March 4-6, 2021
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A selection of books for the California Virtual Book Fair March 4-6, 2021 DEBORAH COLTHAM RARE BOOKS 0044 (0)1732 887252 [email protected] 1. ARESCHOUG, John Erh. ALGÆ SCANDINAVICÆ EXSICCATÆ Fasciculus primus [-Fascisculus secundus], in quo continentur... Gothoburgi, excudit M. Prytz. Venditur Lundae apud C. W. K. Gleerup. 1840. Two parts in one volume, small folio; I. ff. [1] title-page, [1] blank, 25 samples on 13 leaves, sample 25 in small paper envelope, sample 17 no longer present; II. ff. [1] title-page and ‘Fautori’, [1] blank, a further 25 samples (nos 26-50) on 12 leaves, samples 41, 47 and 50 in envelopes; each sample with small typed label mounted below; a number of samples somewhat fragile, so only partially remaining, but predominantly intact; some offsetting caused by samples, notably to first title-page; small hole in first blank, paper a little browned throughout with some occasional minor finger-soiling; with a few small neat manuscript corrections in brown ink; in contemporary blue paper-backed boards, title in ink on spine, head and tail of spine bumped, joints a little rubbed and worn with minor loss of paper, most prominent at tail of upper joint, some minor dampstaining evident, covers lightly spotted and scuffed, extremities a little rubbed and worn; three contemporary signatures on front paste-down, two dated 1843 and 1847, though neatly crossed out; a good copy. £850 A rare, albeit somewhat fragile, mid 19th century scientifically published album of Scandinavian algae specimens, containing 50 mounted dried examples, gathered by the noted botanist and phycologist John Areschoug (1811 - 1887), Associate professor of botany in Lund from 1839, and professor of botany at Uppsala from 1859, and who made a special study of algal flora of Scandinavian coastlines and of the Bohuslän archipelago in particular. He was one of the first at Uppsala to give practical lessons in microscopy. The red algae genus Areschougia from the the family Areschougiaceae is named in his honour. The delicate samples have each been carefully mounted on paper, with some of the smaller examples folded into smaller paper envelopes for added protection - 25, 41, 47 and 50, with 41 and 47 seemingly microscopic slide preparations. Only sample 17 appears missing, though a number of samples are only partially complete, emphasising the fragility of such collections. At the bottom of each leaf has been mounted a printed label, giving the number, name, physical and geographical location, and month in which they were collected: ‘1. Fucus serratus Linn. Mollsund Bahsusiae – Aug’. For the most part, however, the specimens still retain their vibrant colour and texture, a great variety of species on display, of various shapes and sizes, some being almost transparent, others far more robust, with a couple partially calcified. They retain an elegance and beauty, and one can easily imagine them once floating in the sea. Further parts were to follow, all of which are scarce, the third part containing samples 51-84 being published in the following year, though which is not present here. In total, according to the University of Auckland, the series ran to 12 volumes, concluding in 1879, although we have so far found no other examples of later issues. A contemporary review in Botaniska Notiser för å 1839 och 1840 (1841) provides some interesting insight into the issues surrounding the publication of such a work, stating that Areschough had previously attempted to published a dried collection of Scandinavian algae, but which did not reach ‘bookstores on the ground that he did not have a sufficient number of instructive specimens of all the species’. He therefore began a new collection, of ‘well-chosen’ specimens, in the words of the reviewer. He is probably best remembered for his 1850 work Phyceae Scandinavicae Merinae. See R.E. Fries, 1950, A Short History of Botany in Sweden; OCLC notes parts I- III at the New York Public Library, with the New York Botanical Garden library having 9 parts, and Auckland noting 12 volumes in 9, concluding in 1879. Attacked by Goblins - psychotic hallucinations or Demonic possession? 2. BERBIGUIER DE TERRE-NEUVE DU THYM, Alexis-Vincent-Charles. LES FARFADETS ou tous les demons ne sont pas de l'autre monde. Paris, Chez l'Auteur et P. Gueffier... et chez tous les Marchands de nouveautés des quatre parties du Monde. 