Rare books from MagicWorldBooks

M. Oldfield Howey - The Cat in the Mysteries of Religion and Magic - London, Rider & Co, 1930 - First Edition - Hardcover - 254pp - 23x16 cmCondition Good: Publishers stamp and erased name on title page. Book shows some signs of use, binding has a small split but the book feels solid. No other issues, a great book for it's age.An overview of the various beliefs and customs relating to cats through the ages from ancient Egypt to current superstition. All aspects are dealt with, there being chapters of 'Freya and her Cat', 'Witches in Cat Form', 'The Cat in Paradise', 'The Cat's Nine Lives', 'The Corn Cat', and so on. If you have any questions or want to see more pictures, feel free to ask.Your book will be securely packed and shipped with tracking number, signed & insured.

C.W. Leadbeater - The World-Mother as Symbol and Fact - Adyar (India) - Theosophical Publishing House, 1928 - First Edition - Hardcover - 67pp - 19x13 cmCondition Good: Small bookseller label in front, maybe the book has new end papers? I'm not sure. Cover has some light damage at corners and edges, some very faint underlining and marking, small split in the middle ( please see pictures). The binding is good (despite the small split) and the book shows little signs of use.If you have any questions or want to see more pictures, feel free to ask.Your book will be securely packed and shipped with tracking number, signed & insured.

Ralph Houlbrooke - Death, Ritual and Bereavement - London, Routledge, 1989 - First Edition - Hardcover with dust jacket - 250 pp - 22x14 cmCondition: Perfect, as new.Death, Ritual and Bereavement examines the social history of death and dying from 1500 to the 1930s. The book focuses on the death-bed, funerals, burials, mourning customs and the expression of grief. Seems to be the only first edition available worldwide.If you have any questions or want to see more pictures, feel free to ask.Your book will be securely packed and shipped with tracking number, signed & insured.

Ahmad ibn Majid al-Sadi, G.R. Tibbetts - Arab Navigation in the Indian Ocean before the coming of the Portuguese - London, The Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland; Luzac and Company Ltd, 1971 - First Edition - Hardcover - 614pp + 4 maps (out of 7)- 22x14 cmCondition Very Good: Cover some light shelf wear, inside as new. Four out of seven maps present: Chart of the Arabian Sea, India and the Bay of Bengal, Red Sea and Gulf of Eden, East African CoastIf you have any questions or want to see more pictures, feel free to ask.Your book will be securely packed and shipped with tracking number, signed & insured.

H.P. Blavatsky - Theosophical Glossary; Preface by G.R.S Mead - London, The Theosophical Publishing Society, 1892 - First Edition - Hardcover - 389pp - 25x18 cmCondition Good: cover some traces of use, name inside, some spotting. A small split in front and back but binding still firm and everything attached, no notes or writing. This is a very rare original first edition of this book.

Tragos Magicos - Santiago Policastro (Pichin) - 1977, 2nd Edition, Spanish & English - Hardcover - 221pp - 21x15cmInserted is a autographed business card from Pampero Rum for which he worked over 30 years.(see pictures for details.)Condition Good: Some small white spots on the back of the cover, some pages have a line as if the page was folded while printing the book (please see picture)One of the most famous books about cocktails in the world, this book from Pichin is a real treatise on the subject. In this book 400 cocktails from the gallant bartender in Spanish & English accompanied with some beautiful artwork. This book is a real collectors item and almost impossible to find, it's probably the only book available for sale worldwide.If you have any questions or want to see more pictures, feel free to ask.Your book will be securely packed and shipped with tracking number, signed & insured.

Lewis Carroll - Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass - Stockholm, The Continental Book Company, 1946 - First Edition - Softcover with Dust jacket- 349pp - 18x12 cmCondition Very Good: Dust jacket some minor damage at the spine, letters at spine faded. Book in great condition with no issues at all.If you have any questions or want to see more pictures, feel free to ask.Your book will be securely packed and shipped with tracking number, signed & insured.

J. De Hermoso - Impressions de Toreros - Paris, Eugène Figuiere, 1927 - First Edition - Softcover - 127 pp + 10 plates - 23x19 cmWith dedication from J. De HermosoCondition Good: Name on cover and spine ( Laurent Tailhade, who did the foreword), corners bend and some general signs of use. The book is complete, all art in good condition, binding good. The book contains 10 stories with text in French and Spanish. Vignette and 10 illustrations specially created for the work by J.-A. Gibert, Emilien Barthelemy, Marcel Poggioli, Jean Diffre, Arnold Beauvais, Léo Lelée, Jean Roque, Marius Barret, Valère Bernard, Stanislas Torrents. If you have any questions or want to see more pictures, feel free to ask.Your book will be securely packed and shipped with tracking number, signed & insured.

