The History of Magic by Kurt Seligmann

Published by Pantheon Books in New York, this hardcover edition from the 1950s features 504 pages of rich content. The book is bound in black cloth, adorned with a blind-stamped sigil on the cover and gold lettering on the spine, complemented by black-and-white illustrations and an index. Originally titled “The Mirror of Magic” and released in 1948, this reprint captures the essence of magical beliefs throughout history, spanning ancient, medieval, and modern times.

Kurt Seligmann (1900–1962), a Swiss-American Surrealist artist, was deeply engaged in the study of the occult and is known for his strikingly bizarre imagery. Tragically, he passed away from an accidental self-inflicted gunshot wound in 1962. Notably, this book was recommended by the Australian occultist Rosaleen Norton as essential reading.

This particular copy comes from the collection of Dr. M. H. Coleman, featuring his ex-libris seal blind-stamped on the front free endpaper. While the spine ends show slight wear and the page edges are darkened and discolored, the text remains unmarked. Overall, it is a solid Very Good + copy, housed in a Good + dust jacket that exhibits some rubbing, chipping at the edges, and old tape repairs on the verso. The dust jacket is not price clipped and is now protected by a removable mylar sleeve.