APPARITIONS
Book Details + Condition: Gerald Duckworth (London). First Edition, 1953. Hardcover (measuring 9" x 6") with original dust jacket. 168 pages with Appendix and Index. PROVENANCE: From the massive occult collection of Dr. Alan Gauld (1932–2024), distinguished British psychologist, parapsychologist, and historian of psychical research based at the University of Nottingham. His library included significant works on mediumship, hypnotism, and the founders of psychical research, often marked with his ownership inscriptions or ex libris labels. He authored many respected works, including The Founders of Psychical Research (1968), Mediumship and Survival (1982), and A History of Hypnotism (1992). G.N.M. Tyrrell’s work is a seminal Society for Psychical Research study that analyzes ghost sightings as subjective, telepathic hallucinations rather than physical entities. Tyrrell argues that apparitions are "psychological marionettes" created by the unconscious mind, triggered by external mental impressions, often representing "crisis" cases where the person seen is in danger or dying. Chapters include:
- The Census of Hallucinations
- Characteristics of Apparitions
- Theory of Apparitions
- Clairvoyance
- Agency of Apparitions
- Speculation and Reflection
In very good condition, with firm binding; lightly rubbed corners and edges; Gauld's ex libris and name to front endpapers; interior is clean and free of markings, save some of Gauld's tidy pencilled notes to rear free endpaper (which we kept, due to provenance). Original dust jacket is interesting - it's been printed on both sides, appearing to be a printing error. Normal aging, with tears and wear to edges and corners. All books are carefully packed, and shipped in boxes.
