[Rarebooks] FS: THE GRIMOIRE OR BOOK OF SPELLS OF POPE HONORIUS

[Michael John Thompson]

ANONYMOUS.

THE GRIMOIRE OR BOOK OF SPELLS OF POPE HONORIUS.

UK: The Society For Esoteric Endeavour. 2006.

First Printing of this Edition, a reproduction of 
a 19th Century Manuscript which belonged to F.G 
Irwin, a member of Societas Rosicruciana in 
Anglia, The Society of Eight, the Fratres Lucis 
and the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. Issued 
in a very limited edition of just 65 
hand-numbered copies, of which this is copy 
number 40. Octavo, bound in green cloth over 
beveled boards with a full green morocco leather 
spine, an oval title label mounted on the front 
panel that has been titled and decorated in gilt, 
& hand-marbled endpapers. 204 pp. The original 
manuscript, of which this is a facsimile, had 
been bound into a book. This was disbound and 
each individual sheet was reproduced onto pure 
cotton paper - even the blank leaves and the 
slight foxing that affect them have been 
reproduced. The sheets were then hand-sewn 
copying the arrangements of the signatures in the 
original. The text block was then cased in a 
quarter Moroccan goatskin binding with 
traditional bookcloth. The boards are beveled and 
there is a leather title label gilt blocked with 
23½ carat gold leaf. The edges of the title label 
are embedded into the board. The endpapers are of 
hand-made Cockerell marbled paper. A bookplate of 
the Society of Esoteric Endeavour identifies the 
limitation and the number of each copy. The 
bookplate of F.G Irwin has been reproduced and that is also tipped in.

A fine copy of a fine facsimile of a remarkable 
manuscript. On publication, subscribers could 
purchase this book with or without a slipcase. 
This copy is in a very special case - a 
top-loading fleece-lined solander case, much 
different & far superior to any others we have 
seen on this title. The case has marbled paper 
boards, the front & rear sides are mounted with 
bevel-edged panels of green morocco leather, both 
sides bearing the title labels as on the front 
cover of the book; the spine panel has a finely 
printed paper title label; all with a 
snug-fitting top of marbled paper over board. 
This is obviously a deluxe issue of the slipcase, 
making this a very special copy of the book. Both 
the book and the slipcase are in fine / as new 
condition. It should be noted that this was the 
first book issued under the imprint of The Society for Esoteric Endeavour.

¶ The text is in two parts. The first is a 
Grimoire of Ceremonial Magic and Demonic 
Invocation written in 17th Century France and 
spuriously attributed to the much earlier Pope. 
Most are conjurations for Lucifer though a great 
range of daemonic names are given. It must be 
said that the rituals are very extreme and likely 
violate modern sensibilities. The second part is 
very different, being a collection of spells 
drawn from various sources, two being named 
individuals. Many of the spells use Christian 
words of powers in other cases the powers invoked 
are obscure and even demonic. Most are for 
healing but some are ambiguous. Some are clearly 
folk-magic, recording the spells of cunning men 
and witches. One spell, which is attributed to a 
minister, is a brief spell to obtain your desires 
involving a psychoactive dose of nutmeg and 
unfamiliar words of power. Another summons the 
shade of a dead person by planting beans in 
orifices of a skull, with the practitioner being 
able to share in the spirit’s invisibility by 
placing a similar bean his mouth. The original 
manuscript is unique in many ways, and this is 
the finest reproduction available.              $1,850.00 US

Images are available here:

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