist John Darrell ca. 1562 - ca. 1607 was educated at Cambridge and briefly dabbled in law and farming before establishing himself as a preacher and spiritual healer. In 1586 he began conducting exorcisms resulting in a level of local fame partly because some of them resulted in the convictions of witches. In the following decade he achieved national notoriety. First in March of 1597 he exorcised a group of seven demoniacs in the household of Lancashire landowner Nicholas Starkey. Then in November of the same year he conducted a dramatic public exorcism of Nottingham apprentice musician William Somers whose claim of having been magically possessed led to the arrest of 13 people on witchcraft charges. One of these individuals was the sister of a city alderman who immediately took action to protect his kinswoman. The resulting legal tangle--which included the arrest of Somers on charges of witchcraft later changed to fraud and an investigative commission led by the Archbishop of York--attracted widespread attention to Darrell's activities by both supporters and detractors. The Church of England was highly concerned about Puritan exorcisms: in the words of historian Thomas S. Freeman "exorcism magnified those aspects of Puritan worship which the ecclesiastical authorities most feared--its anti-hierarchical tendencies its strong sense of communal solidarity and its potential as a vehicle for protest." No doubt with an understanding of this threat Bishop of London Richard Bancroft and his chaplain Samuel Harsnett led a vicious campaign against Darrell publishing multiple works smearing his character and theology stripping Durrell of his license to preach and imprisoning him for more than a year. Darrell did not go quietly. Over the next four years he and his supporters penned multiple defenses of his actions and of Puritan exorcism more generally published either abroad or illegally by secret English presses. The present work is significant not only for its detailed retelling of Darrell's final two exorcisms in his own words but also because it includes Darrell's detailed "doctrine of possession" which discusses the difference between his exorcisms and those of the apostolic age an important theological clarification in the debate. STC indicates that our book was one of the works published clandestinely in England; this is backed up by the October 29 1600 Stationers' Company order to burn all copies of "mr Darrell's book lately printed concerning the casting out of Devilles" which Freeman asserts refers to the present publication. This order to be burned on top of the clandestine publication could explain the present scarcity of the work which appears on the market very infrequently. We have been able to trace just a single copy at auction this century and only five since 1964 several lacking the final errata leaf which does appear here. Printed [by the English secret press?] unknown
1600ref. ST21089England: Printed by the English secret press 1600. FIRST EDITION. 187 x 128 mm. 7 3/8 x 5". 4 p.l. 24 106 2 pp. Very pleasing early 20th century grained calf gilt covers with French fillet border and rosette cornerpieces raised bands spine panels with small daisy centerpiece gilt lettering densely gilt turn-ins marbled endpapers all edges gilt. STC 6288; ESTC S109297. See also Freeman "Demons Deviance and Defiance: John Darrell and the Politics of Exorcism in Late Elizabethan England" in Conformity and Orthodoxy in the English Church c. 1560-1660 ed. P. Lake and M. Questier Boydell Press 2000 pp. 34-63. Short faint scratch to front board extremities lightly rubbed text washed and pressed title and final two leaves somewhat grayed and grubby margins trimmed a bit close occasionally grazing headlines or shoulder notes but a perfectly readable copy in an attractive binding. This scarce clandestine imprint is a central publication in of one of the strangest religio-political controversies of the turn of the 17th century involving demonic possession witchcraft accusations and an anti-Puritan crusade by a Church of England bishop. Our author Puritan exorcist John Darrell ca. 1562 - ca. 1607 was educated at Cambridge and briefly dabbled in law and farming before establishing himself as a preacher and spiritual healer. In 1586 he began conducting exorcisms resulting in a level of local fame partly because some of them resulted in the convictions of witches. In the following decade he achieved national notoriety. First in March of 1597 he exorcised a group of seven demoniacs in the household of Lancashire landowner Nicholas Starkey. Then in November of the same year he conducted a dramatic public exorcism of Nottingham apprentice musician William Somers whose