1892 MACKAY Extraordinary Popular Delusions Madness Crowds WITCHCRAFT BUBBLES For Sale

MACKAY, Charles. Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds.

London: George Routledge and Sons, Limited, 1892.

Illustrated Victorian edition, with numerous woodcuts.

Two separately titled volumes bound together in one physical volume.

Original brown publisher\'s cloth with blind-ruled boards, gilt lettering to the upper cover and spine, and gilt publisher\'s device to the spine.

Approximately 8 × 5¾ inches.

A handsome late nineteenth-century edition of Mackay\'s famous history of speculation, credulity, financial bubbles, witchcraft, alchemy, prophecy, mesmerism, and collective enthusiasm.

First published in the nineteenth century, Mackay\'s work became especially famous for its accounts of speculative manias.

Among the best-known chapters are:

• The Mississippi Scheme
• The South Sea sections examine the extraordinary rise and collapse of speculative enthusiasm and remain among the most frequently cited historical narratives of financial mania.

  The subject matter gives the book enduring appeal to collectors of:

  financial history, stock-market speculation, bubbles, behavioral economics, crowd psychology, and economic history.

  WITCHCRAFT, ALCHEMY & THE OCCULT

  The scope of the book extends far beyond finance.

  Mackay also devotes substantial sections to:

  • witchcraft and witch persecutions
  • alchemists and the Philosopher\'s and divination
  • modern prophecies
  • mesmerism and animal magnetism
  • haunted houses
  • relics
  • popular impostures
  • duels and ordeals
  • famous thieves and criminals

  The resulting work is an unusual intersection of economic history, folklore, occult belief, superstition, psychology, and social history.

  CONTENTS

  The work was originally divided into two volumes.

  Volume I includes:
  • The Mississippi Scheme
  • The South Sea Bubble
  • Tulipomania
  • The Alchemists
  • Modern Magnetisers
  • Influence of Politics and Religion on the Hair and Beard
  Volume II includes:
  • The Crusades
  • The Witch Mania
  • The Slow Poisoners
  • Haunted Houses
  • Popular Follies of Great Cities
  • Popular Admiration of Great Thieves
  • Duels and Ordeals
  • Relics

  The separate Volume II title leaf is present in this copy.

  ILLUSTRATED THROUGHOUT

  The volume contains numerous woodcut illustrations, portraits, historical scenes, architectural views, and decorative chapter openings.

  Particularly striking images include:

  • Matthew Hopkins, Witch-Finder General
  • accused witches and their familiars
  • an alchemist at his scenes
  • historical figures and places connected with the various delusions

  The illustrations greatly enhance the appeal of this Victorian edition.

  ORIGINAL PUBLISHER\'S CLOTH

  Bound in the original brown cloth.

  Features include:

  • gilt title to upper board
  • gilt spine lettering
  • gilt publisher\'s device
  • blind-ruled borders
  • original endpapers
  • original sewn binding structure

  The survival of the book in its original nineteenth-century cloth is particularly desirable compared with later rebinding.

  A later removable clear protective cover is included.

  CONDITION

  Very Good overall for age.

  The original cloth remains attractive and structurally sound.

  There is modest rubbing to the boards, corners and edges.

  The head of the spine shows fraying and shallow cloth loss, with lesser wear at the foot.

  The gilt lettering to the front board and spine remains clear and legible.

  Both boards remain firmly attached, and the inner hinges appear sound.

  Internally, foxing and age-toning are most noticeable on the endpapers, title leaves, and preliminary matter.

  The main text is generally cleaner, with scattered spotting and toning.

  The numerous woodcuts remain clear and well printed.

  A tiny puncture toward the lower portion of the Preface leaf does not materially affect the text.

  Old pencil annotations appear on the front endpaper, with a small notation at the rear.

  Page edges are age-toned.

  A later removable clear protective cover is included.

  Please examine all photographs carefully for the binding, spine ends, preliminary foxing, illustrations, and internal condition.

  DETAILS

  Author: Charles Mackay
  Title: Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds
  Publisher: George Routledge and Sons, Limited
  Place: London
  Date: 1892
  Format: Two volumes in one
  Binding: Original brown publisher\'s cloth
  Illustrations: Numerous woodcuts
  Language: English
  Subjects: Financial bubbles, speculation, crowd psychology, witchcraft, alchemy, occultism, mesmerism, folklore

  A scarce illustrated Victorian edition of one of the nineteenth century\'s most famous books on financial speculation, collective enthusiasm, witchcraft, alchemy, and popular credulity.