1821. Three volumes, 8vo; pp. lciv, 1 - 176, 173-362; pp. 463, [1] blank; pp. 477, [1]; with three lithograph frontispieces and a further 6 (one folding) lithographs; aside from some occasional light foxing and marginal browning, generally clean and crisp, though with a couple of small burn holes (Vol. II, p. 15, and Vol. III p. 209), a small paper flaw affecting upper blank gutter of Vol. I p. 281, with a few neat marginal repairs (Vol. I, p. 82, Vol. II, pp. 186-8, 265-7, 317-9, 461-4, and Vol. III half-title), with upper gutter of Vol. III pp. 67-69 nicked; recently rebound in modern calf, with new labels in red and green on spine, lettered in gilt. £1,600 First edition of this extraordinary work, of note for the striking plates drawn by Quinart and lithographed by Langlumé, and considered by many to be one of the strangest publications of the 19th century. Alexis-Vincent- Charles Berbiguier (1765-ca. 1851) ‘believed himself to be plagued by a host of demons whom he referred to as farfadets (”goblins”). He claimed not only to have been repeatedly victimized by these demons (among other things, they were responsible for the death of his pet squirrel, Coco), but he also allegedly carried out extensive correspondence with them, both sending and receiving letters from the various emissaries of Hell. Berbiguier wrote and illustrated his three-volume autobiography and published it between the years of 1818 and 1821, for the benefit of others who might learn how to battle with demons through his own experiences. He titled the massive, rambling work, Les Farfadets... (Goblins, or Not All Demons are from the other world)’ (Belanger, p. 69). For some time he was treated by Philippe Pinel (1745-1826) at the famous Hôpital de la Salpêtrière, but without success, indeed Berbiguier coming to believe that Pinel himself, was a ‘representative of the Devil’ (Vol. I. p. 4), Pinel coming under frequent attack throughout the work, and accused of colluding with occult forces. Limited to a small print run, Berbiguier eventually destroyed almost all of the copies after publication, though whether from remorse or from fear of retribution from the forces of evil, remains unknown to this day. This rare and curious ‘autobiography’ has given rise to numerous studies and publications, both from a medical and literary point of view. The work is discussed at length by Massimo Introvigne in Satanism: A social History (ff. 74): ‘In 1821, Alexis-Vincent-Charles Berbiguier published a book... that few approved of but many read. In elegant Paris of the Restoration, reading Berbiguier became almost an obligation. References to him by several contemporary authors show the popularity of Berbiguier, later usually listed among the “cranks” or simply consigned to psychiatry... Les Farfadets...is, effectively, a paradoxical and wonderful work, which deserves its fame. The portrait decorating the first of Berbiguier’s three volumes, a marvellous lithography that became a rarity sought by bibliographers, portrays him as the “scourge of the farfadets”. Farfadet in French, means “leprechaun”, but the author defined farfadets as “the élite secret service of Beelzebub”. Although the demons themselves are occasionally defined by Berbiguier as farfadets too, there is no doubt, through his three volumes, comprising almost one thousand five-hundred pages, that most farfadets are human beings, who became “agents” of the Devil and Satanists. The work of Berbiguier opens with an erudite introduction, a Preliminary Discourse that was probably written by François-Vincent Raspail (1794-1878) who, together with lawyer J. B. P. Brunel (1789-1859), edited Berbiguier’s manuscript giving it a literary form... Theology and experience, Berbiguier argued, prove not only that the Devil does exist, but also that there are men and (more often) women who bond with him through a demonic pact... Animated by the Devil, farfadets can manipulate nature, causing rain and snow, and invisibly sneak into the houses of their victims. The can also modify the behaviour of animals and even “animate” inanimate things. The pious man can however defeat Satanists through prayer and the use of herbs such as laurel and thyme, where are feared by the devils themselves. The first volume portrays the poor Berbiguier, who at the age of thirty- two moved from his birthplace in Carpentras, where he was born in 1764, to Avignon. He worked there as an employee for the Lottery, and then as the bursar in the Hospice of Saint Martha. One of the housemaids convinced him to consult tarot cards with a soothsayer known as “La Mansotte”. This initial excursion into occultism was the event that “put him in the hands of the farfadets” and was the source of all evils for Berbiguier. The poor man never slept again from this moment on: the Satanists, invisible, crept into his house and into his bed and tormented him with every sort of offence... He approached for help both an exorcist and several doctors in Avignon: among whom two named Bouge and Nicolas who, unfortunately for him, were disciples of Mesmer and tried to “magnetize” him. Berbiguier saw in magnetism and mesmerism, just like in tarot reading, an artifice of the Devil, so he did not regard his declining condition as a surprise... The pilgrimage to different doctors continued, among others to the famous Philippe Pinel (1745-1826) of the Salpêtrière Hospital.