Libraries

and the

Occult

 

 

 

Cecile Dubuis

“Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of MA of University College London.”

September 2004

Abstract

The principal aims of this study are to look at how libraries currently deal with occult collections and as to why such materials are still not widely available to the public through the library system.

Its intent is to cover both historical and current collections, how libraries have dealt with them and on the classification difficulties that arise from such a broad yet relatively untouched subject.

A further section of the dissertation will consider some of the history of occult collections, on where they have gone to, on the changes or lack thereof between then and the present day, and on how some libraries advertise such collections whilst others still hide them away.

Another aspect of the project will discuss some of the issues of censorship and how the occult field is under constant pressure to either remain hidden or to prove its validity and useful. Here, I will also consider some of the current controversies and the librarian’s dilemma.

The majority of the collections that I have been able to access and explore are based in London, or in other parts of the United Kingdom. However, I have also incorporated studies on important collections that are housed overseas.

In addition to both historical and present day collections, a further section looks at the future of the occult collection with regard to online resources and current library-building projects.

The occult, whilst continuing to enjoy a significant growth in interest with the public at large, remains predominantly unchartered territory for the librarian. This study will try to consider and discuss some of the issues that surround this most mysterious of subjects.

 

 

 

 

 

Signed declaration

I declare that this dissertation is my own work and that all sources have been acknowledged

 

 

 

 

 

 

Contents

 

 

Items Page no.

Chapter 1. Introduction 1

1.1 The definition of an occult collection 1

1.2 A new demand for a new society 2

1.3 Misconceptions and controversy 4

Chapter 2. Classification 6

2.1 The difficulties 6

2.2 How different classification schemes deal with the occult 8

2.2.1 Dewey Decimal Classification 8

2.2.2 The Library of congress Classification 12

2.2.3 The Bliss Classification 14

2.2.4 The Librarie Lucien Dorbon 17

2.3 Special collections 20

2.3.1 Generalities 20

2.3.2 The Ferguson Collection 21

2.3.3 The Harry Price Collection 23

2.4 The alternative 26

Chapter 3. Library Collection 29

3.1 Occult as a main subject 29

3.1.1 The Library of Avalon 29

3.1.2 The Theosophical Library 35

3.2 Libraries on other subjects but with a very

Substantial occult section 41

3.2.1 The Wellcome Library 41

3.2.2 The London Library 45

3.2.3 The Warburg Institute 49

3.3 Public Libraries 54

3.3.1 The Battersea Lending Library 54

3.3.2 The New York Public Library 55

3.4 Other special libraries in the UK 56

3.5 Major collection outside the UK 59

3.5.1 The Bibliotheca Hermetica Philosophica 60

3.5.2 The Monash Library 61

Chapter 4. Censorship 63

4.1 Introduction to censorship 63

4.2 Occult representation 65

4.3 The librarian dilemma 66

4.4 Children and the occult literature 69

4.5 The Harry Potter dilemma 68

4.6 Conclusion to censorship 71

Chapter 5. The historical tradition and the

online revolution 72

5.1 Libraries as keeper of forbidden knowledge 72

5.2 The tradition of occult library 73

5.3 The online revolution 75

Chapter 6. Conclusion 77

6.1 The future 77

6.2 Summary of what has been covered 78

Bibliography 81

Appendices:

Appendix 1: Bliss PX: The Occult

Appendix 2: The Magical Library of Harry Price, exhibition booklet

Appendix 3: Exhibition leaflet: Confession of a teenage witch.(Wellcome)

Appendix 4: London Library subject sub-divisions on science and miscellaneous

Appendix 5: London Library map

Appendix 6: Monash Library exhibition on the occult (prints from their WebPages.)

