Book of the Black Dragon Vol 1. Et Nigrum Draconicum: Being the Theory of the Black Dragon (Deluxe Edition of 37 Copies)

[UK]: Atramentous Press, 2020. First Edition. Hardcover in solander box. Quarto. Deluxe Edition of 37 hand-numbered copies only, though the number of this copy is hand-written as #18 of 34 copies. The book is signed by Peter Hamilton-Giles. Book is bound in full black goat with elaborate red and gold foil blocking to front and rear, spine with raised bands with a uniform gilt design in each panel. All edges gilt, red and black head and tail bands, black book ribbon. The solander box is bound in quarter black goat meeting nonpareil marbled paper with vertical gilt decorations along edges of leather. Spine of box has seven raised bands with title and gilt devices to panels. Edges and inside of box are in black velvet with a blind embossed insignia inside on the left hand side. Also included are a sigillic piece of artwork (by Carolyn Hamilton-Giles) which has been drawn from one of the points mentioned in the book. Printed on 120 gsm Munken Rough. 415 pages. Full page illustrations by Carolyn Hamilton-Giles, plus additional seals and sigils. An exceptional example of esoteric book art. All components are in fine condition. The first volume of a proposed three volume work on the Black Dragon which addresses the sorcery associated with the dirt track road, which must forever be adumbrated by the outer precinct of the crooked path, for this inner sanctum presents the dirt ridden yet adamantine road which leads to the Black Dragon and the great mystery of telluric sorcery. It began as a realisation of a work that was formed by the Dragon’s Column, this being the working group that went on to contribute towards Andrew Chumbley writing The Dragon Book of Essex. Setting the stage for the Black Dragon began by discussing the context in which the Black Dragon is encountered. Using the same schema as the one used in the Dragon Book of Essex, the written word moves across ‘power’ points or crossroads, these being body parts of the Black Dragon. Directly referring to Draconis the book creates an inverted rendition, one where the onus is set by earth dragon mysteries rather than stellar. This in turn refers directly to the ancestral connection the books has with those who are forgotten. Consequently, a new retinue of daemons, conduits, and djinn introduce themselves to the reader as points of contact, by which we can evoke and invoke non-being: something which is completely Other to ourselves. Such is the strength of this emphasis that the first volume details points leading up to the head of the Black Dragon. Providing this level of clarity means the location of the work, the Proklosis Ring also requires further attention, and this is to be addressed in the second volume of the series, Codex Althaeban Malik.