Skyscript Astrology Forum

You're more than welcome, Sue!

And I wish you luck with the interesting-sounding Bouch?-Leclercq work!

I happen to have been in email contact with Lester Ness around a year ago briefly (a really nice, friendly person by the way!). He has been teaching in China for some years, so his other work has to be fitted in around that, but I did ask after his 'L'astrologie Grecque' translation project, and he left me the very clear impression that this was still very much in the works. I think it most likely that it will be published within a year or two now, but suspect that Dr. Ness is something of a perfectionist when it comes to his own academic standards for his final published product and any delays will have been attributable to refinements, annotations and the like.

Since my Bachelor's (and only, thus far) degree (1993-7) was in French, original French astrology texts present no significant problems for me, and I have a Scientia reprint of 'L'Astrologie Grecque' among the 'History of Astrology' section of my shelves. [19th century originals are very rare - one came up on Abebooks recently but in damaged condition, with a big tear in the spine, so I asked the seller for a photograph, but before he could oblige someone else had bought it, just a few days after it was listed.... But anyway, as you may know but for the sake of others who do not, the modern reprint in hardcover binding is quite readily available in newly reprinted condition through used.addall.com, and is a very high-quality edition that thus justifies its price and will last for centuries if treated well.]

If you looking for Cumont's 'L'Egypte des Astrologues', filtering by date (1937 is the original edition) still leaves several affordable copies currently. I would personally also love a copy of Wallis Budge's 'The Gods of Egypt' some day but they are much costlier, especially the editions with the colour plates....

One unfortunate factor where older French astrology books are concerned is that the vast majority of first editions even as early as the 1870s, but especially nearly all since the very early 1900s, were issued in softcover format only. They tend to have survived in damaged condition if at all. Some have been rebound as hardcovers, and are therefore more durable. But it's regrettable that the French publishers have not often observed the English-language-speaking countries' more usual tradition of beginning with a hardcover issue for the first edition at least!

I have built up a nice little collection of the works (from the 1900s to 1930s) of the founder of modern statistical astrology Paul Choisnard this year, which I intend to read and analyse as soon as I have more time for these things again! Fortunately, Choisnard's books on astrology seem to have sold in large volumes within France and Belgium, so most of them are readily available second-hand for not too much money, and those which are not currently available are likely to be relisted either on the book networks or on ebay within a twelve-month period, so they are not too difficult to collect.

One title that has eluded me the whole year, however, since no copy has been listed, except one that would deliver only to Metropolitan France, is Henri Selva's 1900 classic 'Trait? th?orique et pratique d'astrologie g?n?thliacque'. Better known in the US and UK and Australia / New Zealand perhaps as a commentator on the work of Morin, Selva is reputed by the French astrologer Patrice Guinard to have espoused an elaborate theory of scientific astrological causation in this 'masterwork' of his.

http://cura.free.fr/docum/16afr-en.html

It doesn't take more than a quick read through this document by Guinard to understand that the Gauquelins were following a tradition established by their antecedents in the field, although it was their work and not that of Selva, Choisnard or Krafft that became widely known in English-speaking countries because of translations being issued.

Perhaps the most prominent English-speaking exponents of scientific, statistically driven astrological research in the early 20th century were Charles Carter and especially W.J. Tucker. I have collected virtually all of their works too. It's a fascinating area of early 20th century astrological history. Tucker has a wonderfully iconoclastic verbal delivery and a winning combination of eccentric originality and scientific rigour (his natal Sun-Mercury-Saturn-Uranus conjunction in Scorpio explains a lot!)

Thank you for the kind wishes for my wife, who has begun to make some progress this week fortunately; and I'm sorry you had to go through that too. It must be both painful and frightening not to be able to breathe clearly.

Best wishes,

Philip

By the way, does traditional astrology have a particularly strong following among Serbian-speaking people, or is it mainly your work and that of John Frawley that is particularly popular in those regions of Europe? Please excuse my complete ignorance in this regard - I'm just naively culturally curious!

That's really a question for Branka, who's around here somewhere. But as far as I know, yes, traditional astrology has gained a strong following in Serbia in recent years, though I couldn't possibly compete with John's popularity there

I'm sure that even the existing version is a very well-researched compilation of wisdom on the subject, since you are a meticulous researcher and a very learned one at that!

Well, thank you, that cheered me up

You might also have noticed that I omitted 'horoscope' and 'horoscopes' from my regular search as terms, since I've found these bring up large numbers of ordinary used magazines that happen to have a 'monthly horoscopes' feature in them somewhere but are otherwise completely useless for astrological learning and research purposes, and also a very large number of much more basic astrology books.

I see your point here. But I use it because of the large number of magazines from the 1920s and 30s that are gradually disappearing. At present, they're quite cheap and I've started to acquire some copies of these. They are good for contemporary amalyses of charts.

Since Gardner's work was published in 1911, it would be theoretically possible to reprint it in its entirety online without fear of breach of copyright, and in fact that might be a useful resource if it hasn't already been done.

I feel that this should go on my "to-do" list...

I've noticed that two first editions of Raphael's 'Manual of Astrology' ...I wonder to what extent your articles about the Raphaels have affected the used value of their books, Kim? I'm sure you've done them no harm at the very least, and the same must be true of the works of Sepharial.

The price of Raphael's books are increasing steeply. I saw today a copy of
Book of Fate on Ebay that's at a minimum of ?50. You couldn't give them away a couple of years ago. I guess I might have brought them to the fore a little. I know that people watch what I'm buying too and had to change my Ebay ID again recently because I was getting followed around. I've had people contact me to say that they bid on books simply because I did! However, more to the point with Sepharial is that he's on the Gann list. Any title that appears there instantly rises in value and as the list is so accessible nowadays...

