A Search in Secret Egypt by Paul Brunton, First Edition First Printing 1936 HC/DJ — Illustrated Publisher: E.P. Dutton and Co., New York (1936)
Rare, fascinating edition of "A Search in Secret Egypt" by Paul Brunton from 1936 (first edition). The boards and binding are solid, tight and in excellent condition. Davenport Museum stamp on inside board. The hand-cut pages are crisp and clean save for a tear of upper half of the first blank page. The dust jacket is in very good condition with minor chipping and shelfwear. An outstanding first edition, first printing of Egyptian occultism during the the first half of the twentieth century by a noted author and spiritualist.
Description
"Paul
Brunton, impelled by hunger for spiritual perfection and power,
examined at great length the Sphinx, the Great Pyramid (within the
King's chamber of which he slept a night alone), the Temple of Hathor at
Denderah, the Karnac Temple, and the Initiation Temple a Abydos. In his
acquaintship with seers, mystics, fakirs, dervishes, snake charmers,
adepts, etc, he entered into the mysteries of ancient Egyptian Ritual
and the power of modern 'charms' and magic." -from the dust jacket
Biography of Author
Paul Brunton was a British born journalist who later wrote important
books dealing with philosophy and comparative religion. He also was a mystic. He was educated at the Central Foundation School, London, and McKinley-Roosevelt
College, Chicago, Illinois. As a boy he was extremely interested in Spiritualism.
He developed mediumistic abilities himself, notably clairvoyance and clairaudience,
and was able to verify the existence of psychic powers from first-hand experience.
He later joined the Theosophical Society, but left after two years. He contacted
other occult groups to compare their teachings. During this time Brunton
became a close friend of Bikku Ananda Mettya (Allan Bennett), who initiated him into Buddhist meditation.
Brunton assisted Bennett with the publishing of The Buddhist Review.
Brunton observed during their friendship that Bennett had developed a breath
control technique that enabled him at times to alter the specific gravity
of his body, so that when sitting in a yoga posture he was able to rise
a foot or two in the air, and the float gently down to the floor again a
short distance from the spot where he had originally sat. According to Brunton
that around the time of Bennett's death Bennett had "sacrificed his
body in order to extricate me from a dangerous position."
During Brunton's travels in India and Egypt he drew great attention to
his famous book A Search in Secret India, 1934, which was followed
by A Search in Secret Egypt, 1935. His other works included A
Hermit in the Himalayas, The Quest of the Overself, 1937, The
Inner Reality, 1959, The Hidden Teaching Beyond Yoga, The
Secret Path, 1959. Brunton's initial concern was primarily with miracle-working
holy men, but his interest broadened to include the deepest metaphysical
aspects of yoga and mysticism. He was one of the first Europeans to draw
attention to Sri Ramana Maharshi of Tiruvannamalai, South India, one of
the greatest Hindu mystics of recent times.
