THE BLACK ART
Book Details + Condition: John Long Ltd (London). Scarce First Edition, 1936. With an Introduction by Dennis Wheatley, and with 17 macabre b&w illustrations by C.A. Mills. Hardcover with black boards; gilt titling (etc) to spine. 292 pages, with 8 pp of publisher advertisements to rear. Master occultist Rollo Ahmed presents a history of the dark arts, including sorcery, witchcraft, alchemy, vampires, werewolves, voodoo, necromancy, exorcism, The Black Mass, and satanic sex rites. Per the author's introduction: "This is an outline of Black Magic and sorcery in many parts of the world, and in every age from prehistoric times up to the present day...written from the standpoint of an Occultist". Please see below for more information on Ahmed. Contents include:
- The Earliest Records of Black Magic
- The Ancient Magic of the East
- Egyptian Rites and Practices
- Jewish Necromancy and Magic
- Medieval Sorcery and Black Magic
- Witchcraft, Vampirism and Werewolves
- The Alchemists and Sorcerers
- Black Magic and Sex-Rites
- The Black Mass
- Elementals
- Methods of Counteracting Sorcery
- And much more.
Rollo Ahmed was a Guyanan national, born Abdul Said Ahmed c.1898. He emigrated to England in the inter-war period, initially to work as a theatrical performer and latterly as a herbalist, Yoga teacher, author, lecturer and occultist. Like other immigrants, Ahmed’s attempts to gain conventional employment were thwarted due to the widespread racism of the period. As a result, he played on his ‘exoticism’ in England as a self-promotional tool – for example, claiming to have been born in Egypt so as to enhance his reputation as a purveyor of esoteric wisdom. He was a familiar face on the 1930s Bohemian literary scene, counting Dennis Wheatley and Aleister Crowley amongst his friends, but struggled to provide a comfortable living for himself and his family, compelling him, on occasion, to seek dubious forms of income [University of London, School of Advanced Study].
Firm binding; minor shelf wear to boards; faded name to ffep; foxing to first and last few pages; interior is clean and free of markings. The book is now protected with a mylar cover. All books are carefully packed and shipped in boxes.
