Sale Price:
£550.00
Original Price:
£595.00
2019 First Edition
THE GNOME MANUSCRIPT THREE VOLS
By Wilmar Taal
KEY DETAILS
Condition: Fine
Format: Hardcover, Royal octavo (8vo 6 1⁄4 × 10 in 159 × 254 mm )
Note: Binding/size selection follows standard bibliographic conventions and is approximate; exact measurements may vary.
Published By: Troy Books, London, 2019
Language: English
Signed By: Signed by Author(s)
Collation: pp. 318 + 393 + 224
Dust Jacket: None, as issued, No Jacket
SKU: BTETM0002402
Shipping Info: Approximate Package Dimensions H: 25, L: 30, W: 30 (Units: cm), W: 3Kg
Tracked Shipping, Insurance Coverage as per Customer Request
DESCRIPTION
The Gnome Manuscript Three Vols
2019–2022 First Hardback Printings / Special Limited Editions
Part One: The Gnome Manuscript — Origins, Habit and Culture
Part Two: The Gnome Grimoire — Magical Workings with Nature Spirits
Part Three: The Gnome Compendium — Excerpts of the Works of J.H.W. Eldermans
A handsome three-volume set of Wilmar Taal’s Gnome Manuscript trilogy, presenting, translating and contextualising the extraordinary folkloric and occult material assembled by the Dutch artist, collector and esoteric researcher J.H.W. Eldermans.
Drawing upon the Richel-Eldermans material preserved at the Museum of Witchcraft and Magic in Boscastle, the trilogy moves from the folklore, origins and cultural traditions surrounding gnomes, through ritual and magical workings connected with nature spirits, to Eldermans’ miscellaneous writings, reported encounters and related traditions concerning the “little people”.
Of particular collector interest, Parts Two and Three are from Troy Books’ scarce Special Limited Editions of only 125 hand-numbered copies. The present Gnome Grimoire is number 53/125 and is accompanied by a Wilmar Taal signed Troy Books bookplate, while The Gnome Compendium is number 25/125 and is signed by Taal on the title page. Part One is the attractive Standard Hardback Edition and is the first hardback printing of August 2019.
A visually striking set, with the oatmeal-cloth first volume contrasting attractively with the two brown-cloth Special Editions, all decorated in gilt.
CONDITION, COLLATION & COPY NOTES
A very attractive and well-preserved three-volume set. The cloth bindings present cleanly, with the gilt blocking remaining bright and distinct. Part One retains its pale oatmeal binding in notably pleasing condition, while the brown-cloth Special Editions of Parts Two and Three show strong gilt decoration to the boards and spines.
Internally clean and well presented. Part Two retains the signed author bookplate and is hand-numbered 53/125. Part Three is hand-numbered 25/125 and bears Wilmar Taal’s signature to the title page.
The two Special Editions are therefore individually numbered rather than matching-numbered.
A particularly appealing collector’s set of this unusual modern study of folklore, ritual magic and the surviving work of J.H.W. Eldermans.
Publication Details:
Part One — The Gnome Manuscript: Origins, Habit and Culture. First printing in hardback, August 2019. Standard Hardback Edition. Oatmeal case binding with gold-foil blocking to the front board and spine; 90gsm cream paper stock; brown endpapers; black head and tail bands. Extensively illustrated with drawings by J.H.W. Eldermans from the original Gnome Manuscript and photographs by the author. 318 pages.
Part Two — The Gnome Grimoire: Magical Workings with Nature Spirits. Published 2021. Special Limited Edition, restricted to 125 hand-numbered copies; this example 53/125. Brown cloth binding with gold-foil blocking to the front board and spine; cream paper stock; black endpapers; black head and tail bands. With signed Wilmar Taal Troy Books bookplate. Extensively illustrated throughout. 393 pages.
Part Three — The Gnome Compendium: Excerpts of the Works of J.H.W. Eldermans. Copyright 2021; first printing in hardback June 2022. Special Limited Edition, restricted to 125 hand-numbered copies; this example 25/125. Brown cloth binding with gold-foil blocking to the front board and spine; 90gsm cream paper stock; black endpapers; black head and tail bands. Signed by Wilmar Taal on the title page. Illustrated with drawings by J.H.W. Eldermans and photographs by the author. 224 pages.
Please see Photos as part of condition report.
