Witchcraft in England by Christina Hole (B. T. Batsford, 1st edition 1945) illustrated by Mervyn Peake

 

Witchcraft in England

by Christina Hole, illustrated by Mervyn Peake
B. T. Batsford Ltd, 1st edition Spring 1945

Distinctive dustwrapper art by Mervyn Peake.

From the blurb: Christina Hole, whose previous books on the Folklore, Customs and Ghostlore of this country are familiar to many readers, has […] produced a brilliant general impression of Witchcraft in England…Mervyn Peake, in his many mordant illustrations in monochrome and line, perfectly expresses the macabre intensity of [the] belief, the fantastical human types who were its devotees, and the horror and fascination it exercised through the by-ways of our history.

Hardback – publisher’s red cloth with title in gilt to spine, page-block tinted red to top edge, in a dustwrapper. 168pp including b/w line drawings plus b/w plates. 8.75 x 6 inches approx. (224mm x 154mm).

Dustwrapper rubbed and worn with some minor loss to top edge, spine ends, and corner tips; foxed/spotted though mainly to top edge of flaps; some ‘touching-in’ with pencil to worn folds and creases; wartime use of previously printed thick paperstock; a few short tears with repairs to verso with what appears to be Scotch Magic tape; a little dusty. Cloth clean and bright; bumped to tail of spine; a wrinkle in the cloth to lower margin of front board; top edge of boards lightly bumped, lightly knocked to corners. Signs of a pencilled inscription erased from front paste-down; a previous owner’s name in ink to front free endpaper; occasional foxing but generally pages clean throughout; edges of page-block spotted with some encroachment onto margins.

Overall, showing wear but otherwise remaining a reasonably nice copy and uncommon to find with its dustwrapper.

[SOLD]

ref. The Illustrated Dust Jacket 1920-1970 by Martin Salisbury (Thames & Hudson, 2017)

<< Miscellanea / another copy >>