claim of having been magically possessed led to the arrest of 13 people on witchcraft charges. One of these individuals was the sister of a city alderman who immediately took action to protect his kinswoman. The resulting legal tangle--which included the arrest of Somers on charges of witchcraft later changed to fraud and an investigative commission led by the Archbishop of York--attracted widespread attention to Darrell's activities by both supporters and detractors. The Church of England was highly concerned about Puritan exorcisms: in the words of historian Thomas S. Freeman "exorcism magnified those aspects of Puritan worship which the ecclesiastical authorities most feared--its anti-hierarchical tendencies its strong sense of communal solidarity and its potential as a vehicle for protest." No doubt with an understanding of this threat Bishop of London Richard Bancroft and his chaplain Samuel Harsnett led a vicious campaign against Darrell publishing multiple works smearing his character and theology stripping Durrell of his license to preach and imprisoning him for more than a year. Darrell did not go quietly. Over the next four years he and his supporters penned multiple defenses of his actions and of Puritan exorcism more generally published either abroad or illegally by secret English presses. The present work is significant not only for its detailed retelling of Darrell's final two exorcisms in his own words but also because it includes Darrell's detailed "doctrine of possession" which discusses the difference between his exorcisms and those of the apostolic age an important theological clarification in the debate. STC indicates that our book was one of the works published clandestinely in England; this is backed up by the October 29 1600 Stationers' Company order to burn all copies of "mr Darrell's book lately printed concerning the casting out of Devilles" which Freeman asserts refers to the present publication. This order to be burned on top of the clandestine publication could explain the present scarcity of the work which appears on the market very infrequently. We have been able to trace just a single copy at auction this century and only five since 1964 several lacking the final errata leaf which does appear here. Printed [by the English secret press?] unknown books
1634ref. ABC_48501France 1634. Modern marbled boards with a red morocco title-label lettered in gold on the spine. 4to ca. 18.5 x 24 cm. 2 works in 1 volume. With:2 WITCHCRAFT. Remarques et considerations servans a la justification du curé de Loudun autres que celles contenuës en son factum.France ca. 1634. Two exceedingly rare pamphlets about the "Loudon possessions" a case of mass hysteria surrounding the supposed demonic possession of Ursuline nuns that took place in the western French town of Loudun in 1634. The affair led to the trial of a local priest Urbain Grandier who was accused of witchcraft. Interestingly these two pamphlets are by an anonymous partisan of the accused priest. The possession cases began in 1632 when several nuns at the local Ursuline convent claimed to be possessed by demons. The nuns accused Grandier a charismatic and controversial figure in Loudun of casting spells on them and making them his witches. Grandier who had gained the enmity of the powerful Cardinal Richelieu was arrested and put on trial despite a lack of evidence against him. The trial was riddled with corruption and political intrigue and Grandier was ultimately found guilty and sentenced to death by burning at the stake. His execution took place on 18 August 1634.While 18th century accounts of the famous trial such as those by De La Menardaye were popular contemporary accounts are almost unobtainable. Neither pamphlet has appeared in auction records and there are very few institutional holdings.The spine and corners of the boards are rubbed the title label is slightly chipped. Numbers in the upper corners of the leaves indicate that these two works were likely removed from a sammelband containing multiple works. Internally slightly browned an older typed description has been mounted with tape to the recto of the first free flyleaf. Otherwise in good condition.l Ad 1: Caillet 4718; Coumont F7.1; WorldCat 467111589 705771905 7 copies; Yve-Plessis 1285; Ad 2: Coumont R31.1; WorldCat 1254612433 2 copies; Yve-Plessis 1286; cf. for more information about Grandier and the Loudun Nuns see: Robbins The Encyclopedia of Witchcraft and Demonology pp. 312-317; Both ads not in Barbier Dictionnaire des ouvrages anonymes; Rosenthal Bibliotheca Magica et Pneumatica; Thorndike Grandier and the Ursulines only mentioned once in general vol VIII p. 583; Ad 2 not in Caillet. hardcover