One thing that does baffle me is that George Wilde's books have also gone up vastly in price. Has there been a Wilde revival that I missed? Are his vimpri-sexaquartiles, septde-quargeniles and trede-tricibiniles due for a revival? A scary thought...

Kim

Thanks for your interesting information, Kim!

Sometimes books listed on ebay are listed by people with no specialist knowledge of their values, who simply want to believe they are worth a certain price because of their age. I saw the copy of the Book of Fate to which you are referring. It is in horribly faded condition and should go unsold if buyers have any sense. The seller believes it is very rare, but it is not especially! Recently another buyer was asking first $100, then in a repeat listing $50, for an 1880s Foulsham copy of Raphael's Book of Dreams too, in similarly worn and severely colour-faded condition to this copy of the Book of Fate. It failed to sell both times.

I bought a copy of the Foulsham edition of the Book of Dreams in much better condition for ?15 only a couple of months ago, and an equally half-decent copy of the Book of Fate for about ?19 on Abebooks earlier this year. These may have been good value, but copies that have deteriorated to the extent that the one recently listed has really don't deserve to sell for more than about ?10 in my opinion!

I've yet to see a first edition of the 'Royal Book of Dreams' show up, in a year and a half of ebay-listing watching - it must be quite valuable and rare. A copy of the 'Royal Book of Fate' turned up in early 2006, though not in the best condition, and I bought it for about $35, which was pretty good value really. Both these early editions are clearly much scarcer than the later Foulsham editions without the word 'Royal' present. Much the same would appear to apply to Simmonite originals compared to the John Story reprints, only in that case the originals are extremely rare and rather valuable.... (I haven't seen an original of 'The Prognostic Astronomer' - ie the first edition of 'Horary astrology, or The Key to Scientific Prediction', from the mid-19th Century - listed anywhere at all, and originals of Celestial Philosophy - ie the Complete Arcana of Astral Philosophy in first edition - are also extremely rare.)

George Wilde's 'Primer of Astrology' is fairly cheap and plentiful secondhand, but some booksellers do seem to be asking rather a lot for originals of 'Chaldean Astrology Up To Date'. I bought the latter as a Kessinger reprint originally and haven't yet replaced this with an original, even though I've been trying to purge my collection of Kessingers because they are rather soulless reproductions and not very satisfying to read!

One thing I have observed with second-hand listings generally is that when supplies of originals become scarce enough the next seller to list one sets the trend for subsequent pricing and this can be fairly whimsical. To give you an example, late last year there was one copy of Frank Guarino's 'Relationship of Stock Market Fluctuations to Lunar Cycles' priced at $75. I eventually bought it after delaying for a couple of months when the seller refused my attempt to negotiate a direct sale discount! Shortly afterwards, another copy was listed by Wall Street Books, also at $75. It sold very fast. Then another copy was listed by 'J E Miles, A Bookseller' at the outrageous price of $1100. This, not surprisingly, has not sold. A few weeks ago, still another copy was listed, by Peace of Mind Bookstore. Noticing that the only other copy was priced at $1100, it set a price of $995, or thereabouts. I don't believe either will sell at these prices at all, but there seems to be an unwritten rule within astrological used bookselling that financial astrology books should be priced high for maximum profit! While this may apply by normal market forces to anything written by Jack Gillen, since supply is so scarce and demand so high, minor works such as Guarino's pamphlet really don't belong in the same category....

It was sensible of you to change your ebay name, I think. I have had to resort to the slightly cowardly-seeming practice of automated last-minute bidding to avoid my bids manufacturing additional demand that pushes prices beyond my means. I think that when certain names repeatedly bid on books of a certain type, others recognise them and come to expect certain patterns of bidding, and adjust their behaviours accordingly.

Anyhow, must go for now! Will post some ebay auction results late today or tomorrow after the Swann Gallery auction finishes.

Best wishes,

Philip

The 'Occult' section of the Swann auction two of whose listings were previewed in an earlier message is just coming up; and I might be able to report on the results before bedtime (baby-friendly Central European bedtime, that is...) if I keep watching it on the (free to view) ebay Live service.

Lot 218, the Agrippa volume, sold on the floor for an estimate-shattering $3800 excluding buyer's premium.

http://cgi.liveauctions.ebay.com/ws/eBa ... 728&rd=1,1

Lot 222, John Butler's 'Hagiastrologia' (as transcribed by the auction-house at least), sold for just $550, below the mid-estimate.

http://cgi.liveauctions.ebay.com/ws/eBa ... 971&rd=1,1

Lot 220, a bound volume of 23 different almanacs all from 1678, sold for $4400, far above the upper estimate of $3500! I'm glad I don't collect almanacs on that basis!

http://cgi.liveauctions.ebay.com/ws/eBa ... 201&rd=1,1

Earlier, on ebay, a first English-language edition of Jacques Gaffarel's 'Unheard of Curiosities Concerning the Talismanic Sculpture of the Persians, the Horoscope of the Patriarkes (sic), and the Reading of the Stars', from 1650, with a split binding and no front cover, sold for a respectable ?279 sterling despite its major faults - about half the price of a copy in relatively sound condition! I have not seen this book either in English or the original French, but it sounds to be a very interesting work. Maybe in the distant future it might be worth getting hold of a copy in better condition!