 

 

 

Chapter 1. Introduction

 

1.1 The definition of the occult

“According to the Oxford English dictionary, the term “Occult” in the sense of “not understood or able to be understood by the mind, beyond the range of ordinary knowledge”, dates from 1545. By 1653, the accepted meaning of the word had extended to cover those would be sciences of the ancient and medieval worlds, such as magic, alchemy, astrology and theosophy, which were supposed to contain some knowledge of, or to have power to activate, the secret and mysterious forces of nature. However, it took the work of Eliphas Levi in 19^th century Europe to develop occultism into a way of looking at the world, with its own rites. In fact, the beliefs, theories and techniques embraced by the terms “occultism” or “esoterism” were already widely known in later antiquity and some of them such as magic, astrology, theurgy and necromancy, had been invented and systematized some 2000 years earlier in Egypt and Mesopotamia. The historical field of occultism might remain very imprecise but for one point which happens to circumscribe it: the written history of occult philosophy does not start until more or less the dawn of Christianity.” (Nataf, 1996, p1)

Firstly, we should clarify and discuss what an occult collection includes. The principal misconception surrounding the subject has arisen from years of censorship and taboo; that the occult only concerns certain dangerous and negative influences such as Satanism or demonology. This is not the case. Instead, whilst these issues are certainly part of the occult, the subject encompasses many other aspects of interest and study. There are too many topics involved to be able to present a complete list here. However, as a way to illustrate what would come underneath the occult banner, here is a short list of keywords which would most likely be found on the shelves. I have used many of these keywords in my searches on the subject.

Supernatural, Paranormal

Para-psychology and Pseudo-sciences

Alchemy

Magic (white, Enochian, natural, angel and black)

Witchcraft, Wicca, Paganism, Druids, Earth Goddess

Spells, Amulets, Charms, Rituals

Divination methods: Palmistry, Tarot, Crystal, Oracles, Physiognomy and Runes

Satanism, Devil-worshipping, Demonology, Exorcism, Possession

Vampirism, Zombies, Monsters and Revenants

UFO’s, Aliens, the Unexplained, Crop circles, Standing Stones, Loch Mess Monster

Myths, Legends and folklore

Ghost, Haunting, ESP, Psychoanalysis, Reincarnation,

Secret Societies, Freemasonry, Gnosticism, Rosicrucianism, Sects, Knights Templar

Alternative religions (Tantrism, Taoism, Sufi, Voodooism, New Age)

Occultism, Esoterism, Theosophy and more

1.2 A new demand for a new society

Contrary to some of the more fundamentalist views, the occult ,in all its forms, is a popular subject. Today’s society is more open-minded and enjoys a greater freedom of expression than has been the case previously. Whilst societies and organisations that involve themselves in various aspects of the occult have always been around, it is only relatively recently that they have become accessible rather than hidden and secretive. The Internet has been instrumental in allowing these organisations to promote themselves and to inform others, which gives them the ability to publish information online without prejudice or censorship. The sheer breadth and number of these organisations testifies to the demand in these interests; London alone has a great many pagan groups, folklore societies, New Age associations, vampire communities, Gnostic societies and alchemical research groups to name but a few. This does illustrate a need for written material and yet, whilst so many publications are available either online or in the shops, a comparatively small amount is available within libraries.

Despite this, a lot of library literature shows awareness in the increase in interest and demand for occult-related materials. “The literature of pseudoscience is vast, yet endlessly fascinating. The demands for books and articles on extrasensory perception (ESP), monsters, unidentified flying objects (UFOs), and a host of such subject is great and rising”(Thompson, 1884,p176)

“Anyone visiting a large bookstore cannot fail to notice how many shelves are devoted to subject commonly labelled ‘mind, body and spirit’. The fashion for ‘new age' shows no signs of abating” (Wilkins, 1999, p70)

“Boom in the States in the sale of occult books, books in the ‘new age’ category had risen by 75% since 1993”. (Daily Mail, 29^th October, 1998)

