Catalogue No.3, July 2022: Esoterica

Here at Morocco Books and Collectibles we have a wide array of material concerning faith, mysticism, the supernatural and the unexplained - our catch-all term for these phenomena is "esoterica" and there are some gems in our collection. We have books on the various world religions, books on mythology, and books with an anthropological focus on the nature of the supernatural. We also have works that can only be described as fantastic, in the scope of their assertions and revelations, from meetings with ghosts and with alien invaders of this planet. As usual, we have a good selection of ephemera, some of which is truly unique and bizarre. If you have any enquiries about any of the items listed below, please contact us at moroccobooks1000@gmail.com. The contents of this list will change over time as things sell or get replaced - keep watching!

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(73634) William Cobbett, A History of the Protestant Reformation in England and Ireland - Showing how that event has impoverished the main body of the people in those countries; in a series of lectures addressed to all sensible and just Englishmen, Catholic Publishing & Bookselling Company Ltd., London, nd. (c.1824).

Octavo; half-calf with marbled boards and gilt spine titles on a tan label between four gilt-decorated raised bands; 192pp., all edges marbled, with a monochrome portrait frontispiece (with a tissue guard) and 11 plates likewise (no guards). Moderate wear; board edges and hinged scraped; scuffing to the boards; text block top edge dusted; some mild water damage to the text block bottom corner; light foxing to the preliminaries; previous owner's contemporary ink signature to the title page. No dustwrapper. Very good.

$200

(76133) Henry Ford with Samuel Crowther, The Great To-Day and Greater Future, Cornstalk Publishing Company, Sydney NSW, 1926.

Octavo; hardcover, with upper board decoration; 360pp. Moderate wear: ex-library; the usual library stamps; boards a little rubbed and scuffed with insect damage; spine sunned; spine extremities softened; text block edges toned with some spotting; flyleaf removed; offset to the endpapers; light scattered foxing mainly to the preliminaries; retailer's ink stamp to the first page. Lacks dustwrapper. Good.

Back in the day, if you wanted to be known as a big-time business mogul, you needed to have a philosophy, a vision of the world and its potential future, along with a road map for how to get there. Nowadays, it seems all you need is a large inheritance  and an outsized Twitter following. This is Henry Ford's wisdom, and his toolbox for a better tomorrow, in a handy single volume.

$15

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Colin Wilson (1931-2013) was a novelist and philosopher who championed the existentialist cause in 1950s Britain with the publication of his seminal work The Outsider. His academic output - which is often very fine - became increasingly muddied by his tendency to wallow in fringe ideas and outré fictional writing. Often dismissed by the Establishment, his work is probably overdue for a serious reconsideration.

(68836) Colin Wilson, The Outsider - An inquiry into the nature of the sickness of mankind in the mid-twentieth century, Victor Gollancz Ltd., London, 1956.

Reprint: octavo; hardcover, with gilt spine titles; 288pp. Mild wear; text block edges lightly toned and top edge dusted; mild offset to the endpapers; retailer's bookplate to the front pastedown. Price-clipped dustwrapper is lightly rubbed and edgeworn; spine panel lightly sunned; now professionally protected by non-adhesive polypropylene film. Very good.

$45

(71985) Colin Wilson, The Stature of Man - An essay on the concept of the hero, Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston MA, 1959.

First edition: octavo; hardcover, full cloth; 171pp., top edges dyed red. Minor wear. Dustwrapper is a little rubbed and edgeworn with some spotting; lightly sunned along the spine panel; now professionally protected by non-adhesive polypropylene film. Very good. 

$50

*****

(73584) Andrew Tomas, Atlantis - From Legend to Discovery, Robert Hale & Company, London, 1972.

Octavo; hardcover, with silver-gilt spine titles on a black label; 159pp., with 16pp, of monochrome plates. Ex-library: moderate wear; rolled; tape stains to the boards; the usual cancelled stamps and other library marks; hinges reinforced with tape; pencilled marginalia throughout. Dustwrapper is well rubbed and edgeworn; a chip to the top edge of the upper panel; tape stains to all panels; some lacquer lift to the hinges; now professionally protected by non-adhesive polypropylene film. Good.

