A MANUAL OF CARTOMANCY: FORTUNE-TELLING AND OCCULT DIVINATION, INCLUDING THE ORACLE OF HUMAN DESTINY, CAGLIOSTRO'S MYSTIC ALPHABET OF THE MAGI, THE GOLDEN WHEEL OF FORTUNE, THE ART OF INVOKING SPIRITS IN THE CRYSTAL, THE VARIOUS METHODS OF DIVINATION
Book Details + Condition: William Rider and Son, Limited (London). Scarce Second Edition, 1909. Hardcover. Small octavo. viii + 250pp. Original salmon-red cloth with titles to spine and pentagram design to the front cover, b&w frontispiece and illustrations. The publishers state "Fourth Edition, Revised and Enlarged, and with Plates" on the title page, but Waite's bibliographer, Dr. R.A. Gilbert, explained that it is, in fact, only the "Second Edition" as the two earlier re-publications of the book (1891 and 1897) were simple reprints of the 1889 edition, rather than having fresh or altered material. In contrast, this "Fourth Edition" (Second Edition) is substantially different to the earlier versions: It has two additional plates, and Waite has extended and revised the text, adding a chapter on Astrological Prediction by Sepharial (William Gorn Old) - nearly doubling the size of the text. This edition is the most well known and complete of Waite's thorough study of divination, with chapters on:
- Cartomancy (Divination via Playing and Tarot cards)
- The Art of Invoking Spirits in the Crystal
- The Oracle of Human Destiny
- The Book of the Secret Word and the Higher Way to Fortune
- How to Find Lucky Numbers with Dice
- The Mathematical Fortune-Teller
- The Virtues and Influences of Precious Stones
- Astrological Prediction
- The Mystic Alphabet of the Magi
- An Egyptian Method of Fortune Telling
- To Read A Person's Character by Means of Kabalistic Calculations
- And much more.
Firm binding; rubbed corners and edges; spine cloth and original decorated cloth covers have been cut and re-attached on top of reinforced binding - an old, professional job; library plates to inside front & rear boards (Harvard Library); chipping to ffep; embossed stamps to title page (and to a few other pages), with Harvard Library stamp to reverse; inked notes to a few pages of first chapter (only). A few pages have small and repaired tears to edges - the book has definitely been read. Two pages have larger tears (with a few having old "repairs" of tape), and 4-5 pp have torn corners.
