She Walks in Shadows(11)
DE DEABUS MINORIBUS EXTERIORIS THEOMAGICAE
Jilly Dreadful De Deabus Minoribus Exterioris Theomagicae: Textual Criticism and Notes on the Book as Object, A Bibliographic Study by Donna Morgan, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of English, Miskatonic University Reproduction of Title Page: de deabus minoribus exterioris theomagicae: A Di?cour?e on the Invocations of the Lesser Outer Goddesses; Grounded in her Creator’s Proto-Chimi?try, and verifi’d by a practicall Examination of Principles in the Greater Dimension.
By Septimia Prinn
The Voice of Idh-yaa:
She was a woman
with a tome.
Zoroa?ter in Oracul. (Zoroaster in Oracle.) Audi Ignis Vocem. (Listen to the Fire) (handwritten Elizabeth Breedlove) LONDON,
Printed by E.B For H. Vondrak at the Castle in Thorn-hill. 1650.
Binding:
3”x5” in size.
Octavo binding (eight leaves per quire). Never seen an octavo so small; generally duodecimos are this size because of the folding of paper.
No evidence of rebinding; most likely not forgery; provenance unknown. Binding is intact but well-worn from frequent use.
Cover in serviceable condition; leather is visibly weathered from repeated handling; dirty (oils from hands depositing in leather). Threads on back cover, where binding meets book structure, are raised; thick thread looks like “skeletal fingers” binding quires to cover.
Upon closer inspection, “skeletal fingers” are not just abnormally thick twine bindings; appear to be bound with articulated bones, with thread carefully sewn through the bone connecting binding to cover.
Judging from shape and lightness of bones, I suspect they are wings from a single bat; search on library databases suggest that this technique has not been seen before; email sent to Professor Dane to confirm. A headache is forming with intense pressure behind eyes; artificial light in Special Collections is becoming painful.
Considering occult subject matter of text, small size, slim width: Binding suggests it was designed with secrecy in mind; could easily be concealed on body. I postulate this was a practicing occultist’s grimoire.
Paper:
This octavo is printed exclusively on vellum, still pungent. Vellum most likely made of pigskin, although this does not have the same color or scent as the vellum commonly sourced in London during this era; perhaps chemically treated to achieve a whiter transparency, hence the remnant smell; possibly sheepskin.
On page 50, quire E, on the 7th leaf, on the face of one of the only decorative plates in the book, an illustration, beneath which these handwritten words appear (Translations are my own): Idh-yaa Lythalia Vhuzompha
Shub-Niggurath Yaghni Yidhra (names of lesser outer goddesses)
Dare licentiam ad ut eam in servitium vestrum arma capere milites, (Give her permission to arm soldiers in your service.)
Septimia Prinn (proper name of author)
Deas à Conciliis, & Oracul Indiciarius, (Goddess’ Council & Indicarius (?) of the Oracle)
Do?tor Utriusque Naturam & Di?inam. (Doctor of Both Natural Laws & Divine)
At this site, a discoloration on the page. A watermark, perhaps; appears to be lettering. Not aware of watermarks in this period using words instead of symbols.
Asked for a cold (fiber optic) light, but Carlo, the Special Collections librarian, claims they do not have one. Certain I used one in Special Collections earlier this week.
Carlo provides me with table lamp. Why is Carlo keeping the cold light from me?
Place watermarked leaf over table light, but nothing lights up beneath, meaning it is embossed. a. Hold book at eye level, single leaf against overhead lights, read aloud: “Eram quod es; eris quod sum.” (I was what you are; you will be what I am.)
The book features deckled edges and is adorned with heavy speckling, most likely quill ink; the speckles are a brown, sepia tone. Quill ink generally made with iron in this era, which oxidizes over time; same color of oxidization is on edges, as well as the handwritten portions of the text.
As Special Collections closed for the day, I placed tome on dissertation cart. Somehow tome ended up in my bag.
Will continue textual analysis at home; will return text to cart tomorrow.
The vellum is desiccated, making the edges of each page razor sharp. Slit tip of thumb as I turned a page. Kind of cut that’s so deep it doesn’t bleed right away and looks as though the skin never separated.
Turned page, left bloody thumbprint. Went to get cotton swab and peroxide to lift stain out. Blood is gone.
Illustration/Decoration:
Title page: encased in border depicting moon phases. Phases of moon include black circles that transition from black crescents into black, outlined crescents, representing shifting of new moon to full moon.
Out of the corner of my eye, while I typed those observations on my laptop, the moons appeared to be actively shifting, as if animated. Possible that arrangement of the moon gradations are an optical illusion.
Page 51: single full-page woodcut featuring sextet of lesser outer goddesses. Above woodcut reads: Supplication of the Unfathomable Ones, beneath which the woodcut is printed. When I looked at this page to double-check the heading, the printed text was no longer in English, but what I can only presume is a cuneiform of Latin and Sumerian.