[Rarebooks] FS: Frederick Hockley: EXPERIMENTUM. Potens Magna in Occult Philosophy.

[Michael John Thompson]

HOCKLEY, Frederick. EXPERIMENTUM. Potens Magna in 
Occult Philosophy. Compiled and Scribed by 
Frederick Hockley. Bound with A Brief Essay 
Concerning Experimentum by Dan Harms. Transcript 
& Translation of the Text Prepared & Annotated by Dan Harms.

No Place [UK]: The Society of Esoteric Endeavour. No Date [2012].

First Edition, First Printing.

Quarto, original publisher's half blue sheepskin 
leather over marbled paper boards, the spine 
panel titled and decorated in gilt. Housed in 
cloth slipcase edged with same marbled paper used 
for the boards with a row of gilt decoration on 
either side, felt lined. Issued in a limited 
edition of 100 hand-numbered copies, this being 
copy No. 54. 33pp of full colour plates 
reproducing Hockley’s lavishly illustrated 
manuscript, plus 37pp of text by Dan Harms who 
gives a brief Introduction, a full transcript of 
the manuscript (Hockley’s calligraphy looks 
beautiful, but can be hard to read), plus 
commentary and a bibliography. A fine copy in a fine slipcase.

¶ A facsimile reproduction of an original Hockley 
manuscript housed in the Harry Price collection, 
Senate House Library, University of London. 
Collects a number of rituals, giving some a 
powerful visual form, akin to a Mandala. In the 
final ritual, a perilous invocation of Oberion, 
Hockley records the appearance of the spirit in a 
grotesque form - reminiscent of Edvard Munch’s 
"The Scream". This shows Hockley to be an occult 
artist of a status hitherto unrealised in 
publications of his work. One wonders if the 
references to the ritual use of cannabis and 
opium in Experimentum signal tools that Hockley 
used. There are magical procedures for causing 
the destruction of enemies, routing out thievery, 
the magical protection of places and buildings, 
magical fascination, fulfilling sexual desire and 
a perilous invocation of the spirit Oberion. 
There is a strong folkish element hand in hand 
with complex ritual. Hockley gives some spells a 
striking visual forms. Throughout he employs 
calligraphic hands, rather than his usual 
handwriting, making this a visually impressive 
volume. The original manuscript had clearly, at 
some point, been stored in damp conditions. There 
is discolouration, show through and offsetting. 
This has all been reproduced in facsimile. As the 
pages are printed Giclée process, not as photos 
of a book, but so it appears that you actually 
hold an old bound manuscript. The Transcript and 
Commentary is given in a readably calligraphic 
hand sympathetic with Hockley’s styles. A tinted 
paper is used, so the latter section does not 
visually jar with the appearance of age of the 
facsimile section. Dan Harms painstakingly 
searches out Hockley's sources and this throws 
light upon that early 19th Century British occult 
milieu, the Society of the Mecurii, concerning 
whom there is considerable interest.


$ 450.00 Cdn., post extra.

Images here:

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