THE OCCULT REVIEW: VOLUME 31, JANUARY-JUNE 1920
Book Details + Condition: William Rider & Son (London). Volume 31, 1920. First UK Editions of the highly influential and pre-eminent journal of the 20th century, THE OCCULT REVIEW. (The US editions were issued one month after the British.) This compilation spans January - June, 1920. Privately bound with marbled hardcover boards and three-quarters leather binding. Raised bands and gilt to spine; marbled endpapers. Other copies from this collection (also listed for sale), with the same private binding, include the bookplate of famous suffragist Alice Eugenie (du Pont) Ortiz. 370 pages. Boards have been reattached at some point, and binding remains firm; rubbed corners and edges; bindery sticker to endpaper; approx 10 pages with pencilled margin notes, which we kept due to the book's provenance (for interest and historical value).
Edited by Ralph Shirley, THE OCCULT REVIEW contained essays on all aspects of occultism, from alchemy to witchcraft; there was emphasis on magic, as many of its authors had been members of the Golden Dawn or its offshoots. Most of the eminent occultists of the period contributed to the journal, such as Frater Achad, Arthur Avalon, Annie Besant, Theodore Besterman, J.W. Brodie-Innes; Hereward Carrington, Mabel Collins, Aleister Crowley, Dion Fortune, Ada Goodrich-Freer; Franz Hartmann, D. D. Home, E.J. Langford Garstin; Michael Juste; William Kingsland, G.R.S. Mead; Sylvan J. Muldoon, Elliot O'Donnell, H. Stanley Redgrove, Sax Rohmer; Eduoard Schure, Lewis Spence, Meredith Starr, Montague Summers, and A.E. Waite. In addition to essays, poems, artwork, and illustrations, each issue typically contained the editor's 'Notes of the Month,' letters from the public, book reviews, and advertisements. This compiled volume contains such articles as: Christianity and Spiritualism (A.E. Waite); Modern Numerology; Occultism and the Atomic Theory (H. Stanley Redgrove); The Fairy-Faith in Wales; Folk-lore of Our Common Trees; The Super-Physical Aspect of Sex (A.P. Sinnett); Bird Lore and Superstition; and so much more. A true gem of first edition occult literature, and a fascinating treasure-trove of knowledge, for occult and spiritualist collectors. Please see our other listings for more OCCULT REVIEW first edition volumes.