$12

(71987) Charles Fort (Preface by Donald A. Wollheim), The Book of the Damned, Abacus/Sphere Books Ltd., London, 1973.

Octavo; paperback; 316pp. mild wear; wrappers a little rubbed and edgeworn; spine lightly creased; text block edges toned with some spotting. Very good.

Charles Fort was a late-Victorian American with a florid writing style who actively disliked not knowing how things worked. It bugged him that there were things in the universe which were observed and which the science community actively denied,  or palmed off with such homilies as, "there must be a logical explanation", or "a rational basis, as yet unknown, must be at work". Well, Fort decided that he would collect all of these unexplained events - rains of frogs; hails of blood; poltergeists - and record them for posterity, with the pointed view of not letting science and all of its acolytes forget about them on their way to explaining the more convenient parts of reality. He referred to his collected observations as being 'damned' by science and published several volumes of these lists - this is the first of them. 

$20

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Charles Pearcy Mountford (1890-1976) was an Australian anthropologist and photographer who spent many years amongst the tribes of the Northern Territory and South Australia and who collected much of their mythological lore.  He was the subject of a critical court case after he published a book which showed secret Aboriginal rituals that he was allowed to witness on the proviso that he tell no-one else  of what he saw. That book was withdrawn from publication. His collections of indigenous legends were compiled into a series of smaller books, released initially in 1965, and ultimately these two larger volumes, illuminated by the haunting paintings and illustrations of British artist, Ainslie Roberts (1911-1993).

(70351) Charles P. Mountford (Ainslie Roberts, illus.), The Dreamtime Book - Australian Aboriginal Myths in Paintings, Reader's Digest Services Pty. Ltd./Rigby Limited, Sydney NSW, 1974.

Folio; hardcover, with gilt spine titles; 175pp., with many colour and monochrome illustrations. Mild wear; text block edges lightly toned with dusting to the text block top edge; previous owner's large inked inscription to the flyleaf. Dustwrapper is a little rubbed; sunned along the spine panel. Very good.

$75

(70350) Melva Jean Roberts (Introduction by Dale Roberts; Ainslie Roberts, illus.), Echoes of the Dreamtime: Australian Aboriginal Myths in the paintings of Ainslie Roberts - signed, J.M. Dent Pty. Ltd., Melbourne Vic., 1988.

Folio; hardcover, with gilt spine titles; 144pp., with many colour and monochrome illustrations. Mild wear; light dusting to the text block top edge; some minor spotting to the preliminaries; signed with a dedication by the artist to the title page. Dustwrapper is sunned along the spine panel; now backed by archival-quality white paper and professionally protected by non-adhesive polypropylene film. Very good. Laid in: a brochure for the accompanying exhibition and book launch.

$150

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(75975) J.E. Cirlot (Jack Sage, trans.; Foreword by Herbert Read), A Dictionary of Symbols - Second Edition, Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd., London, 1978.

Reprint: octavo; hardcover, with gilt spine titles; 419pp., with 32pp. of monochrome plates and many illustrations likewise, Mild wear; spine head a little softened; toning and mild spotting to the text block edges and top edge dusted; offset to the endpapers; previous owner's ink inscription to the flyleaf. Dustwrapper is a little rubbed and edgeworn. Very good.

$35

(76862) Karl W. Luckert & Johnny C. Cooke, et.al., Coyoteway - A Navajo Holyway Healing Ceremonial, The University of Arizona Press & The Museum of Northern Arizona Press, Tucson & Flagstaff AZ, 1979.

First edition: octavo; paperback; 243pp., with a monochrome frontispiece and many full-colour and monochrome illustrations. Moderate wear; covers well rubbed and edgeworn with some creasing; some moisture damage to the text block lower end. Good.

$80

(76722) Patrick Tierney, The Highest Altar - The Story of Human Sacrifice, Bloomsbury Publishing Plc., London, 1989.