“We can see this change reflected in the literature of today, with the last thirty years witnessing an increase in books dealing with what the Dewey Classification Schedules call ‘controversial knowledge’; the occult sciences, the paranormal, the esoteric as it is variously know.” (Wilkins, 1999, p70)

Lastly, as Bogey said in his article on the subject: “The occult is booming and book sales in the new age/occult category have risen at twice the rate of books as a group. As a result this area may not be adequately represented in libraries.”(Bogey, 1996, p145)

 

1.3 Misconceptions and controversies

Today the term occult denotes a variety of knowledge beyond the range of everyday experience. Whether supernatural, mystical, magical or paranormal the interest and the demand are there. The labels may vary from one bookstore to another but the majority will have a section dedicated to the occult. London has many bookstores that specialise in the subject and most will agree that their clients and readers are not all lunatics with dangerous ideas. The materials are being used by scholars and researchers as well as by individuals with a personal interest in the variety of aspects that form the occult. One of the library’s roles is to mirror society and its range of interests and whilst the demand for materials is clearly there, coverage of the topic within the library is frequently poor and somewhat narrow.

One of the most frequent remarks found in the various articles that I have read on this subject is the lack of analysis of user needs in conjunction with the evident increase in interest. It would be understandable if the interest simply wasn’t there, but it is, and many institutions are still uncertain of how to deal with the controversy and difficulties associated with the occult. Many of the debates on the topic concern the legitimacy of the subject matter and the fact that it is not yet completely accepted by the academic world as a valid field of study. As such, the existing sources of information are of dubious provenance. This in turn leads to difficulties in choosing which materials to hold as part of a collection. The process of integrating or building upon an existing collection will vary immensely, depending upon whether you are a believer, a sceptic, simply curious or completely opposed to the subject.

This dissertation will look at some of the issues described above. The next chapter will look at some of the classification difficulties whilst the third chapter will consider some of the major occult collections presently available and how they deal with the issues surrounding the subject. Chapter four will focus on the issue of censorship and how it has shaped the history of the occult collections. Chapter five will delve further into both the historical background and the online revolution, before finally looking into the library projects that are happening around the world today.

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 2. Classification of the occult

 

2.1 The difficulties

The growth in publication and demand for occult or pseudo-scientific literature has raised a number of issues. One of these issues concerns the classification of these diverse and apparently new subjects. At some stage most libraries will encounter the subject of the occult. Relatively few will deal with it in the same way, even though the purpose of subject arrangement is to assist the reader in locating books belonging to the same or similar fields. Unfortunately, the occult seems to be one of the least considered subjects when it comes to classification. This can often result in materials being divided among other subjects such as philosophy, psychology and religion. This can make it difficult to find occult materials. In such cases, a further difficulty can arise for the user; that of asking for help in locating “occult books”. Frequently arising from historical taboos and misconceptions, reactions may not always be negative or judgmental but it does depend somewhat on the beliefs and opinions of the library staff concerned. Particularly those who eschew the subject from a standpoint of little or no personal knowledge.

An example of the diversity of where such materials can be shelved can be obtained by looking at how bookshops handle the subject. Whilst they do not need to follow the same classification schemes as the library, they still have to arrange the materials in a way that helps members of the public locate the required items. Frequently, esoteric and occult literature will be found under a wide range of subject headings: Self Help, Psychology, Religion, Women’s Literature and even Cookery (magic and herbs!). Few bookshops will actually use the term “Occult” due to the stigma attached to it. More frequently, if a bookshop carries these publications, they will be shelved in a section more euphemistically termed “New Age”, “Mind, Body and Spirit” or simply just “Spirituality”.

An example of this practice can be seen mirrored in the public library. Even though the Dewey name for “133” is Parapsychology and Occultism, the library will frequently refer to this section as “The Unexplained”. This is the case within Southwark libraries.