REFERENCES
Troy Books — Wilmar Taal author bibliography and publisher catalogue
Troy Books — The Gnome Compendium, edition and binding details
Museum of Witchcraft and Magic, Boscastle — Richel-Eldermans Collection / Gnome Manuscript
The Occult Library — The Gnome Manuscript trilogy bibliographical records
SYNOPSIS
The Gnome Manuscript trilogy grew from the remarkable Richel-Eldermans collection, donated to the Museum of Witchcraft and Magic at Boscastle in 2000. Within the archive was an unusual body of handwritten and illustrated material concerning Dutch gnome folklore, magical practice and the traditions surrounding supernatural “little people”.
In Part One, Origins, Habit and Culture, Taal examines the folklore and cultural background of the gnome: its supposed origins, characteristics, habits and place within Dutch and European tradition. Eldermans’ distinctive drawings and manuscript material form the visual and documentary foundation of the work.
Part Two, The Gnome Grimoire, moves into explicitly magical territory. The largest volume of the trilogy examines ritual workings involving gnomes and nature spirits, including pentacles, talismans, amulets, ritual tools and garments, Solomonic traditions and lesser-known Dutch magical material. Taal translates and comments upon Eldermans’ writings, placing them within a broader history of folk and ceremonial magic.
The concluding Gnome Compendium gathers material that falls beyond the more defined subjects of the first two volumes. It considers folklore and mythology, individuals historically associated with gnomes, claimed first-hand encounters and other miscellaneous Eldermans writings concerning the “little people”. Together, the three volumes offer an unusual combination of archival research, occult history, folklore and richly illustrated primary-source material.
AUTHOR BIO
Wilmar Taal is a Dutch cultural historian and writer specialising in the history of the occult, folklore, mythology and the hidden histories of the Netherlands. He is the author of The Silent Listener: The Life and Works of J.H.W. Eldermans, a study of the life and remarkable surviving archive of Eldermans, as well as a number of other works concerning folklore and esoteric history.
Taal’s research into the Richel-Eldermans material led to the publication of The Gnome Manuscript trilogy, in which he translates, organises and comments upon Eldermans’ extensive writings and illustrations concerning gnomes, nature spirits, folk belief and magical practice.
2019 First Edition
THE GNOME MANUSCRIPT THREE VOLS
By Wilmar Taal
KEY DETAILS
Condition: Fine
Format: Hardcover, Royal octavo (8vo 6 1⁄4 × 10 in 159 × 254 mm )
Note: Binding/size selection follows standard bibliographic conventions and is approximate; exact measurements may vary.
Published By: Troy Books, London, 2019
Language: English
Signed By: Signed by Author(s)
Collation: pp. 318 + 393 + 224
Dust Jacket: None, as issued, No Jacket
SKU: BTETM0002402
Shipping Info: Approximate Package Dimensions H: 25, L: 30, W: 30 (Units: cm), W: 3Kg
Tracked Shipping, Insurance Coverage as per Customer Request
DESCRIPTION
The Gnome Manuscript Three Vols
2019–2022 First Hardback Printings / Special Limited Editions
Part One: The Gnome Manuscript — Origins, Habit and Culture
Part Two: The Gnome Grimoire — Magical Workings with Nature Spirits
Part Three: The Gnome Compendium — Excerpts of the Works of J.H.W. Eldermans
A handsome three-volume set of Wilmar Taal’s Gnome Manuscript trilogy, presenting, translating and contextualising the extraordinary folkloric and occult material assembled by the Dutch artist, collector and esoteric researcher J.H.W. Eldermans.
Drawing upon the Richel-Eldermans material preserved at the Museum of Witchcraft and Magic in Boscastle, the trilogy moves from the folklore, origins and cultural traditions surrounding gnomes, through ritual and magical workings connected with nature spirits, to Eldermans’ miscellaneous writings, reported encounters and related traditions concerning the “little people”.
Of particular collector interest, Parts Two and Three are from Troy Books’ scarce Special Limited Editions of only 125 hand-numbered copies. The present Gnome Grimoire is number 53/125 and is accompanied by a Wilmar Taal signed Troy Books bookplate, while The Gnome Compendium is number 25/125 and is signed by Taal on the title page. Part One is the attractive Standard Hardback Edition and is the first hardback printing of August 2019.
