ALBERTUS MAGNUS Egyptian Secrets White & Black Art Occult Magic Wehman Scarce For Sale

ALBERTUS MAGNUS. Being the Approved, Verified, Sympathetic and Natural Egyptian Secrets; or, White and Black Art for Man and Beast. The Book of Nature and the Hidden Secrets and Mysteries of Life Unveiled; Being the Forofferden Knowledge of Ancient Philosophers. Translated from the German. New York: Wehman Bros., undated, early twentieth century.

A wonderfully evocative American edition of the celebrated Albertus Magnus / Egyptian Secrets tradition: a compendium of folk magic, charms, remedies, protective spells, occult recipes, divination, witchcraft lore, animal cures and what the title unabashedly advertises as “White and Black Art for Man and Beast.”

The book belongs to the long-lived American tradition of inexpensive occult and magical manuals descended from German-language Hausbücher and books of secrets. Works issued under the name Albertus Magnus combined practical household remedies with supernatural procedures, charms and magical protections, and circulated widely among communities preserving European folk beliefs.

This edition is especially attractive as an artifact of the American popular occult trade. The striking printed wrapper bears the original “PRICE $1.00” and prominently advertises:

ALBERTUS MAGNUS
EGYPTIAN SECRETS
White and Black Art for Man and Beast

The title page describes its contents in suitably sensational fashion as the “Forofferden Knowledge of Ancient Philosophers,” attributed to a philosopher, chemist, naturalist, astrologer, alchemist, metallurgist, sorcerer and “Witchcraft” practitioner.

Among the extraordinary subjects advertised or indexed are:

• protection against evil spirits
• methods for recovering stolen property
• charms against weapons and shooting
• methods of detecting or compelling a thief
• witchcraft and “diabolical mischief”
• protections for men, women and animals
• remedies for wounds, burns, diseases and toothache
• cures and charms for horses and cattle
• methods for driving away vermin
• complexion preparations
• divination and folk medicine
• recipes involving sympathetic and magical practices

The surviving final index is headed “INDEX TO VOLUME III” and extends through page 160, indicating the multi-part arrangement of the text.

The title page is stamped:

BOOKS FROM WEHMAN BROS.
377–4th Ave., New York, N.Y.

A genuinely interesting piece of American occult, folk-magic and grimoire publishing, and an appealing survivor despite its rough condition.

Poor / heavily worn but substantially intact as an object, and offered for its scarcity and content.

The original printed paper wrappers are present but extremely fragile. Front wrapper heavily soiled and worn, with chipping and losses around the edges and spine. Rear wrapper has extensive surface loss and a large irregular area of missing paper, exposing the final index leaf beneath. Spine covering substantially deteriorated with exposed binding material and loose/frayed portions.

Text leaves are strongly toned and brittle, with edge chips, tears, occasional losses and staining. The final index leaf shown has substantial losses along the lower and left margins, including some loss of printed text. Corners throughout are worn and chipped.

The binding remains together in the photographs, but the book should be handled very carefully because of the brittleness of the paper and wrappers.

Please examine all photographs closely; they form an important part of the condition description. Sold as a fragile antiquarian occult publication in distressed condition.

This is exactly the sort of inexpensive publication that was used rather than preserved. Copies surviving with their sensational original wrappers are considerably more interesting than later modern reprints. The Wehman Bros. imprint also places it firmly within the world of late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century American popular publishing: dream books, fortune-telling manuals, magic books, conjuring texts and other inexpensive esoterica.

Its combination of folk medicine, witchcraft, protective magic, spells for thieves and weapons, animal charms and “white and black art” gives it strong crossover appeal to collectors of occultism, American folk magic, grimoires, witchcraft, Pennsylvania-German magical traditions and popular ephemera.