As previously mentioned, depending upon which scheme is used, occult related materials may be collated with or integrated into other main subjects such as Religion, Philosophy, Psychology and Social Sciences. None of these are particularly wrong as the occult covers such a large range of issues. As such, it will rarely have its own class status. In the past the items were either catalogued with the sciences (Alchemy was seen as a legitimate science before being ruled out as an occult science) or within miscellaneous. I came across this early classification list in Shoham’s Library classification. (Shoham, 2000, p41)

“In the early eighteenth century, the Sion College Library was classified by subject:

A Bibles, Concordances

B Liturgies

C Rabbinical authors

D-E Commentaries on the Bible

X Philosophy

Y Philology

Z English, French and Italian Philology

AB Miscellaneous: Coins, Magic, Witchcraft, Demonology

IB Dictionaries in all subjects” (Shoham, S, 2000, p41).

When unsure, it is usually safe to use miscellaneous. Unfortunately for today, the subject is a little too large to fit within miscellaneous any more.

Another difficulty encountered by libraries is the fact that many of the books will not have previously been catalogued, which eliminates the possibility of copying or checking another institution’s records. Decisions will often have to be made by the institution alone and guidance in this subject is not as widely available as with the more popular subjects.

 

2.2 How the different classification schemes deal with the occult.

Whilst it would be impossible for me to consider every classification scheme here, I have chosen to look at a few that have dealt with and considered this topic.

 

2.2.1 Dewey Decimal Classification

 

When dealing with a large general collection, Dewey is frequently the scheme chosen. Here, the different keywords of the occult subjects are reasonably well represented. To most public library users 130 and more specifically 133 will be the first place to check for materials. However, not all occult related items will be located under this number. Here’s a list of where in Dewey materials may be located:

In the 000’s (Computer Science, Information, General works…) under:

001 Knowledge

In the 100’s (Philosophy & Psychology) under:

110 Metaphysics

130 Parapsychology & occultism

140 Specific philosophical schools

150 Psychology

170 Ethics

180 Ancient, medieval & eastern philosophy

190 Modern western philosophy

In the 200’s (Religion) under:

200 Religion

210 Philosophy & theory of religion

280 Christian denominations & sects

290 Other religions

In the 300’s under:

360 Social problems & services (with 366 for various secret societies)

390 Customs, etiquette & folklore

 

Table 1: DCC 130 main sections

130 Parapsychology & occultism
131 Parapsychological & occult methods	136 (unassigned)
132 (unassigned)	137 Divinatory graphology
133 Specific topics in parapsychology & occultism	138 Physiognomy
134 (unassigned)	139 Phrenology
135 Dreams& mysteries

Table 2: DCC 133 section and its subdivisions

133.1	Apparitions
133.2	Parapsychological and occult aspects of specific things
133.3	Divinatory arts
133.4	Demonology and witchcraft
133.5	Astrology
133.6	Palmistry
133.8	Psychic Phenomenon
133.9	Spiritualism

133.42 Demonology
	.422 Satanism (Devil worshipping)
		.423 Evil spirit (including incubi, succubi, vampires, werewolf)
		.425 The evil eye
		.426 Demoniac possession
		.427 Exorcism of demons
133.43 Magic and witchcraft
133.44 Spells, curses, charms
	.442 Love spells and charms
		.443 Good luck spells and charms
		.446 Therapeutic spells and charms

This is just one example. Some sections have even more subdivisions f. Astrology, for example, has subdivisions for all the different signs of the zodiac, planets and other aspects.

The other main section is Religion. Dewey is sometimes seen as being biased towards the Christian religions and western thought as Christianity uses most of the 200 section (200-289) whilst the other religions are crammed in under the 290’s. Occult and witchcraft can also be found across different fields within religion.

