An Exact Facsimile of an Original Book of Magic in Hebrew. The book centers on a Hebrew manuscript entitled 'Sepher Maphteah Shelomo,' that dates from around 1700. The original manuscript was discovered in the library of a London Rabbi, Samuel Marcus Gollancz (1819-1900), by his son, Hermann, not long after his father's death. Hermann Gollancz, himself an eminent Hebrew scholar, was fascinated by the manuscript, and felt that its study might give important insight into the history and origins of the "Solomonic" grimoires or books of magic, that are a mainstay of the Western occult tradition.

In 1903 Gollancz published his preliminary thoughts and translations in a booklet entitled 'Clavicula Salomonis, A Hebrew Manuscript,' and in 1914 he published a facsimile of the manuscript, along with a twenty-page English-language Introduction discussing the text and quoting from it, under the title Sepher Maphteah Shelomo in an edition of only 300 copies.

Both works are extremely rare, and have never before been reprinted. This new Unicursal edition includes the full text of both of Gollancz's commentaries, and a facsimile of the original Hebrew manuscript. The first section comprises the English-language Foreword and Introductions. Please note the English materials are commentaries - not a full translation.

7" x 10" (17.78 x 25.4 cm)
Unicursal, 186 pages