Early Mormonism and the Magic World View: Revised and Enlarged
Salt Lake City, UT: Signature, 1998. Limited edition. Leather Bound. 646 pp. Octavo [23.5 cm] Red leather with a gilt stamped title on the spine and a blind stamped design on the front cover. Ribbon page-marker. Three light indented lines running from the head to the foot of the rear board. Faint traces of ink matter on the rear board. Previous owner's name with the date "January 2000" along the top edge of the title page. Very Good Minus. Item #69899
One in an edition of 200 copies bound in leather.
From the publisher: "In this ground-breaking book, D. Michael Quinn masterfully reconstructs an earlier age, finding ample evidence for folk magic in nineteenth-century New England, as he does in Mormon founder Joseph Smith’s upbringing. Quinn discovers that Smith’s world was inhabited by supernatural creatures whose existence could be both symbolic and real. He explains that the Smith family’s treasure digging was not unusual for the times and is vital to understanding how early Mormons interpreted developments in their history in ways that differ from modern perceptions. Quinn’s impressive research provides a much-needed background for the environment that produced Mormonism.
This thoroughly researched examination into occult traditions surrounding Smith, his family, and other founding Mormons cannot be understated. Among the practices no longer a part of Mormonism are the use of divining rods for revelation, astrology to determine the best times to conceive children and plant crops, the study of skull contours to understand personality traits, magic formulae utilized to discover lost property, and the wearing of protective talismans."
Price: $400.00