On the Great First Cause, His Existence and Attributes

First Edition. Marbled bwrappers. "This essay is intended as a foundation for belief in revealed religion, in connection with the theory of celestial influences, or astrology." Richard James Morrison (15 June 1795 - 5 April 1874) was an English astrologer, commonly known by his pen name Zadkiel and best known for the series known as Zadkiel's Almanac. Morrison in 1831 issued The Herald of Astrology, subsequently known as Zadkiel's Almanac. In this annual pamphlet, he published predictions of the chief events of the coming year. Morrison wrote with the signature Zadkiel Tao-Sze. Morrison wrote such articles as The New Principia, or true system of astronomy, in which the Earth is proved to be the stationary centre of the Solar System (1868) which made him a charlatan in the eyes of scientists. In 1863 he won a libel suite against Admiral Sir Edward Belcher who wrote in the Daily Telegraph that Morrison was "the crystal globe seer who gulled many of our nobility about the year 1852." He was awarded twenty shillings (one pound) damages, but was deprived of his costs. The Athenaeum (16 May 1874, p. 666) noted that Morrison was "the restorer and Grand Master in this country of Tao-Sze, a secret society intended to be of immense power, and to outshine the Free- masons, but which, most probably, by his death, is reduced to two members, and inanition". Formerly owned by Alfred Pearce, noted 19th century astrologer. Moderate wear to extremities, loss to upper, otherwise tight, bright, and unmarred. Ex libris to front boards. Bound in marble paper boards with paper title label and number label. 8vo. 48pp.