Franz Anton Mesmer: A History of Mesmerism
Garden City, New York: Doubleday, Doran & Company, Inc., 1934. First Edition. Octavo, 308 pages, publisher's original green cloth covered boards. An uncommon and highly readable study of Franz Anton Mesmer and the rise of mesmerism, animal magnetism, and early hypnotic theory. In this engaging 1934 biography and history, Margaret Goldsmith traces Mesmer’s life, controversies, theories, followers, and lasting influence on the development of hypnotism, suggestion, trance states, psychic healing, and the broader history of psychology and medicine. Blending biography, intellectual history, occult history, and medical history, the work offers a vivid account of one of the central figures in the history of mesmerism and its afterlife in 19th- and early 20th-century thought. An appealing copy for collectors of hypnotism, mesmerism, animal magnetism, psychology, psychiatry, psychoanalysis, occultism, spiritualism, esoterica, and the history of science and medicine. Spine sunned, slight rubbing and fraying along edges of boards. Now in a protective clear mylar jacket. In good + condition. Item #255
Price: $75.00