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... &rd=1&rd=1

A 1569 edition by Paracelsus of four of his rare works bound together, one of them with some astrological content, sold for $2041.00, which is really quite reasonable by the usual standards of prices fetched by the works of this author, when one considers that there are four of them bound together. I didn't mention this one before because it's not so narrowly astrological in focus as most, but the legendary Paracelsus certainly commands a prominent place in the history of occult literature.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... &rd=1&rd=1

And finally, a fairly commonplace antiquarian work, 'De Die Natali' by Censorinus (I have yet to see this work but since it is so abundant on the used market there would not seem to be any hurry to get hold of a copy), in a 1695 edition (relatively late for the title), and 'rather worn', still managed to fetch ?200 sterling, just under $400, excluding buyer's premium. There are earlier copies than this available for less money once the premium is factored in through used book listings. Sometimes it would appear not everyone who buys at live auctions is patient enough to look elsewhere.... I didn't even bother to mention this auction in advance as it's nothing spectacularly rare, but thought the result worth a passing mention:

http://cgi.liveauctions.ebay.com/ws/eBa ... 703&rd=1,1

Looking ahead, Daniel Good just listed a very rare astrological work in Latin by Henrik Rantzau today, with a minimal starting bid! No doubt it will fetch at least 500 dollars, possibly up to 1000.... Another one for a collector who already has almost all the better-known works I think! If that applies to anyone here, good luck! I shan't be bidding unless it looks possible to pick it up for a bargain price, and even then probably not. It is not his most famous astrological work, which sells on the used book networks for between $1500 and $3000 used depending on edition.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... &rd=1&rd=1

All in all, after a recent drought, there has been quite a lot happening the last couple of days!

Time to sign out of here. I hope some of these results were of interest to some reading this at least.

Philip

I hope some of these results were of interest to some reading this at least.

Well, I'm always interested at least - although many of those titles are now out of my league. Today's oddity from Ebay: A 1929 book signed by Krafft on a Buy it Now at $99.95. That one I will watch

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/1929-German-Astro ... dZViewItem

Kim

If only I could read German reliably this would be interesting, but I don't believe in paying a price premium for signatures if avoidable.... Fortunately he wrote in French much of the time!

Other than a copy of his famous work on scientific astrology Trait? d'astrobiologie from 1939, I have access here to a few of Krafft's articles that appeared in the second volume of Volguine's equally famed journal Les Cahiers Astrologiques (the second of only two volumes I have thus far been able to procure; the first, from 1938, does not contain any articles by Krafft to judge by the index), as follows:

In the Jan-Feb 1939 issue, chillingly, appears an article entitled '1914-1918-1938', written by Krafft in October 1938. It is ostensibly a mundane astrological analysis of parallels between the astrological circumstances of the Armistice on 11th November 1918 marking the end of the so-called 'Great War' (WW1) and the present political climate, in which the Munich Agreement was signed on 30th September 1938. Tragically, Krafft affirms his hope that this time around a lasting peace will have been achieved without, and before, the need for any armed hostilities to break out, placing his hopes specifically in Mussolini and not Hitler with this end in mind. Of course, we all know with the benefit of hindsight that those hopes was misplaced, and that Krafft himself would meet his fate in the war that was to break out within a year of his writing this article....

His other articles appearing in the same volume are entitled 'Astrologie Traditionelle et Traditions Astrologiques', 'Origine et Evolution de quelques Symboles Cosmologiques', and 'Probabilisme et Ordre du Temps'.

I have not read any of these thoroughly yet, through lack of time, but at a quick glance his article on Astrological Traditions stands out as a particularly interesting one. Here Krafft comments (and I am loosely translating here straight from the page) that the most recent astrological tradition, Scientific Astrology, has supplanted, at least on the (European) continent, Alan Leo's theosophical astrology, which has been disqualified by the majority of contemporary astrologers for being too 'mystical'. But in the very next paragraph, Krafft decries the new Scientific Astrology movement (as it then was) for having stripped away the philosophical roots of astrology, and refers to the first eight books of Morin's 'Astrologia Gallica' as a fine historical example of a philosophy underpinning astrology. This just goes to show that Krafft, although he is probably best known today for having been an immediate successor to Choisnard as a statistical and scientific astrologer, by no means had a narrowly scientific interest in astrology as a whole.

The above represents just a small and interesting section of an intelligent and historically thought-provoking article.

I've read various partial accounts of the circumstances surrounding Krafft's death, too, by the way, but cannot recall sources off-hand. Some independent corroboration of the following would be appreciated!

The most striking revelation I remember reading was that he was forced to work for Hitler as an astrologer against his will in very unfortunate circumstances after trying to be of help. Essentially, he had conducted a predictive astrological analysis determining a future date when Hitler would be, in his astrological opinion, at very grave personal risk of death, and had, through his sense of responsibility as an astrologer, submitted the warning on the record in a letter to Hitler. The letter was not acknowledged, but when the date arose, Hitler was due to make a speech for a certain length of time which was known in advance by the public. But he cut it short after just a few minutes, and a few minutes later, when Hitler had already left the platform from which he was speaking, a timed bomb was detonated, heavily damaging the place where he had made the speech. On realising that there had just been a failed attempt on his life, which would surely have succeeded but for his unexpectedly brief oratory delivery, Hitler, who did not personally hold any great belief in astrology, recalled the prediction made by Krafft months before, and ordered his arrest on suspicion of masterminding an assassination conspiracy. Krafft was promptly seized from his home, transported, and imprisoned by Hitler. Krafft naturally denied the charges levelled against him, but his life was spared only on condition of his working in Hitler's service as an astrologer thereafter. This 'clemency' and enslavement for a crime he did not commit bought him only a couple more years or so of life before he met his death, presumably after years of maltreatment and neglect, en route to a concentration camp. It seems tragic that such an intelligent and by all appearances gentlemanly astrologer should have met with such a terrible end just a few years after becoming a major contributor to the early development of probably the best reputed astrological journal ever published in French.

