VOODOO FIRE IN HAITI
Book Details + Condition: First edition of "Voodoo Fire in Haiti" by Richard A. Loederer. The Literary Guild (New York), 1935. 274 pages, with woodcut illustrations throughout. Translated from the German by Desmond Ivo Vesey. A nonfiction first-hand account of Voodoo, as seen by Loederer, armed with his paint brush and machete in the jungles of Haiti. A stunning production from the 1930s, with incredible woodcuts in an Art Deco style. Printed green maps of Haiti as endpapers. Original orange cloth with ornate flower and leaf embossed border; gilt lettering on black background on spine. An examination of supernatural beliefs by an artist who held a series of art exhibitions using these same, fine illustrations (this famous series of Haitian woodcuts was originally exhibited in Vienna and New York). From the jacket: "This is the most atmospheric book about Haiti, its history, its legends, its superstitions and its native rites and customs ever written." Shelf wear to boards, with some smudging; rubbed / frayed corners; interior is free of markings save normal age-toning to pages.
"Don't you realize, monsieur, that many of the workers on the sugar fiends are mere soulless carcasses, brought back to life by magic and now slaving for their master? Several times I have seen the black spirits flying overhead. I swear it; I saw this with my own eyes. No one can escape from the terrible powers of evil."
