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"May blessings be upon the head of Cadmus, the Phoenicians, or whoever it was that invented books." -Thomas Carlyle

Welcome to my virtual book collection. Since collecting actual books is somewhat cost-prohibitive, I've begun to amass all of the books I would love to have if I had the means. Some are new, lots are old, all are unique or beautiful or unusual or in some other way have captured my fancy. Enjoy browsing!

Special Collections: Fine Bindings ~ Fairies and Fairy Tales ~ Terror and Madness ~ Poetry ~ Food, Drink and Apothecary ~ Science Fiction ~ Illuminations, Lettering and Hand-Coloring ~ Magic ~ Supernatural and Occult ~ Alchemy ~ Science and Technical ~ Maritime ~ Costumes ~ Humor ~ Children's books ~ Legend of King Arthur ~ Americana ~ 18th Century ~ 19th Century

Authors and illustrators: Edgar Allan Poe ~ Jules Verne ~ Edmund Dulac ~ Kay Nielsen ~ Arthur Rackham ~ Edward Gorey ~ Charles Dickens ~ H.P. Lovecraft ~ William Hope Hodgson ~ Mark Twain ~ Lewis Carroll ~ Salvador Dali ~ George Cruikshank ~ Emily Dickinson ~ Geoffrey Chaucer ~ H.G. Wells

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MENGUS, Hieronymus.
Flagellum daemonum, se exorcismi terribiles, potentissimi, & efficaces;
Bologna, for Ioannes Rossius, 1578.

First Latin edition of this work about exorcism and demonology, originally written by Hieronymus Mengus, or Gerolamo Menghi in Italian. Mengus was the most famous Italian exorcist, and even the official exorcist of the bishop of Bologna. The book is a practical guide of how demons should be interrogated to receive information from them. Mengus writes that demons can live in a human body, that they fight with each other, and that the infidelity of the exorcists can obstruct the deliverance of the possessed. The catholic ritual of exorcism was long and complicated, made of formules, prayers, blessings with sacred water and unctions with sacred oil.