Once more, if someone can corroborate or add detail to this story I'd much appreciate it! If I find the sources where I read these supposed facts again I'll be glad to cite them.

Philip

Having posted the above, I just spent the last few hours completely engrossed in the Krafft chapters of Ellic Howe's 'Astrology: A Recent History'. Probably this topic belongs on a separate strand as it has diverged from the auction theme, but briefly, in correction to the account I gave above from memory, without checking any sources at all:

Krafft was arrested not once, but twice. He made his prediction of Hitler's danger in much more specific terms, stating that there was a danger of an assassination attempt using explosive material, and not months before, but days before it happened. The prediction was first communicated to a German official in whose employ Krafft had chanced to find himself, though not through Krafft's choice - Krafft's astrological work had been noticed, and an offer had been made to employ him to make regular predictions, which at the time, not suspecting that there was anything particularly wrong with the ruling regime, Krafft had accepted. After the assassination attempt occurred in actuality, Krafft then immediately wrote (very unwisely, in Howe's understandable opinion) to a more high-level official proclaiming his success in the first prediction that had already been placed on the record with the first official, and adding that Hitler's life would remain in danger for some days to follow. The letter went all the way to Hitler himself. Krafft was consequently arrested for the first time on suspicion of conspiracy, but according to Howe managed to persuade his interrogators that he had been using astrology quite legitimately and he was therefore released without charge! He soon rebelled against the demands of his employer for him to modify his writing of a letter to a contact abroad in a more obviously pro-German propagandist light, however, and refused further payments of cash, dramatically turning his nose up at one being offered him. Thus, his voluntary employment as an astrologer on the payroll of a state department under the Nazi regime ended very early and he returned to ordinary citizenship.

It was only a year or two later, when there was a nationwide crackdown on astrologers after Rudolf Hess's notorious escape to Scotland, which was suspected by those in power in Germany to have been guided by astrological advice, that Krafft, along with other astrologers, was arrested for a second time even though on this occasion he had done absolutely nothing to directly cast suspicion over himself. He was kept in solitary confinement without trial for a whole year, despite his wife's attempts to negotiate on his behalf with the minister responsible for his captivity.

In the meantime, papers and books seized from Krafft's home at the time of his arrest had been subjected to exhaustive examination for evidence of his implication or otherwise in Hess's escape. And although none was found, it was decided by the German propaganda authorities that Krafft and another astrologer imprisoned in the same quarters could be of some use as astrologers working for them, so after a whole year of solitary confinement in cells without trial they were transferred to a new location and given slightly more freedom in the day-time but subjected to night-time curfews as before and forced to work as astrologers for the regime. But when Krafft began working with his own mind and making astrological analyses as he saw them, he was censured and forced to modify them in a pro-German propagandist light (not for the first time). Krafft soon rebelled against these outrageous (to his sensibilities) demands and fell silent, refusing to work, and falling back on the meditation and yoga routines that he had learned in his years of occult studies in his youth to keep himself together. Consequently, while the other astrologer imprisoned along with him was released as a free man, Krafft was punished by being sent to an overcrowded and unsanitary prison, sharing a cell with fifty inmates, from one of whom he caught typhoid. He was subsequently moved to a concentration camp, where he stayed in a very weak condition physically for quite a few months, before finally being transferred to a second concentration camp, Buchenwald, by which time he was already so weak that he died on the way there.

So anyway, I just wanted to put my own slightly inaccurate recollections straight there thanks to Howe!

Philip

PS: It is also interesting in Howe's book to read of Howe's opinion that Louis De Wohl fabricated a lot of public myths about Krafft for his own benefit as a media celebrity, that Howe's extensive research has proven without foundation. Howe clearly held a low opinion of De Wohl!

Unfortunately Howe also appears to have had no faith in astrology itself, regarding it ultimately as unsupported by scientific evidence and even asserting that many of its proponents are 'undiagnosed schizophrenics'. As a biography, 'Astrology: A Recent History' is compelling reading. Sympathy for astrology itself, however, is not one of its virtues!

PPS (added the following day): I forgot to mention that, in addition to his refusing to work along the propagandist lines required by his superiors, a further aggravating reason for Krafft's being sent to the overcrowded prison where he caught tyhoid was that he had had the audacity to astrologically predict that the facility where he and the other astrologer being forced to work for the Germans were then being held would be bombed, and alerted his superiors to this prediction he had made! This prediction evidently did not fit in neatly with the prevailing worldview of the Nazi leaders at the time, and was regarded as virtually treacherous. Krafft's prediction was vindicated, according to Howe, but only after he had been moved to the prison where his health turned fatefully for the worse....

The book signed by Krafft in 1929 that you noticed, Kim, appears to have been given away by Krafft to a library, but not to have been written by Krafft himself. It looks like the transcript of some proceedings from an astrological conference held in 'Nurmberg' in either 1929 or 1919, from the picture, and published by Dr. Korsch.

