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People from the Other World, Henry S. Olcott

American Publishing Company, Hartford, Conn, 1875, First Edition, hardcover

An especially beautiful three-quarter binding with brown leather and marbled paper sides. Banded spine with gilt titles. Beautiful red, blue, white and gold intricately marbled endpapers

Henry Steel Olcott 1832-1907 was a Buddhist occultist and a co-founder of the Theosophical Society.

Olcott had been interested in Spiritualism, and in 1874 he became aware of the seances of the Eddy Brothers of Chittenden, Vermont. His interest aroused, Olcott wrote an article for the New York Sun, in which he investigated Eddy Farms. His article was popular enough that other papers, such as the New York Daily Graphic, republished it. His 1874 publication People from the Other World began with his early articles concerning the Spiritualist movement.

Part 1 of this work is a careful account of Olcott's 1874 investigations into the famous Eddy brothers of Chittenden, Vermont, and their claimed psychic powers. Part 2 is a report into two Philadelphia mediums who claimed to be able to call up two spirits called John and Katie King. The account includes descriptions of seances, healings, levitation, teleportation and the famous Compton transfiguration.

Also, in 1874, Olcott met Helena Blavatsky while both were visiting the Eddy farm. His foundational interest in the Spiritualist movement and his budding relationship with Blavatsky helped foster his development of spiritual philosophy.

People from the Other World offers an important insight into the nineteenth-century fascination with the occult and is a classic example of a Victorian attempt to approach the supernatural with the rigors of scientific investigation.

Condition: Wear to all board edges and corners. Gilt titles show light scuffing and nicks but still has a lovely glow. The hinges and binding are strong and firm. The binding is square and solid.