Octavo; hardcover, with gilt spine titles; 480pp., with maps and 8pp. of full-colour plates. Minor wear. Dustwrapper is a little rubbed and edgeworn; now professionally protected by non-adhesive polypropylene film. Very good to near fine.

$30

(68397) Richard Payne Knight & Thomas Wright, A History of Phallic Worship - Two Volumes in One: "A Discourse on the Worship of Priapus" & "The Worship of the Generative Powers", Dorset Press, New York NY, 1992.

Octavo; hardcover, quarter-bound in cloth with silver-gilt spine titles; 410pp. [217pp. + 193pp.], with many monochrome illustrations. Minor wear; previous owner's name in ink to the half-title page, Dustwrapper now professionally protected by non-adhesive polypropylene film. Very good.

$40

(73351) Kalidasa, with Abanindranath Tagore (Michael Coulson, Peter Khoroche & William Radice, trans.; Daljeet Khare, illus.; Introduction by William Radice), Sakuntala, The Folio Society, London, 1992.

First edition: royal octavo; hardcover, full moire silk cloth, with silver-gilt spine title and upper board decoration; 150pp., with 12pp. of colour plates. Minor wear. No dustwrapper as issued. Near fine in like slipcase.

A favourite excerpt from the Hindu epic The Mahabharata concerning a curse, lost love and redemption by means of a lost ring found in the belly of a fish. This is a sumptuous edition, typical of the Folio Society productions.

$35

(72292) Sogyal Rinpoche (Patrick Gaffney & Andrew Harvey, eds.), The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying – signed, Random House (Aust.) Pty. Ltd., Milsons Point NSW, 1993.

Reprint: octavo; hardcover, with gilt spine titles; 428pp. Minor wear; text block and page edges lightly toned; signed in black ink by the author to the flyleaf. Dustwrapper is mildly edgeworn; now backed by archival-quality white paper and professionally protected by non-adhesive polypropylene film. Near fine. Laid in: a leaf from a sacred bodhi tree.

A reprint of the first indigenous translation of the Book; this copy has been signed by Sogyal Rinpoche.

$150

(75233) Various (Roy Willis, ed.; foreword by Robert Walter), World Mythology - The Illustrated Guide, RD Press/Reader's Digest (Aust.) Pty. Ltd., Surry Hills NSW, 1993.

Quarto; hardcover, with gilt spine titles; 320pp., with many full-colour and monochrome illustrations. Minor wear. Dustwrapper. Near fine.

$45

(73992) J.D. Douglas (ed.), The Illustrated Bible Dictionary - three volumes: A superb three-part dictionary of the Bible filled with pictures, maps and diagrams, most in full colour, Inter-Varsity Press/Tyndale House Publishers/Hodder & Stoughton (Aust.) Pty. Ltd., Lane Cove NSW, 1994.

Reprint: quarto hardcover with illustrated boards; 1,728pp. with maps and many full-colour and monochrome illustrations. Minor wear. No dustwrappers as issued. Very good. 

$75

(76486) David P. Myers & David S. Percy (Mary Bennett, ed.), Two-Thirds - A History of Our Galaxy, Aulis Publishers, London, 1999.

Royal octavo; paperback; 811pp., with many monochrome illustrations. Minor wear. Near fine.

Working from scientific principles, the authors of this mammoth text outline a theory of how the galaxy came to be, how life began on this planet, and how the ancient monuments of Egypt, South America and Britain can provide information concerning heretofore untapped inexhaustible supplies of energy.

$50

(68838) Bangalore Venkata Raman (trans.), Prasna Marga - two volumes, Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Pvt. Ltd., Delhi India, 2003.

Two volumes, octavo; paperback; 1,236pp. [717pp. + 599pp.], text in roman characters and Devanagari script. Moderate wear; covers rubbed and edgeworn; spines creased; wrappers sunned; text block edges lightly toned and dusted; retailer's bookplates to the title pages. Very good.