Howe notes on P. 152 of 'Astrology: A Recent History' that Krafft subsequently attended a conference organised by Dr. Korsch at Dusseldorf in 1936 but had a negative impression of Korsch and resolved never to attend any organised astrological convention again! It would seem likely then that the 'Vortr?ge uber Astrologie' book on ebay which you linked to was the product of an earlier conference also organised by Korsch and which Krafft had quite possibly also attended. The fact that Krafft gave the book away might suggest he had already taken a dislike to Dr. Korsch at the earlier conference, if indeed he had attended it!

Howe later notes that Dr. Korsch, in common with Krafft and other astrologers, was also arrested after the Rudolf Hess escape to Scotland. And like Krafft, Korsch remained in prison and eventually found his way into the Oranienberg concentration camp (the first concentration camp where Krafft was kept) where according to Howe he was murdered in April 1942, a couple of years or so before Krafft's death (p. 200).

Now, to return to the auctions, since this has been a lengthy though I hope interesting historical diversion, there have been several interesting developments recently on ebay, some of which I'll summarise here with links:

1) The rare Rantzau listing I mentioned a few messages ago has so far reached $167.50, with the bookseller Krown & Spellman as the highest bidder (clearly with an eye for a bargain to mark up for resale, as of course any used book seller has to do to make the business viable) currently.

2) The same bookseller, Daniel Good, has also listed a 17th century German book I've never heard of before by a Carrichter, on astrological medicine, found here, also with a very low starting bid:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... &rd=1&rd=1

3) Another bookseller has listed a copy of Lynn Thorndike's 'Latin Treatises on Comets' here (I have a copy of this already so definitely won't be bidding even though it's a more affordable modern work!) - not especially rare as it turns out, but an interesting book all the same

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... &rd=1&rd=1

4) A 1689 edition of 'Les Proph?ties de M. Michel Nostradamus', which work features extensively in Howe's biography of Krafft and co. too, has been listed here with a low starting price too:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... &rd=1&rd=1

Must go now!

Philip

Time for an update on the rare astrological book auctions here:

Firstly, in reference to several of the items previously discussed while the auctions were still open, I'm pleased to be able to report that all of the following did more or less exactly what I earlier recorded in this strand that I was expecting them to do, although this may be down to chance as much as any well-honed observation!

1) The 1590 Scaliger edition of Manilius with sixteen pages missing, asking for bids from ?195 upwards, failed to attract any at all, and went unsold.

2) The fine set of 1912 editions of the first five volumes in Alan Leo's 'Astrology for All' Series, asking for bids from ?150 upwards, also failed to attract any at all, and so was also unsold.

3) The faded copy of Raphael's Book of Fate that shocked Kim with its initial asking price of bids from ?50, which I suggested was worth only ?10, failed to sell for ?50, and was relisted by the seller for bids from ?10. It then attracted precisely one bid at the new price, selling thus for ?10.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... &rd=1&rd=1

4) The 1585 Rantzau edition with a low starting bid of $1 fetched $645, comfortably within my early estimate of 'at least $500, possibly as much as $1000' (or words to this effect). It was a very popular auction.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... &rd=1&rd=1

These apart, there have been some other, perhaps more surprising results.

1) An ordinary copy of Edward Lyndoe's 'Everybody's Book of Fate and Fortune', which is quite abundant second-hand in good condition for prices from $13 and upwards, sold for a rather outrageously high 'Buy It Now' price of $199. Some unfortunate person clearly didn't check the used prices on used.addall.com or Bookfinder here.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... &rd=1&rd=1

I don't have a copy of this since its content is a lot more wide-ranging than his specifically astrological work 'Practical Astrology' as a representation of his astrological thinking, so I didn't see the point in buying the more general title by the same author.

2) A first edition from 1833 of Zadkiel I (Commander Morrison)'s 'A Grammar of Astrology' in only fair external condition, not very strongly bound, but with clean enough pages internally sold (to me) for just $25.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... &rd=1&rd=1

[Although I already have the Bohn edition of this combined with his abridgement of Lilly from the 1860s, the first edition of 'A Grammar of Astrology' is rather scarce, and in decent condition commands outrageous prices of $500 or more second-hand. $25 even for this copy was an antiquarian bargain. I count myself lucky here even though it looks very ugly externally in its current state. The same volume was previously listed for a starting bid of $250 and failed to sell (not surprisingly in view of the condition). It was relisted for $99 and failed to sell again. When nobody had bid by the last few hours at the $25 price I thought I might as well just in case, and was astonished to find nobody else even attempted to bid.]

3) A rare 1907 first edition copy of the French translation of an astrological work (I plead ignorance as to which, since I'm not familiar with any of the author's works, although he is very famous, so perhaps someone could kindly enlighten me; but it appears to be called 'De Astrologia') by Robert Fludd sold for 65 Euros. This may sound a lot for a book in this condition, but the only unsold copy of the same edition of the same title in better condition lists for the Euro equivalent of 791 dollars. There are cheaper reprints from more recent times however!