Within 203 Public worship and other practice

203.1 Religious healing

203.2 Divination

203.3 Witchcraft (work on witchcraft under 133.43 and work on modern

revival of witchcraft under 299.94)

203.4 Offering, sacrifice

203.42 Human sacrifice

Most other “alternative” religions are crammed in the 290’s

Table 3: DCC 290 Other Religions

290 Other Religions
291 (Unassigned)	296 Judaism
292 Greek & Roman religion	297 Islam, Babism & Babai Faith
293 Germanic religion	299 Religions not provided for elsewhere
294 Religions of Indic origin		299.1-8 in Africa, north America…
295 Zoroastrianism		299.9 Religions of other origins .92 Religions of other ethnic origin .93 Religions of eclectic and syncretistic origin .932 Gnosticism .933 Subud .934 Theosophy .935 Anthroposophy .936 Scientology .94 Religions based on modern revivals of witchcraft (Class here Neopaganism & Wicca)

In our modern society it may seem strange that the Zoroastrians have their own subdivision whilst pagans are a subdivision of a subdivision, despite Paganism now being a recognised religion with a very large following.

To check this I tried searching different libraries catalogues using the Dewey system to see which sections yielded the most popular results. Using the keywords “occult” as well as “Wicca” and “Magic”, the most popular result was 133 as well as a few under 364 (part of social science mainly concerning books on murder relating to occult practice or rituals). Esoteric is one of the keywords which doesn’t seem to be well represented within Dewey, the only entry is under Esoteric Associations and societies in 366.1-5, with 366.1 being the Freemasons, 366.2 being Knights of Phythias etc. Folklore has its own section and unusually, is also within social science under 398 with sections for ghosts, werewolves, vampires, cannibalism and death customs.

In Dewey, as in most classification schemes, the occult is also covered under the arts, history and in literature. In 130, there are also 3 unassigned sections leaving scope for future development. One rather unusual placement is for UFO’s and Aliens, which are kept within 001 “Knowledge”.

001.1 Intellectual life

001.2 Scholarship

001.3 Humanities

001.4 Research

001.9 Controversial knowledge

.94 Mysteries (reported phenomena not explained like Atlantis, Bermuda triangle…)

.942 Unidentifiable flying object (UFO) including any human-alien encounters

.944 Monster and related phenomena (including yeti, loch ness monster…)

.95 Deceptions and hoaxes

.96 Errors, delusions, superstitions

Strangely in most public libraries I have used this type of book and they are usually found under 133 mixed in with the rest of the ‘weird literature’.

 

2.2.2 Library of Congress Classification

 

In the LCC, the largest section given over to occult related subjects is under BF.

Table 4: LCC B-BJ Philosophy. Psychology

B BC BD BF BH BJ

Philosophy as general Logic Speculative philosophy Psychology, parapsychology, occult Sciences Aesthetics Ethics, social usages, etiquette

Table 5:LCC the three categories in BF

BF	1-990	Psychology 908-940 The hand. Palmistry
BF	1001-1389	Parapsychology 1001-1-1045 Psychic research. Psychology of the conscious 1048-1108 Hallucinations. Sleep. Dreaming. Visions 1111-1156 Hypnotism. Suggestion. Mesmerism. Subliminal projection 1161-1171 Telepathy. Mind reading. Though transferred 1228-1389 Spiritualism. Including mediumship, spirit messages, clairvoyance
BF	1404-1999	Occult sciences 1404-1486 Ghosts. Apparitions. Haunting. 1501-1562 Demonology. Satanism. Possession. 1562.5-1584 Witchcraft 1585-1623 Magic. Hermetics. Necromancy. 1651-1729 Astrology 1745-1779 Oracles. Sibyls. Divinations. 1783-1815 Seers. Prophets. Prophecies. 1845-1891 Fortune telling 1891-1055 Miscellaneous mainly UFO’s and aliens

(Information copied from Library of Congress Classification, 2001.)

Another section where occult related works might also be found is in the BL-BQ sections for Religion and the BR-BX sections for Christianity.

