Tipping His Tables: Ramblings After a Rambler; Exposures of an Exposer

Tipping His Tables: Ramblings After A Rambler; Exposures Of An Exposer by Allen Putnam opens a pointed defense of Spiritualism against John Gregory’s critical exposé. Published in 1873 by William White & Company, the volume presents an Introduction that argues Gregory’s work is a hasty, prejudiced survey that omits core Spiritualist facts while elevating sensationalist fragments. Putnam quotes and assesses other writers and scientists who engaged with Spiritualism—A. J. Davis, the Northfield minister’s misreadings of Davis, the Dialectical Society’s inquiries, and testimonies from figures like Professor Varley, Judge Edmonds, and Judge Ladd—to argue that genuine spirit phenomena and religious insight deserve careful, scientific scrutiny rather than outright dismissal. The work surveys themes such as the origin of Spiritualism, the role of the Fox sisters, the relation of religion to Spiritualism, the idea of magnetism as a scapegoat, and the social dynamics around modern reformers. It advocates measured openness to inquiry and to the possibility of life after death.