Major-General E.B. Ashmore - Air Defence - London, Longmans Green & Co, 1929 - Hardcover - First Edition - 179pp + map - 22x15 cmCondition Very Good: Cover a few dirty spots, pencil note inside at the back. Some pages have been marked with a small cross in pencil. No other issues: tight, complete (with map) and in very good shape for such an old book.Major-General Ashmore was the leading figure in the air defence of the United Kingdom, founding what would eventually become the Royal Observer Corps. He was appointed to devise improved systems of detection, communication and control. A system to be called the Metropolitan Observation Service was created which covered the London area and was known as the London Air Defence Area.On 29 October 1925 the Observer Corps came into official existence. Major-General Ashmore was regarded as the first commander of the Observer Corps in all but name during 1925 and he is deemed to be the Corps' founder. If you have any questions or want to see more pictures, feel… Read More

Le Tour du Monde de Deux Gosses - Comte Henri de la Vault et Arnould Galopin, illustrated by E. Bouard & Paul Thiriat - Paris, Librairie Illustrée, Jules Tallandier Éditeur, 1908 - First Edition - Hardcover - 480pp - 32x25 cm (large book)État très bon: Couverture en très bon état avec seulement la colonne vertébrale blanchie, illustration de la couverture en bon état avec seulement des dommages mineurs. L'intérieur du livre ne présente pratiquement aucune trace d'utilisation, seuls les coins inférieurs de certaines pages ont été légèrement pliés. Le livre est propre, sans inscriptions ni noms, illustrations en parfait état, reliure solide.Condition Very Good: Cover in great condition with only the spine bleached, cover illustration in good condition with only minor damage. The inside of the book has almost no traces of use, only the bottom corners of some pages has been slightly bend. The book is clean, no inscriptions or names, illustrations in perfect condition, binding strong.If… Read More

Ethel Roskruge - The Humpty Dumpty Toy Book; My Toys - London, Treherne, ca. 1900 - 2nd Edition - 83pp (heavy card stock) - 8x8 cm (Three inches square)Condition Very Good: There is a small split in front which makes the first few pages a bit loose. Otherwise no issues at all; cover in great condition, pages clean, illustration bright - a charming little book.If you have any questions or want to see more pictures, feel free to ask.Your book will be securely packed and shipped with tracking number, signed & insured.

Alice B. Toklas - The Alice B. Toklas Cook Book; illustrations by Sir Francis Rose - London, Michael Joseph, 1954 - First Edition - Hardcover - 288pp - 23x15cmCondition Good: Cover worn and faded. Throughout the book some signs of use: this book really has been used but all pages are clean, no names or writing, binding good. Alice Babette Toklas (1877-1967) was the life partner of American writer Gertrude Stein. They lived together as part of the Parisian avant-garde from the day they met in 1907 until Stein's death. Between the wars, their Paris home was a salon for the leading writers and artists of the day, including Ernest Hemingway, Alfred North Whitehead, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Picasso, Thornton Wilder, Sherwood Anderson, Matisse, Gris, Braque and Ford Maddox Ford. This book contains a melange of reminiscences and recipes, celebrating the food and kitchen aspects of Toklas' life with Gertrude Stein and contains the Surrealist artist Brion Gysin's infamous recipe for hashish fudge (expurgated… Read More

Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh - The Sun Behind the Sun Behind the Sun; a Darshan Diary - India, Rajneesh Foundation, 1980 - 1st Edition - Hardcover with dust jacket - 615pp - 22x15 cmCondition Very Good: Dust jacket some minor damage at corners and edges, pages a bit yellowed. Otherwise almost as new, no names or writing, tight, probably unread. Only 5000 printed for this first edition.If you have any questions or want to see more pictures, feel free to ask.Your book will be securely packed and shipped with tracking number, signed & insured.

Percy Bysshe Shelley - Epipsychidion . A Type Fac-Simile Reprint of the original Edition first published in 1821. With an Introduction by the Rev. Stopford A. Brooke and a Note by Algernon Charles Swinburne. Edited by Robert Alfred Potts - London, The Shelley Society, 1887 - Limited Edition (500 copies) - Hardcover- LVXI+31pp - 23x15 cmCondition Good: Cover some light damage and a bit dirty, pages roughly cut. No other issues - binding tight, pages clean, complete.Epipsychidion is a major poetical work published in 1821. The theme of the work is a meditation on the nature of ideal love. Epipsychidion opens with an invocation to Emilia as a spiritual sister of the speaker. He addresses her as a "captive bird" for whose nest his poem will be soft rose petals. He calls her an angel of light, the light of the moon seen through mortal clouds, a star beyond all storms. If you have any questions or want to see more pictures, feel free to ask.Your book will be securely packed and shipped with tracking… Read More

J.A. MacCulloch - The Religion of the Ancient Celts - Edinburgh, T&T Clark, 1911 - First Edition - Hardcover - 399pp - 23x15 cmCondition Very Good - The cover is looking great for such an old book. Name inside, some occasional spotting and a few notes/underlining (especially the first chapters) but most of the book is clean with a solid binding.In this book J.A. MacCulloch presents a different view of the ancient Celts as he dives into their mysterious world. The book touches on the sagas, worships, festivals, influencers, magic, and the transition of eras from Pagan to Christianity, and ideals. Providing a cultural investigation into why they once worshipped mountains, knolls, rivers, lakes, forests, and how the druids who were the ritual providers of the time were seen as shaman, priest, and magician who officiated over sacred rites and spaces for the dead.One of the most complete and referred books about this subject and impossible to find as First Edition, it seems this books hasn't been available… Read More