Table 6: LCC BL-BX

BL BM BP BQ	Religions. Mythology. Rationalism Judaism Islam. Bahai Faith. Theosophy, etc. Buddhism
BR BS BT BV BX	Christianity The Bible Doctrinal Theology Practical Theology Christian Denominations

As an example here, paganism can be found under BL432. However, there is no entry for Wicca even though it is the most popular of the pagan religions. The term “Nature worship” is used instead. Some entries may also be found under the Christianity section as the bible will have subentries for words such as occultism, devils and witchcraft. In many ways, they are related.

Another section where occult works may be found is under Z. However, this is unlikely to see much use as it pertains to bibliography. Nonetheless, bibliographies relating to occultism, astrology, exorcism, ghosts and the like are to be found under Z6876-6880.

Whilst searching on the Yale University Library catalogue, I used the word occult as my principal keyword to see if the majority of the books would come under the sections mentioned above. I discovered that most items were found under BF and BP. However, works dealing with alchemy were actually catalogued under QD (Science-Chemistry) with only a few works located in the BH or BF section; these dealt with the more magical aspects of alchemy. From the standpoint of tradition this does make some sense since it was only in the nineteenth century that alchemy was no longer viewed as a proper science. Since then, things have changed and it is no longer seen as a valid aspect of chemistry, so it does depend to a large extent on the personal opinions of the cataloguer as to whether the books are likely to be found in either B or Q. Additionally, I found a number of books dealing with the occult and the Third Reich under DD (History – Germany). This is also subject to controversy since not everyone agrees that the search for the Holy Grail was part of Germanic history. Consequently, such titles may be judged to be historical or occultist fantasy.

Another anomalous topic is that of UFO’s and extra-terrestrials. At present, these are lumped in with miscellaneous. However, in recent years, interest in the subject has literally exploded. This subject frequently accounts for the largest volume of books in the miscellaneous section within most public libraries. This section is likely to require more detailed headings as the subject is growing rapidly.

Generally speaking though, looking at the list of subject headings for the occult field in the LCC shows it to be very comprehensive as it appears to cover most subjects.

 

2.2.3 Bliss Classification (BC2)

 

Table 7: BC2 overview of the main classes.

A/AL	Philosophy and Logic	J	Education
AM/AX	Mathematics	K	Society
AY-B	General Sciences, Physics	L/O	History
C	Chemistry, Chemical engineering	P	Religion, Occult, Morals and Ethics
D	Space and Earth Science	Q	Social Welfare & Criminology
E/GQ	Biological Science	R	Politics & Public administration
E	Biology, Biochemistry, Genetics, etc.	S	Law
F	Botany	T	Economics & Management
G	Zoology (inc. Agriculture and Ecology)	U/V	Technology, Engineering
H	Physical Anthropology, Human Biology	W	Recreation, Arts, Music
I	Psychology and Psychiatry	X/Y	Language & Literature

At first the class P in Bliss was mainly concerned with religion and ethics, after revision it became a class with three distinct main classes, often interlinked

They are Religion (P), the Occult (PX) and Morals and Ethics (PY).

Adding the occult to religion is a logical and reasonable change because of the nature of these subjects, especially as religion really is a mixture of theology, philosophy and social content.

Table 8: BC2, P main subdivisions

P	Religions, Theology	PF	Religious systems
PB	Systematic Theology, Theology Proper	PG	Religions and Mythologies
PD	Practice of religions, Religious activities, Devotional religions	PX	Occult
				PY	Morals and Ethics

PX is for the Occult and naturally, I will be looking at that section in detail.

However, relevant subdivisions may also be found under religion. In this scheme, religion is not predominantly Christian as was seen to be the case with Dewey. It covers a wider range encompassing the well-known through to the lesser known areas and groups.

Mysticism (PBY) also has an alternative at PW, should there be a need for it to be seen as a main class. PW is strategically situated between Religion and the Occult, as indeed is frequently the case with the subject of Mysticism itself. Once again Folklore is in a completely separate section and can be found under KMV Q.