A visually striking set, with the oatmeal-cloth first volume contrasting attractively with the two brown-cloth Special Editions, all decorated in gilt.
CONDITION, COLLATION & COPY NOTES
A very attractive and well-preserved three-volume set. The cloth bindings present cleanly, with the gilt blocking remaining bright and distinct. Part One retains its pale oatmeal binding in notably pleasing condition, while the brown-cloth Special Editions of Parts Two and Three show strong gilt decoration to the boards and spines.
Internally clean and well presented. Part Two retains the signed author bookplate and is hand-numbered 53/125. Part Three is hand-numbered 25/125 and bears Wilmar Taal’s signature to the title page.
The two Special Editions are therefore individually numbered rather than matching-numbered.
A particularly appealing collector’s set of this unusual modern study of folklore, ritual magic and the surviving work of J.H.W. Eldermans.
Publication Details:
Part One — The Gnome Manuscript: Origins, Habit and Culture. First printing in hardback, August 2019. Standard Hardback Edition. Oatmeal case binding with gold-foil blocking to the front board and spine; 90gsm cream paper stock; brown endpapers; black head and tail bands. Extensively illustrated with drawings by J.H.W. Eldermans from the original Gnome Manuscript and photographs by the author. 318 pages.
Part Two — The Gnome Grimoire: Magical Workings with Nature Spirits. Published 2021. Special Limited Edition, restricted to 125 hand-numbered copies; this example 53/125. Brown cloth binding with gold-foil blocking to the front board and spine; cream paper stock; black endpapers; black head and tail bands. With signed Wilmar Taal Troy Books bookplate. Extensively illustrated throughout. 393 pages.
Part Three — The Gnome Compendium: Excerpts of the Works of J.H.W. Eldermans. Copyright 2021; first printing in hardback June 2022. Special Limited Edition, restricted to 125 hand-numbered copies; this example 25/125. Brown cloth binding with gold-foil blocking to the front board and spine; 90gsm cream paper stock; black endpapers; black head and tail bands. Signed by Wilmar Taal on the title page. Illustrated with drawings by J.H.W. Eldermans and photographs by the author. 224 pages.
Please see Photos as part of condition report.
REFERENCES
Troy Books — Wilmar Taal author bibliography and publisher catalogue
Troy Books — The Gnome Compendium, edition and binding details
Museum of Witchcraft and Magic, Boscastle — Richel-Eldermans Collection / Gnome Manuscript
The Occult Library — The Gnome Manuscript trilogy bibliographical records
SYNOPSIS
The Gnome Manuscript trilogy grew from the remarkable Richel-Eldermans collection, donated to the Museum of Witchcraft and Magic at Boscastle in 2000. Within the archive was an unusual body of handwritten and illustrated material concerning Dutch gnome folklore, magical practice and the traditions surrounding supernatural “little people”.
In Part One, Origins, Habit and Culture, Taal examines the folklore and cultural background of the gnome: its supposed origins, characteristics, habits and place within Dutch and European tradition. Eldermans’ distinctive drawings and manuscript material form the visual and documentary foundation of the work.
Part Two, The Gnome Grimoire, moves into explicitly magical territory. The largest volume of the trilogy examines ritual workings involving gnomes and nature spirits, including pentacles, talismans, amulets, ritual tools and garments, Solomonic traditions and lesser-known Dutch magical material. Taal translates and comments upon Eldermans’ writings, placing them within a broader history of folk and ceremonial magic.
The concluding Gnome Compendium gathers material that falls beyond the more defined subjects of the first two volumes. It considers folklore and mythology, individuals historically associated with gnomes, claimed first-hand encounters and other miscellaneous Eldermans writings concerning the “little people”. Together, the three volumes offer an unusual combination of archival research, occult history, folklore and richly illustrated primary-source material.
AUTHOR BIO
Wilmar Taal is a Dutch cultural historian and writer specialising in the history of the occult, folklore, mythology and the hidden histories of the Netherlands. He is the author of The Silent Listener: The Life and Works of J.H.W. Eldermans, a study of the life and remarkable surviving archive of Eldermans, as well as a number of other works concerning folklore and esoteric history.
Taal’s research into the Richel-Eldermans material led to the publication of The Gnome Manuscript trilogy, in which he translates, organises and comments upon Eldermans’ extensive writings and illustrations concerning gnomes, nature spirits, folk belief and magical practice.
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