Author: Francis Barrett
Title: The Magus. 1875
Publication: London: L. A. Lewis, 1875
Edition: Second Edition
Description: 3/4 leather with gilt
(1), [XV], 175pp., 198pp. (2)
[11.5 x 9.25 inches]
[English]
Very Good. The Magus: Barrett’s Landmark Occult Manual (1875).
Personal copy of Mark Twain’s illustrator and Boy Scouts pioneer Daniel C. Beard.
Francis Barrett
The Magus, or Celestial Intelligencer, being a Complete System of Occult Philosophy. 1875 second edition.
Publisher: L. A. Lewis, London
Quarto
(1), [XV], 175pp., 198pp. (2)
[11.5 x 9.25 inches]
[English]
Very Good
The Magus is a monumental work of the occult sciences, covering subjects including alchemy, the cabalistic arts, celestial magic, Hermetic philosophy, and related traditions. The work is divided into three parts bound into a single volume. First printed in 1801, it draws heavily on earlier authorities such as Cornelius Agrippa, Zoroaster, John Dee, and Paracelsus.
Francis Barrett was an English occultist active in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Although his life was short, it was marked by intense study and practice of occult philosophy, Kabbala, and metaphysics.
Notably, the book contains an advertisement for a school founded by Barrett, likely intended to cultivate a private circle of students. On page 140 of Book II, Barrett announces his intention to open a school for instruction in Natural Philosophy, Natural Magic, the Cabala, and Astrology, inviting those disposed toward virtue to attend at 99 Norton Street, Mary-le-bone, between the hours of eleven and two.
Provenance: This copy bears the bookplate of Daniel Carter Beard, pasted to the inside front cover, featuring his familiar spade device with the Old English motto “Much Digging, Little Need.” Beard frequently used this spade motif in his own illustrations, making the identification certain. Daniel C. Beard was a prominent American author, illustrator, and youth leader, founder of the Sons of Daniel Boone in 1905, later absorbed into the Boy Scouts of America in 1910. He served for decades as one of the first National Scout commissioners. As an illustrator, he worked on Mark Twain’s A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court and The American Claimant, and later authored numerous books on outdoor life while editing Boys’ Life magazine.
Beard’s ownership of an occult work is consistent with his lifelong involvement in Freemasonry. Initiated in 1899 and later honored as a Mason-at-Sight by the Grand Lodge of New York, Beard was deeply interested in symbolism, ritual, and allegorical traditions. His connection to Freemasonry is still recognized through the Daniel Carter Beard Masonic Scouter Award, presented annually.
Bound in half leather over deep maroon marbled paper boards, with gilt titles and decorative gilt to the spine depicting the Magi riding his dragon. Illustrated with five full-color plates of demons, identifying this as the 1875 edition, as the 1801 edition contains only four plates. Seventeen black-and-white illustrations appear throughout the text. The Daniel C. Beard bookplate is flanked by two early typed seller descriptions pasted to the inside front cover, likely dating to the early twentieth century. A newspaper clipping titled “On the Left Hand Path,” from the National Review, is tipped in at page 31, with a handwritten note reading “N.Y. Times Sunday October 6th 1989.”
It is in Very Good condition. The binding is slightly cocked, with heavy shelf wear to the boards, rubbed corners and edges, and a small two-inch split to the top front board. The spine shows fading, with a split running through the word “Barrett.” Internally, some gatherings are loosening at the top. The plate list bears pencil notes. There is light toning to the margins, with heavier toning to the first and last pages only. A mark appears across the top of pages four and five in part two. The first colored plate has “Dan” written in pencil at the lower margin. The gathering at part two, pages 41–48, is detached at the bottom and loose at the top but remains in place. Another gathering is loose at the top of pages 57–80. Very Good.
Seller ID: 27