Hey all,
I've just returned to a snowy and very cold Providence after my
too-brief visit to London and wanted to thank everyone again for their
recommendations. I was unfortunately unable to visit Treadwell's as my
flight from Copenhagen (the first stop on my trip) got snowed-in and I
was only in town on the exact days the shop was closed. I did however
get to visit Watkin's and also the Atlantis Bookshop, where I had a very
nice chat with Geraldine Beskin. Other than that I made the required
pilgrimages to the Sigil Dei Aemeth at the British Museum and the Blake
room at the Tate. I'm very curious about the provenance of the black
mirror in the Dee exhibit and was wondering if anyone knew any details
re its alleged Aztec origins.
Ms. Beskin was of the firm opinion that the UK was the logical place to
pursue academic studies in the history of magic. She mentioned the new
program at Exeter of course but she also said some people at the
University of London, including a Peter Forshaw (sp?), were doing work
in the field. If anyone knows more about programs in the UK or has any
feedback re the Exeter program I'd be very interested to hear it. I'm
always curious as to the curriculum vitae of people who have pursued
academic work in the fields of WES, ASM, etc. As I mentioned previously
I'm plotting (and conjuring) to spend a year in Cairo doing intensive
work on Arabic and research into Arab magic once I finish here at Brown
next year, but after that my plans are very open-ended.
I also wanted to mention that the John Hay Library here at Brown has not
one but two major collections of texts and paraphenalia re magic which
are impressive and under-publicized. The Damon collection includes a
1659 copy of Causabon's _A True and Faithful Relation..._ and a first
printing of Spare's _Book of Pleasure_, among hundreds of other rare
manuscripts. The library is worth a visit if you're in the area and the
directory can be searched at
http://www.brown.edu/Facilities/University_Library/ .
Yours,
Noah Gardiner
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