Art of the Grimoire
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€31.99
A01=Owen Davies
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alchemy
ancient knowledge
asia
Author_Owen Davies
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Category1=Non-Fiction
Category=AKC
Category=DS
Category=JN
Category=PDX
china
coffee table book
COP=United States
dark arts
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esoterica
gift book
halloween
heavily illustrated
india
Language_English
lavish
magic
magick
manuscripts
middle east
occult
old books
PA=Available
papyrus
pop culture
Price_€20 to €50
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religion
science
softlaunch
spellbook
supernatural
witch
wizard
Product details
- ISBN 9780300272017
- Dimensions: 191 x 248mm
- Publication Date: 10 Oct 2023
- Publisher: Yale University Press
- Publication City/Country: US
- Product Form: Hardback
- Language: English
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A copiously illustrated global history of magic books, from ancient papyri to pulp paperbacks
“A beautiful production: a typographic and calligraphic treat as treasurable as a rare magical text itself. Almost every page is filled with wonder.”—Suzi Feay, The Spectator
Grimoires, textbooks of magic and occult knowledge, have existed through the ages alongside other magic and religious texts in part because of the need to create a physical record of magical phenomena, but also to enact magic through spells and rituals. To understand the history of these texts is to understand the influence of the major religions, the development of early science, the cultural influence of print, the growth of literacy, the social impact of colonialism, and the expansion of esoteric cultures across the oceans.
In more than two hundred color illustrations from ancient times to the present, renowned scholar Owen Davies examines little-studied artistic qualities of grimoires, revealing a unique world of design and imagination. The book takes a global approach, considering Egyptian and Greek papyri, ancient Chinese bamboo scripts, South American pulp prints, and Japanese demon encyclopedias, among other examples.
This book will enchant readers interested in the history of magic and science, as well as in book and manuscript history.
“A beautiful production: a typographic and calligraphic treat as treasurable as a rare magical text itself. Almost every page is filled with wonder.”—Suzi Feay, The Spectator
Grimoires, textbooks of magic and occult knowledge, have existed through the ages alongside other magic and religious texts in part because of the need to create a physical record of magical phenomena, but also to enact magic through spells and rituals. To understand the history of these texts is to understand the influence of the major religions, the development of early science, the cultural influence of print, the growth of literacy, the social impact of colonialism, and the expansion of esoteric cultures across the oceans.
In more than two hundred color illustrations from ancient times to the present, renowned scholar Owen Davies examines little-studied artistic qualities of grimoires, revealing a unique world of design and imagination. The book takes a global approach, considering Egyptian and Greek papyri, ancient Chinese bamboo scripts, South American pulp prints, and Japanese demon encyclopedias, among other examples.
This book will enchant readers interested in the history of magic and science, as well as in book and manuscript history.
Owen Davies is professor of social history at the University of Hertfordshire and president of the Folklore Society. He is the author of numerous books on the history of witchcraft, magic, ghosts, and popular medicine.