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... &rd=1&rd=1

Now looking ahead, there is an interesting work from from 1683 by 'A Learned Pen' called 'Catastrophe Mundi, Or, Merlin Reviv?d, in a Discourse of Prophecies & Predictions, and their Remarkable Accomplifhment. With Mr. Lilly?s hieroglyphicks exactly cut; And Notes and Obfervations thereon'. I don't know anything about this work, least of all the identity of the author, but I'm sure others here will do so. The auction has only just over eight hours to run at the time of writing, and there are no bids so far. The starting price is a highish $699 in view of the condition. It may not sell, or might sell to a sole bidder, but time will tell.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... &rd=1&rd=1

The earlier-mentioned auction on a German book on astrological medicine has so far reached $217.44 and will end within 24 hours of the time of writing.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... &rd=1&rd=1

The 1689 edition mentioned previously of 'Les Proph?ties de M. Nostradamus' still has almost six days to run but has already reached over $250:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... &rd=1&rd=1

There is a set of two consecutive volumes of Hiram E. Butler (he of 'Solar Biology' fame, or notoriety, depending on your point of view)'s interesting-looking 'Biological Journal' from 1900 and 1901 on offer here. I might just possibly place a low bid on this for its historical value and the enlightenment it affords on his astrological ideas if it reaches the closing stages still with just one bid on $8, but I am sure there must be an Esoteric Fraternity enthusiast or two out there who would pay a lot more than I would for these volumes; and a more patient bookseller might well buy these for up to $50 and expect to make a handsome profit in the fullness of time because of their scarcity, so I would be most surprised if any considerably lower bid carried the day, and in fact I might not bid at all.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... &rd=1&rd=1

Finally, there is a first edition of Paracelsus's famous work on medical astrology 'On the Supreme Mysteries of Nature', as translated by a Turner, if I recall rightly from Gardner's Bibliotheca Astrologica, on offer. Bidding has already reached $535 with six days to run. I must admit this is very, very tempting to a medical astrology enthusiast like myself, but it has recently been reprinted very cheaply under the oddly altered title 'The Archidoxes of Magic', a copy of which I already have, which is quite adequate for study purposes. If the existing bidding is anything to go by, this should reach at least $800-$1000, possibly $1200, by the end of the auction. Either this same copy or a similar one sold on ebay earlier this year for not much more than the current bidding of $535, but the bidding has been so fast and early this time around that I expect it will go quite a lot higher this time.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... &rd=1&rd=1

Sorry this is so much information all at once. It takes quite a long time to write these kinds of posts, including links, so I may have to limit myself to one or two updates a week.

My very best wishes to all at Skyscript,

Philip

A rare 1907 first edition copy of the French translation of an astrological work (I plead ignorance as to which, since I'm not familiar with any of the author's works, although he is very famous, so perhaps someone could kindly enlighten me; but it appears to be called 'De Astrologia') by Robert Fludd sold for 65 Euros. This may sound a lot for a book in this condition, but the only unsold copy of the same edition of the same title in better condition lists for the Euro equivalent of 791 dollars. There are cheaper reprints from more recent times however!

This puzzles me because I am not familiar with this title from Fludd. I have reprints of some of his works and have lists of all his publications but none mention this one. The only thing I can think of is that it is the essay on astrology from his work, ?Tractatus Secundus, De Naturae Simia seu Techinca macrocosmi historia, in partes undecim divisia.? This is the second tractate of De Macrocosmi Historia in duos tractatus diusia,and contains eleven essays on various things, including the tenth chapter simply called Astrologia. It seems that these essays may have been publisked separately at some stage.

Fludd is probably best remembered for Medicina Catholica, which was in two volumes and published in 1629. This was a hugely popular work and one that William Lilly was very fond of. I have often wondered whether the title ?Christian Astrology? was taken from Fludd?s title of ?Catholic Medicine.? They were published less than twenty years apart. He is well worth having a look at some time even just briefly. Frances Yates, formerly of the Warburg Institute, wrote a lot about him, as did other scholars from the Warburg.

Firstly, I just wanted to express my sincere thanks to Sue for the interesting and informative introduction to the works of Fludd. The possible link between one of his book titles and Lilly's choice of 'Christian Astrology' was a new revelation to me.

I'll certainly have to investigate Fludd's works some day! I fear that with so many other more immediately accessible astrological works still remaining for me to read and absorb, it may not be for quite some years yet, however. In many ways I'm personally still at a stage of getting to grips with the broad outline of the astrological literary traditions of past centuries, prior to studying many individual works in more depth. It's a truism I know, but we all have to start somewhere, and there is so much historical astrological literature to read that it must take decades of patient study to be as well-versed in the subject as you and many of the other regular contributors to this forum are, Sue! But of course I have nothing but admiration for the kind of commitment you have given and continue to give to the subject, and certainly aspire to further my own knowledge through in-depth studies over many years ahead. Thank you again!

*****

There are some more notable auction results to report, so this will be the remaining focus of this particular post.

1. Catastrophe Mundi by A Learned Pen, which had no bids with just a few hours remaining last time I reported here, did indeed sell to a sole bidder for the opening bid price of $699: a buyer who quite frequently places serious bids on carefully selected historical astrological works, and often successfully, so I believe this has gone to a fine home, even without knowing the personal identity of the buyer:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... &rd=1&rd=1

Gardner reports that this was written in the late William Lilly's defence against a work with a similar name that attacked Lilly's reputation in some way.

2. The German book from 1683 on astrological medicine by Johannes Cardilucius finally sold for the modest $222.50 at which it found itself with some time in the auction still to run when I last reported.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... &rd=1&rd=1

3. Hiram E. Butler's 'Occult and Biological Journal' in two volumes did not fetch any significant price. The bidding was still only up to about $16 by the time I was due to retire on the night the auction would end, so I placed a low automated bid for the end of the auction, as I had previously announced here to be my anticipated course of action in such circumstances, and to my surprise this was sufficient to purchase the volumes for just $17.99 (although three days later I'm still waiting for postage cost details from the seller, so I'll believe it when the sale is complete). I had thought that a dealer would be eager to pay at least $50 for these in order to resell them, but nobody came forward.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... &rd=1&rd=1

Further research online led me to the conclusion that these were the only two volumes of this journal published, although they apparently formed part of a long-running 'Esoteric Series' published by the Esoteric Fraternity, which involved the publication of one volume per year, but the focus of these volumes completely changed periodically, moving on from 1903 (for example) to a journal of Biblical studies, which is certainly outside my sphere of direct interest.