Foundation texts on yogic philosophy.

$60

(76797) Edouard Shuré (F. Rothwell, trans.), The Priestess of Isis - The Ibis Western Mystery Tradition series, Ibis Press/Nicolas-Hays Inc., Berwick ME, 2004.

Octavo; paperback; 318pp. Minor wear. New.

A novel set in ancient Pompeii focusing upon the mystic lives of several Roman families in the lead up to the explosion of Vesuvius. This historical romance is steeped with the mystical traditions which prevailed at the time, showing their impact upon the daily lives of the people living in the shadow of the volcano.

$20

(76744) Swami Krishnananda, In the Light of Wisdom - the Psychology, Philosophy and Practice of Yoga, The Divine Life Society, Uttaranchal Himalayas India, 2005.

Octavo; hardcover, quarter-bound in cloth with upper board titles; 510pp. Mild wear; a little shaken; spine extremities softened. Dustwrapper is a little rubbed and edgeworn; sunned along the spine panel; now professionally protected by non-adhesive polypropylene film. Very good.

$25

(75495) Kahlil Gibran (Introduction by Joe Jenkins), Kahlil Gibran's "The Prophet" and "The Art of Peace" - The New Illustrated Edition of Kahlil Gibran's Timeless Wisdom, Duncan Baird Publishers, London, 2008.

Octavo; hardcover, bound in full decorated purple silk, with silver-gilt spine and upper board decorations and a lilac ribbon; 272pp. with a full-colour frontispiece and many illustrations likewise. Minor wear. No dustwrapper as issued. Near fine. 

Contains the full text of the "The Prophet", along with "The Garden of the Prophet", "The Madman", "The Forerunner", "Sand and Foam", and "The Wanderer".

$30

(77025) Mario Reading (ed.), The Complete Prophecies of Nostradamus, Watkins Publishing, London, 2009.

Octavo; hardcover, with bronze spine titles and black endpapers; 931pp. Moderate wear; cocked; text block and page edges toned and top edge dusted. Dustwrapper is a little rubbed and edgeworn. Very good.

$25

(75889) Silvia Federici, Witches, Witch-Hunting and Women, PM Press, Oakland CA, 2018.

Octavo; paperback; 106pp. Minor wear. New.

In this feminist revision, Federici looks at the social dynamics of the medieval witch-hunting crazes and compares them to the patriarchal forces arrayed against women in the modern era, discovering that they stem from the same ulterior motives.

$12

(74974) D.W. Pasulka, American Cosmic - UFOs, Religion, Technology, Oxford University Press, New York NY, 2019.

Octavo; hardcover, with silver-gilt spine titles; 269pp., with many monochrome illustrations. Mild wear; a dark stain to the top corner of the upper end of the text block. Dustwrapper. Very good.

"American Cosmic explores the intriguing question of how people interpret unexplainable experiences, and argues that the media are replacing religion as a cultural authority that offers believers answers about non-human intelligent life." 

$25

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Ephemera

(72293) Marietta Walker (ed.), Autumn Leaves, Vol.17, Nos.1-12, Nov. 6, 1903 to Dec. 1904, The Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS Church), Lamoni IA, 1904.

Royal octavo; hardcover, half-bound in cloth with marbled boards, gilt spine titles; 576pp., with 33 monochrome plates and many other illustrations likewise. Mild wear; small tears to some of the pages, now professionally repaired using archival-quality materials. Very good. 

A year's run of this Community of Christ publication for young people, which ran from 1888 to 1929, handsomely bound together. The articles cover many aspects of the missionary activities of the Church of Latter Day Saints, with a particular focus on missionary work performed in the Pacific, New Zealand and Australia, during which Sydney is characterised as the "dirtiest and filthiest place on the planet". References to current events of the period are interesting and sit strangely alongside the many debates which attempt to rebut "objectors" to the Restorationist faith, and which willfully misinterpret much topical archaeological evidence, pulling it in line with the pronouncements of the angel Moroni, as well as the Biblical record.

