Le Petit Albert
translated, edited, and introduced by Paul Summers Young
"She conducted us into a small dark room, lit by the flame of a single lamp, and by that flickering light we saw a table covered with a cloth, and on the table, some sort of small statue, or doll, seated upon a tripod . . ."
In some respects, Le Petit Albert was the epitome of the Bibliothèque Bleue grimoires: it appeared from virtually nowhere in the early eighteenth century, was almost immediately condemned by the censor, and was spread across France by itinerant booksellers passing from village to village, town to town.
About the Black Letter Press edition
This Black Letter Press edition celebrates the text as a window into the lives of the small people, with its advice on how to win at fishing, turn table-wine into fine liqueur, stop your spouse wandering and keep the actual wolf from the door. This folk wisdom blends into Paracelsian magic and the famed description of the Hand of Glory and the Mandrake, which formed the basis for a fascination which endures to this day. But much more than that, Le Petit Albert became synonymous with sorcery in the French colonies of North America and the Caribbean and is one of the most important texts in traditional New World magic. Black Letter Press have worked from the 'Lyon' edition dated 1752, which expands on the earlier editions and stabilises the text, apparently forming the solid basis for what followed.
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Hardcover Edition
278 pages. Hardcover bound in blue Fedrigoni Imitlin. 120 gram black endpapers. Printed on 115 gsm wood-free, age-resistant Munken Premium Cream paper. Sewn book block, black ribbon bookmark and black headbands. Gilded on front cover.
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Press, reviews, endorsements
Book Review by Foolish Fish - watch on YouTube here