Provided that these journals do arrive here, I'll be interested to investigate their astrological notions and philosophies in connection with Butler's commonplace work originally published in the late 1880s 'Solar Biology', then file them away among better known and more specifically astrologically focused contemporary journals such as 'Star Lore and Future Events' and 'Modern Astrology'.

I have found that it is sometimes very interesting to look at journal articles by a published astrologer whose main book or books on astrology offer a more limited insight into how he or she applied those theories in practice. Alfred Pearce (editor of 'Star Lore and Future Events') is a fine case in point, his main works being highly theoretical, but his journals very applied in focus. I don't anticipate quite such impressive writing from Butler, to be perfectly honest, but time will tell.

4. Paracelsus's 'Of the Supreme Mysteries of Nature...', as translated by Turner (1656), surpassed my expectations in reaching an impressive $1781, more than twice the price it fetched when a copy last appeared on ebay earlier in 2006. This may be partly down to clever marketing by the seller, who simultaneously listed a host of valuable rare books with no reserve at a time of the year when buyers are traditionally given to spend heavily, attracting bidding across the seller's listings even where keywords normally looked for by particular buyers were not represented in more than one or two individual books offered by the seller on this occasion, and renamed the book 'On Occult Phylosophy' (just one small part of the long title) in her (or his) headline description to give it a certain Cornelius Agrippa mystique! But it is clearly a book in high demand whichever way one looks at this success.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... &rd=1&rd=1

5. The 1689 edition of 'Les Proph?ties de M. Michel Nostradamus' reached a very respectable $1275.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... &rd=1&rd=1

These results for books picked out previously in this strand while the auctions were still running apart, a few other results also caught my attention:

6. No sooner had Jacques Gaffarel's 'Unheard of Curiosities' in English translation sold, it seemed, than an original in French, 'Curiositez Inouyes', in a slightly later 1650 printing, was listed. After only modest bidding for most of the auction, this copy, not in the best of condition, reached 1,000 Euros, which is not much less than the going retail rate at booksellers. If either of the two highest bidders had not bid at the end of the auction, it would have sold for only 350 Euros.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... &rd=1&rd=1

7. Financial astrology books from the first half of the twentieth century continue to be highly popular with collectors. I expected this particular title from 1940 of just 48 pages by a Lagon Mars, B.A. to do well because it is so scarce that I could not find a single reference to it on the entire Internet - nor had I ever heard of it before. The Sacred Science Institute, who are certainly among the foremost reprinters of rare financial astrology works, was in on the bidding in the final day, and was still leading the bidding on $77.85 with just five seconds to spare, then suddenly the price jumped to $305 as a private collector outbid the S.S.I.'s previously hidden maximum bid of $300 - a pity perhaps for those who might have enjoyed studying a reprint of the work, as I'm sure it was the S.S.I.'s honourable intention in bidding to $300 to preserve the original then disseminate it as a cheap reprint for the benefit of today's students of financial astrology.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... &rd=1&rd=1

There have been very few new listings of particular value lately in the astrological arena, probably because it is now too close to Christmas for sellers to have confidence in the success of their auctions on their closing dates, so I have nothing new to report that is still ongoing at the present time, but I hope these last results were of some interest to anyone who has been following this strand, and I'm sure the very early days of the new year will bring a fresh wave of antiquarian activity in the astrological book auctions arena.

Wishing everyone at Skyscript a peaceful and joyous festive season in the weeks ahead,

Philip

It's been just over a month since I last updated this strand, but I feel the time has come to provide at least a quick shortlist of notable rare astrological book auction results from the second-hand marketplace, although it has been very much quieter over the Christmas and New Year period than it was previously - no doubt there are strong seasonal fluctuations in the listings of antiquarian books at auction generally, and astrology books are no exception to this.

There have been no astrology books listed in upcoming auctions through major auction houses at all so far this year that I've noticed - I check in the free search box at Americana Exchange from time to time, and there has not been any in evidence yet, so there is nothing obviously worthy of advance notice for serious astrologers at this juncture. Nor for that matter is there anything of great antiquity or rarity listed on ebay currently.

Still, I hope the remaining focus of this particular post, which will essentially be a shortlist of astrological book auctions that have surpassed $50 on ebay in the past month and which have caught my attention in so doing, will be of some interest to those who have followed this strand previously!

Inevitably, by the very virtue of their having been uncommon enough to have caught my attention, some of these items will be ones that were of collecting interest to me personally, and in a few cases I may even have purchased them. But in the interest of maintaining marketplace objectivity as the focus of the post I have not generally indicated which ones in the descriptions that follow.

1. A set of the first fifteen volumes of the original Project Hindsight Greek Track sold for $133.50 - this was a bargain at the price, since on the fixed-price used bookdealer market they tend to sell for an average of $25 per volume, as well I know through having collected them previously.

2. A much less complete set featuring the first seven volumes only of the original Project Hindsight Latin Track sold for just $51.50 - this was also a bargain to its purchaser, especially since no plans for the Latin Track to be re-issued in second editions by Project Hindsight have been announced, unlike the Greek Track. But several important volumes from the Latin track were missing from the listing, so the buyer of this set will have to hunt for those elusive later volumes.

