Gypsy Sorcery and Fortune-Telling

6b Charles Leland Godfrey. Illustrated by the author. London: T. Fisher Unwin, 1891. Limited Edition number 43/150 copies SIGNED by the author. 

Notes

Gypsy Sorcery and Fortune-Telling is a fascinating study of European Romani folklore, magical traditions, divination, and popular superstition by Charles Godfrey Leland. Drawing upon his extensive research into folk beliefs and oral traditions, Leland examines practices including palmistry, fortune-telling, charms, incantations, amulets, and rituals associated with protection, healing, and good fortune. Illustrated by the author, the work reflects the growing nineteenth-century fascination with folklore, occultism, and the preservation of traditional beliefs. Although its language and interpretations reflect the romanticized and sometimes prejudiced perspectives of Victorian scholarship, the book remains an important historical source for understanding how Romani magical traditions were documented and represented in the nineteenth century.

Charles Godfrey Leland (1824–1903) was an American folklorist, journalist, author, and scholar whose lifelong fascination with languages, mythology, and traditional magic made him an influential figure in nineteenth-century folklore studies. Born in Philadelphia, Leland studied in the United States and Europe before pursuing a varied literary career that included journalism, humor, travel writing, and ethnographic research. He manned the barricades in the 1848 Revolution in Paris, worked as a publicist for Barnum, and served with an emergency regiment at Gettysburg. He developed a particular interest in the folklore of Romani communities and Italian witchcraft traditions, gathering stories, charms, and magical practices that he believed were threatened by modernization. Leland’s writings helped establish folklore and vernacular magic as subjects worthy of serious literary and scholarly attention, while also illustrating the limitations of Victorian approaches to cultural interpretation. His legacy endures through his contributions to the study of European folk magic, mythology, and the history of occult traditions.

Notes

Original paper-covered boards printed in red and black. Top edge gilt. Bookplate of British actor E. S. Willard to inside cover. Spine toned. Joins are partially split with remnants of tape repairs visible. Wear to extremities. Foxing to outer leaves. Illustrated throughout by the author. Signed by author on limited edition page. Very good copy.