Witches, Mediums, Vagrants and the Law

C[harles] E[dgar] Loseby

Manchester: Spiritualists’ National Union, 1946. 5 ½ x 8 ½ in. Offset. Saddle stapled in green wraps with green dustjacket. [31] pp. 

Essay written by the lawyer and Parliamentarian exploring the history of witches and the law, and ultimately arguing for the legalization of spiritualist mediums. In 1951, a few years after the publication of this booklet, the Witchcraft Act of 1735 and Vagrancy Act of 1824 would be repealed by the Fraudulent Mediums Act of 1951, which legalized mediums’ practice except in cases of profit made from fraudulent mediums.

The spiritualist movement, which peaked in popularity in the late 19th Century and into the 1920s, proposes that spirits exist after death, continue to evolve during that time, and can be communicated with. The early spritualist movement was notable for its overwhelming support for the abolition of slavery and women’s suffrage, and for the large number of prominent women members and practitioners. The Spiritualists’ National Union, founded in 1901, remains one of the largest spiritualist organizations in the world.

Scarce history of occult and the law. Very good in good only jacket.