3. A somewhat worn (though I've seen worse) 1889 copy of Rosa Baughan's 'The Influence of the Stars', a well-known popular work on astrology and other subjects, not much favoured by serious astrologers but still historically interesting, sold for ?36.00, equivalent to $70.97. This work seems to sell consistently strongly on ebay, even though copies are listed quite often, so it is by no means scarce but remains in strong demand from buyers.

4. A 1932 compendium called 'Wheel of Fortune', which consists of a simplified account of astrology by Sepharial (who had already passed a few years before the date of publication) followed by sections on other broadly occult and fortune-telling-associated subjects apparently written or at least edited by a James Ward, sold for $67.66. This compendium seems to be very scarce second-hand in its original form, although Kessinger reprints are available. I expect Kim will know whether the simplified account of astrology by Sepharial with which the book begins comes from a separately published earlier book of his, and if so which one, or whether it was unpublished at the time of his death, though on instinct I would think that the former is much more probable! I would normally have recourse to my copy of Kim's excellent biography 'The Astral Tramp' and scan its pages in search of the answer, but it is currently buried behind other books in one of my overcrowded bookcases, and I can't remember which bookshelf it is in without checking them all, so regrettably I'll have to leave that until later.... Sorry about that!

5. An original 19th century copy of Christopher Cooke's 'Curiosities of Occult Literature', not in the best of condition cosmetically but containing extensive hand-written annotations apparently by Cooke himself, sold for $127.50. This substantially autobiographical book, though I have yet to read it, reportedly gives interesting insights into Zadkiel I, ie Richard Morrison, from Cooke's personal perspective, albeit since their association ended. The two were of course close associates for a number of years, as documented by Patrick Curry in 'A Confusion of Prophets'.

6. An original copy of Katherine Taylor Craig's popular work 'Stars of Destiny' from 1926 sold for a surprisingly high $50.99 - surprising in view of the fact that it is not all that scarce second-hand. I couldn't remember if I had a copy of this hiding somewhere at the back of one of my bookcases so I didn't bid, and in any case would have stopped short of this level of bidding; but I have another book by her, on dreams, which comes across very readably and quite intelligently, so I expect this one is well worth reading, with the proviso that it is probably more of an historical overview of astrology intended for a general readership and based on the limited scholarship available in its time, which has been vastly improved upon since then.

7. A well-worn original copy from 1800 of 'An Enquiry Into the Origins of the Constellations that Compose the Zodiac, and the Uses They Were Intended To Promote' by the Revd. John Barrett sold for $78.77.

8. A finer copy of Rosa Baughan's 'The Influence of the Stars' (see above) from 1891 sold for $100. This price is not unheard-of for this book on ebay, when it is in such good condition, again despite a strong and frequent supply of listings each year!

9. The copy of the 1590 Scaliger edition of Manilius with 16 pages missing that previously went unsold (as discussed earlier in this strand) late in 2006 was relisted by the bookseller for a lower starting price of ?125 ($246.44), and at this price it sold to a sole bidder. I can only presume that since the missing pages are from the main text, which is readily available in later editions, and not from Scaliger's precious commentary, the buyer felt it was worth this price, which is less than a quarter of the typical minimum price ($1000) of a complete copy of the same edition!

10. A fine first edition from 1911 of Sepharial's 'A Manual of Occultism' sold for a very reasonable ?75 ($147.86). This is far below the minimum asking price from used book dealer listings for the first edition. Cosmetically, the first edition is virtually indistinguishable from cheaper later editions around 1920, however.

11. A bound copy of successive annual issues Raphael's Prophetic Messenger from 1871 to 1875 inclusive sold for $58.94.

12. A bound copy of Zadkiel's Almanac for 1841-1845 inclusive sold for $88.94. [This price was on the high side for an auction, for sure, reflecting unusually strong competitive bidding. Later volumes spanning 1851-1856 and 1857-1861, that were also on offer from the same seller, failed to attract such competitive interest, and sold for less than $15 each. They were not in such good condition, with defects including spine damage and removed advertisements, but from the far lower auction results they achieved it would appear likely that the earlier decades of Morrison's mundane predictive work are favoured by collectors over the later ones post-1950.]

13. A bound volume of Zadkiel's short-lived weekly Horoscope magazine from 1834, which ran for just nineteen slim issues, sold for $103.51. This is an extremely scarce journal found in very few library holdings worldwide, and I had expected it to stand a good chance of surpassing this result by some distance. Morrison (Zadkiel I) also later produced another journal also called Horoscope in the early 1840s, which ran for five longer monthly issues before coming to a similarly sudden and early end.

14. An 1884 first edition in English translation of Varaha Mihira's 'Brihat Samhita' sold for $80.99. The same edition is priced by one used bookdealer at $750, a vast overestimate of what the market will pay for even a scarce first edition of this vintage on this evidence. There are so far very, very few astrology books published after 1850 that will sell for more than $300 however scarce they may be. [A bound volume of Broughton's Monthly Planet Reader and Astrological Journal from the 1860s would be one notable exception, readily selling for upwards of $500.] This will probably change as the 21st century progresses, however, later 19th century books increasing in value.

That's all for now. I'll update this strand maybe once or twice a month from now on since that is more sustainable a commitment to keep up than weekly posts! But if anyone else has further contributions to make to the commentary or listings to note, please feel more than welcome to jump in, and I'll be glad to reply in turn.

With best wishes to all at Skyscript,

Philip