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 (faded) to top edge, in a price-clipped dustwrapper. 168pp including b/w line drawings plus b/w plates. 8.75 x 6 inches approx. (224mm x 155mm).

Dustwrapper rubbed and worn, some creasing, short tears and scuffs; small loss to spine ends and corner tips; foxed/spotted, most noticeably to flaps; untidily price-clipped; wartime use of previously printed thick paperstock; brittle to folds, split top and bottom to front panel hinge and strengthened/repaired to verso with archival tape. Cloth clean and bright, light wear and fading to spine ends; boards lightly knocked to corners. Endpapers spotted and marked, dusty; bookplate to front paste-down; light foxing/spotting and dustiness to pages but generally clean throughout; edges of page-block spotted, scratch/dinge to fore-edge near lower corner.

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

£175.00

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

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