Dictionnaire Infernal.
Paris: Henri Plon, 1863. Dictionnaire Infernal (Full title in English: Infernal Dictionary, or, a Universal Library on the beings, characters, books, deeds, and causes which pertain to the manifestations and magic of trafficking with Hell; divinations, occult sciences, grimoires, marvels, errors, prejudices, traditions, folktales, the various superstitions, and generally all manner of marvellous, surprising, mysterious, and supernatural beliefs.)
By Jacques Collin de Plancy
Published: Henri Plon, Paris,1863. 6th edition.
723 pp. Hardcover leather binding with the original salmon colored illustrated paper wraps bound into the rear (front wrap bound in upside down). Crude tape repairs to outer leather binding, which is separating from the text block. A few pages loosened. A worthy candidate for rebinding.
The famous illustrated and final edition of de Plancy's dictionary. Quarto size. Illustrations by Louis Le Breton, engraved by M. Jarrault, including 69 depicting demons and princes of Hell.
The Dictionnaire Infernal is a book on demonology, describing demons organized in hierarchies. It was written by Jacques Collin de Plancy and first published in 1818. Influenced by Voltaire, Collin de Plancy initially did not believe in superstition. For example, the book reassures its contemporaries as to the torments of Hell: "To deny that there are sorrows and rewards after death is to deny the existence of God; since God exists, it must be necessarily so. But only God could know the punishments meted out to the guilty, or the place that holds them. All the catalogues made herebefore are only the fruit of a more or less disordered imagination. Theologians should leave to the poets the depiction of Hell, and not themselves seek to frighten minds with hideous paintings and appalling books."
The skepticism of Collin de Plancy increasingly subsided over time. By the end of 1830 he was an enthusiastic Roman Catholic, to the consternation of his former admirers. In later years, De Plancy rejected and modified his past works, thoroughly revising his Dictionnaire Infernal to conform with Roman Catholic theology. This influence is most clearly seen in the sixth and final 1863 edition of the book, which is decorated with many engravings and seeks to affirm the existence of the demons.
Many of the illustrations from the 6th Edition have been used by artists and authors over the past 100 years such as for S. L. MacGregor Mathers's edition of the Lesser Key of Solomon and recently for the Occult Tarot deck by Travis McHenry. Item #101794
Price: $4,500.00