Occult & Esoterica
[EVANS, Henry Ridgely] Cagliostro and His Egyptian Rite of Freemasonry (1930, Limited to 200 copies)
[EVANS, Henry Ridgely] Cagliostro and His Egyptian Rite of Freemasonry (1930, Limited to 200 copies)
New York: The Masonic Bibliophiles, 1930. Limited Edition. Hardcover. Quarto. No edition stated (copyright dates show 1919 and 1930). Limited edition of 202 numbered copies, this being No. 8, 90pp. Blue cloth backed paper boards lettered in gilt. Engraved frontis, b&w illustrations. Paper boards worn at corners and along edges, light soiling to covers. Bookplate of James C. Wobbensmith (state representative of Pennsylvania and president of the Society of American Magicians from 1930-1931) to front pastedown. One torn page missing a vertical corner. Otherwise internally clean. All in all still a very good copy of this highly scarce publication.
A short biography of Giuseppe Balsamo (1742-1795), who was also known as Comte de Cagliostro, who founded Egyptian Freemasonry and believed in the intrinsic link between it and Hermeticism and Alchemy. Contains a description of the Egyptian Rite and more including an account of the Reception of an Apprentice into an Egyptian Lodge.