The Old Book of Magic

About this book

The promise of an old spell book lies partly in its diagrams. A symbol appears to offer protection, an invocation promises influence, and a title claims secrets older than any living reader.

The Old Book of Magic belongs to the popular occult publishing trade associated with L. W. de Laurence. Its charms and formulas should be examined for their textual sources, which publishers of this kind often rearranged without clear attribution. The illustrations remain compelling examples of how mysterious authority could be manufactured with typography, sacred names and the careful staging of a printed page.