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Reprint. (First published London: John Murray, 1830; first American editn. New York: Harper's 1830.) Hard cover, 24mo in publisher's original coarse black cloth, the boards plain, with Gothic architectural vignette in gilt to the spine with the series title; THE FAMILY LIBRARY/ No. 11" within, and the title "LETTERS ON/DEMONOLOGY/AND/WITCHCRAFT" near foot of spine. Tissue-guarded frontispiece engraving titled "The Bow, Edinburgh, Home of Major Weir," identified artist, "J. Skene" and engraver "S.H. Gimber." Frontispiece appears to be a copy of the John Murray original (that was engraved by Edinburgh's William Lizars,) although noticeably altered to not be a nighttime scene. Perhaps the original was thought too spooky for the Family Library? Bow Street, remnants of the original medieval quarter of the city, still exists in the Edinburgh city center. It is illustrated here in relation to Scott's recounting of the ghostly tale of "The Wizard of the West Bow, Major Thomas Weir (1599-1670), "presumed occultist and the last man executed for witchcraft in Scotland, " as detailed in Letter IX. The contents are a good anthology of stories spanning pre-Roman Celtic and Norse traditions, Irish and Celtic folklore of fairies and banshies, ghosts, witches, warlocks, charm-casters and fortune tellers. The Salem witchcraft trials are mentioned, as well as traditions in Spain, Finland and France. The connection between persecution of witches and political, personal and religious expediency is drawn. Stories about Scottish castles feature widely. Astrology of William Lilly is mentioned. In all, "belief in the crime" of witchcraft "becomes forgotten."CONDITION: Very Good Plus, or better. Exterior is very clean and sharp with one small dent lower rear board. Inside, some browning to endpapers, ownership signature in pencil dated 1830, tissue guard and pages are lightly age toned. Hinges and joints in order. Edges a bit dusty. Slight lean. Overall, in nice condition. COLLATION: [2], un-numbered frontis. illus., title,[blank], [vii]-xi (misnumbered,) [13]-338, plus 1p. publisher's series advertising, [3]pp.**This popular title was not only reprinted in America, but also translated into French and Italian within a decade of its first appearance. Written by the Scottish "Waverley" novelist, SIR WALTER SCOTT (1771-1832) as a series of letters to his son-in-law, J.G. LOCKHART (1794-1854). Lockhart was editor of the Murray's Family Library Series, a series of 80 titles published in London between 1829 and 1847. (These were inexpensive editions at the affordable price of 5 shillings.) Lockhart had married Sophia, eldest daughter of Sir Walter Scott, and resided with her in a small house on the Waverley novelist's Abbotsford estate in the Scottish borders while Scott was still alive. ** Proposed as a "popular miscellany" by the Author, rather than an exhaustive scholarly tome, the book is organized by a series of letters, or chapters, on a variety of associated topics. These include a general introduction to tales of the spiritual realm, such as the ghost tales found onboard ships and the fields of battle, somnambulism and the like. This book was actually one of the last published by Sir Walter Scott, during a time when he had suffered a number of seemingly insurmountable personal and financial setbacks. A "mistake of a trade connection" with the publishers at Ballantyne of Edinburgh (in 1826) had threatened the Author with the shame of bankruptcy; instead, he took on 130,000 British Pounds of debt. As memoirist Henry Morley said," no tale of physical strife could be as heroic as the story of the close of Scott's life, with five years of a death-struggle against adversity, animated by the truest sense of honour." (p. 7) The recent death of his wife of thirty years deeply affected him and perhaps brought on a morbid spiritualism. But Scott also foresaw the nearing of his own demise at this period; an attack of apolexy (or a stroke) in 1830 would lead to his death on 21st Sept., 1832 "The slight softening of the brain found after death had then begun...it gave to Scott's "Letters on Demonology" (written within a month of the seizure) what is for us now a pathetic charm." ( ibid.,p.6). H. Morley," Introduction" to "Letters on Witchcraft and Demonology..." ( London. G. Routledge and Sons, 1887.) Watson 677. (AMJ)
Ref: GHOST 9714
$265.00