SKETCHES OF THE PHILOSOPHY OF APPARITIONS; OR, AN ATTEMPT TO TRACE SUCH ILLUSIONS TO THEIR PHYSICAL CAUSES
Book Details + Condition: Oliver & Boyd (London). First Edition, 1824. Full leather hardcover with embossed boards. Marbled endpapers and text block. 460 pages. Includes large fold-out of ailments and their symptoms. Samuel Hibbert was a British geologist and antiquarian who wrote this volume, possibly in response to the growing popularity of Spiritualism, as a scientific explanation for sightings of ghosts and related phenomena. Hibbert notes medical conditions which might cause one to see apparitions, including brain inflammation, hysteric temperament, neglect of periodical blood-letting, dreams, and other maladies of the time. Firm binding; rubbed corners and edges; light shelf wear to leather boards; interior is clean and free of markings.
