1729 Secrets Invisible World History of Apparitions Moreton Defoe Early Edition

The Secrets of the Invisible World Disclos'd: Or, An Universal History of Apparitions Sacred and Prophane, Under all Denominations; Whether Angelical, Diabolical, or Human-Souls departed. By Andrew Moreton [Daniel Defoe]. London: Printed for J. Clarke, A. Millar, and J. Green, 1729. Early Edition. 395 p + 6 plates (including frontispiece, assumed complete). Modern re-backed half-leather marbled binding measures 7.5 x 4.5", 12mo. In fair condition. Boards scuffed at edges and worn/bumped at corners. Re-backed spine intact and overall sturdy, but not very attractive. Ownership signature, in ink, found on top edge of front paste-down. Frontispiece & title pages repaired by mounting original leaves on fresh paper with chipping of original leaves at tails (frontispiece exhibits tear down mid-line; some loss of publisher's info on title page). Water or tea dampness staining found in gutter proceeding title page - causing some foxing through Preface. Text-block normally toned with sporadic age-staining. Plates are intact; Plate at page 101 repaired with fresh paper mounted over tear. Re-backed binding intact. Please see photos and ask questions, if any, before purchasing. In his last work Daniel Defoe (c. 1660 - 1731) examines the popular subject of unsolved mysteries. Belief in ghosts (spirits of the dead) and apparitions (spirits of other kinds) was common in the past. It was thought that spirits could be seen by some people but not others, as they could limit their visibility. Includes information on angels, “the Devil in Humane shape,” apparitions in dreams, “when to be afraid… and when not.” Defoe’s religious views, otherwise those of the orthodox dissenters, were marked by a queer admixture of popular superstition. His love of the current ghost stories and delight in the vulgar supernaturalism appear in… an Essay on the Reality of Apparitions, afterwards called The Secrets of the Invisible World Disclosed… In June 1725 he had adopted the pseudonym of Andrew Moreton, which he afterwards used frequently for purposes of concealment. Essay on the Reality of Apparitions was published in 1727, and “the same sheets were reissued with a new title-page” as Secrets of the Invisible World Disclos’d, first in 1728 and again in 1729. A reissue of: An essay on the history and reality of apparitions, 1727, with a cancel title-page. RAREB1729BSUO - 05/26 - HK3581.…