[Houdini] Del Rio. Disquisitionum Magicarum Libri Sex.

Del Rio, Martin. Disquisitionum Magicarum Libri Sex. [Lyon]: H. (Horace) Cardon: 1612. Re-bound in modern leather incorporating contemporary brown calf panels stamped with crucifix at center; circumscribed “Jesus Nasarenus Rex Iudeorum 1583.” Engraved title page. Undated handwritten page remnant laid down inside front cover provides a biographical sketch of the author. 30 leaves, p. [1]—468, 30 leaves. 4to. Some browning on initial pages, one with gutter tear; inserted at front is one page inscribed to Houdini from John Anderson Jr. (likely the son of John Henry Anderson, the “Great Wizard of the North”), dated 1920. Del Rio, trained as a lawyer in Spain, became a Jesuit in 1580. He wrote this popular book on magic and the occult in the last quarter of the sixteenth century. While Del Rio acknowledges the existence of “theatrical and deceptive” magic and gives examples of tricks performed by jugglers (magicians), itinerant performers, and even trained animals, the book’s main focus is on witchcraft and “real magic.” Houdini’s library, well-known for its size, was stocked not only with works on stage magic, but important and early books on the occult and black magic, as well.