$75

(75171) George F. Black (ed.), A List of Works Relating to Lycanthropy, New York Public Library, New York NY, 1920.

Royal octavo; paperback, stapled booklet; 8pp. Moderate wear: ex-library; covers sunned rubbed and edgeworn with some marks; dedicatory ink stamp and inscription to the front cover; pencilled library acquisition details to the front cover; some light tearing to the spine head. Very good.

This is most likely the result of an academic exercise, probably the end-product of a PhD thesis. The ink stamp to the front cover reads "With the Author's Compliments" and is a feature often met on articles which have been sent out from a faculty office for peer review. One would like to think that Mr. Black was a qualified werewolf hunter, prepping for battle, but it's probably unlikely...

$120

(75182) [The Great Aim Society], Society Dream Book, Great Aim Society, New York NY, 1925.

Octavo; paperback, stapled booklet, with illustrated wrappers; 32pp. Moderate wear; covers rubbed and edgeworn with some small tears and associated creasing; spine splitting along its length; some pencilled doodles to the covers and some small marks; previous owner's name in ink to the front cover; text block edges toned. Good to very good. Laid in: a contemporary newspaper article, with offset.

$15

(70129) Brad Steiger (August C. Roberts ed.), The Flying Saucer Menace - with 90 Astonishing Photographs: Enemies From Outer Space, Tandem Books/Universal-Tandem Ltd., London, 1967.

First printing: quarto; paperback, stapled booklet with printed wrappers; 64pp., with many monochrome illustrations. Moderate wear; covers rubbed and scuffed with some mild creasing; text block edges toned. Good. All magazines are sealed in archival-quality, 4 mil. Mylar bags and backed by 24pt., precision cut, 100% acid-free boards.

$35

(74204) Robert Hunt, Cornish Customs and Superstitions, Tor Mark Press, Truro Cornwall UK, nd. (c.1981).

Octavo; paperback, stapled booklet; 32pp. Minor wear. Very good.

$15

(72939) Richard Sterling, The Australian Women's Weekly Complete Book of Astrology, Australian Consolidated Press Ltd., Sydney NSW, nd. (1980s).

Quarto; paperback, stapled booklet with illustrated wrappers; 128pp., with many full-colour and monochrome illustrations, some folding. Mild wear; some sunning to the covers; some slight moisture damage to the last few pages. Very good.

$20

(73398) Unknown, Southern Chinese Exorcism Spell, np., nd. (c.1985).

Small landscape folio; paperback, stab-sewn booklet; 12pp., written ms. in a pictographic language using black ink. Mild wear; some rubbing and edgewear. Very good.

Designed to banish unwholesome spirits from a dwelling and to purify the premises, this complex incantation is written in a centuries-old pictographic magical language on handmade paper crafted from mulberry leaves. While created probably around 1985, it stems from an ancient, living tradition, which survives despite political opposition in the Himalayan foothills.

$800

(76648) [UFO Central Home Video Inc.], "The Best UFO Videos of the '90s - The Best Evidence of UFOs Caught On Video!", UFO Central Home Video Inc. Company, Venice CA, 2002.

Pre-recorded video cassette. Very good. 

$15

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Here at Morocco Books and Collectibles, we have a wide range of magazines concerned with esoteric subjects, including the following:

Astrology magazines

Along with copies of Raphael's Ephemerides going back as far as 1920, we have many issues of local circulars and 'zines produced by Antipodean astrological organisations.

$5 each

Fortean Times issues

Carrying the sacred flame of Charles Fort, "The Fortean Times" has been publishing reports of the strange events that have been taking place across the planet - from hauntings to government conspiracies - for many years now, earning themselves the sobriquet "the weirdest newspaper on earth". We have many years worth of issues of this organ, along with a few titles from similarly-themed magazines.

$5 each

*****

NB: All prices are in Australian Dollars (AUD) and DO NOT include postage, which will need to be calculated according to individual circumstances at the time of sale.

Morocco Books and Collectibles is located within the Country of the Dharug and Gundungurra peoples.