PBM provides a section for supernatural beings including dragons, monsters and ghosts. Individuals such as shamans, magicians and witch doctors can be found under PDF (Founders of religions).

Most older religions are housed under PG for Religions and Mythologies. This section covers areas ranging from freethinking and primitive religions through to the likes of druidism, witchcraft and spiritualism (which are also represented under PX). Commonly linked with both Wicca and witchcraft, Pagans are represented under PFE.

This classification is very comprehensive; most of the facets of the occult are represented within PX

Table 9: BC2, PX section

PX6	Psychology, EPS, Paranormal research.	PXL	Artefacts (cards…)
PXA	Philosophy of the Occult	PXM	Other
PXB	Practice of the Occult	PXN	Communications, ESP, etc. Or in PX6
PXC	Events, general processes	PXP	Divination, mantic arts, prediction
PXD	Numbers and numerology	PXQ	Magic
PXE	Substances, alchemy	PXR	Witchcraft and sorcery
PXF	Heavenly bodies, astrology	PXS	Demonology and necromancy
PXG	Human body (physiognomy, phrenology, palmistry)	PXV	Writers and writings of the Occult
PXJ	Disembodied persons, spirits, spiritualism	PXW	Movements, societies, etc.
PXK	Other spirits, supernatural beings

More detailed subdivisions available in illustrations 2 & 3.

Bliss does have a lot of details for examples within the Magic section PXQ

Table 10: BC2, PXQ for magic

This is just one example but it does illustrate the precision available. No other scheme that I looked at had so many choices of rituals and types of magic available. This system could be easily adapted for an esoteric or occult collection because of the amount of classes already provided. Nearly all of the keywords that I have used in my definition of the occult and in the various searches and catalogue searches are cited in the index and have a place in this classification.

Some of the keywords that I was unable to find in this scheme are UFOs, aliens and flying saucers. These are, however, not always attributed to the occult and are frequently to be found within science or folklore and as such, their absence is less surprising. Wicca and New Age, as discussed previously, are not available either. Fashion trends do play a part in this and, even within occult literature, terms are often used interchangeably: Witchcraft, Wicca and Neo-paganism to name but a few. In one form or another, they are still represented in some way.

This is one of the rare schemes that has recognised the occult as being more or less a main class. Bliss also allows different aspects of the entries to appear in different classes. Alchemy is more likely to be represented in the occult as well as in science.

Similarly, astrology will often appear in both the occult and astronomy, whilst some of the supernatural beings are frequently represented in both religion and folklore.

The standard citation order enables combinations with categories, from the general through to the specific. BC2 is flexible and provides a very thorough representation of the diversity and range of the topics within the occult field.

 

2.2.4 Librarie Lucien Dorbon

 

This classification scheme is not in use in any library at present, as far as I am aware. Originally, it was created by the Lucien Dorbon bookstore, which specialised in occult and esoteric literature. Consequently, even though their books were specifically for sale, they still went through the same process of organisation to assist the public in finding the materials that they were interested in. I have decided to discuss it here as I have never come across anything like it before. Quite clearly, the creators of the system put a great deal of thought into it.

Unfortunately, I was unable to locate much information about the bookstore, which no longer seems to exist. Nonetheless, they appear to have produced a large quantity of information in the occult and esoteric fields at the beginning of the twentieth century in France. The Librarie Dorbon was in its time, the one place to go to obtain occult works and I therefore feel that it is important to discuss their unique system of classification here.

The information was gathered using the manual they produced, a three volume bibliographical work of all their occult and psychic science items. (Caillet, 1912)

In it they explained how their subjects are classified. The system they used was called the “Science of the Magi” and dates back to antiquity. It is based upon the idea of there being three worlds or orders.

1. The Divine (the Archetype)

2. The Natural (the Macrocosm)

3. The Human (the Microcosm)

1. The Divine world is mainly for immaterial ideas, doctrine, theosophy, and thoughts.

The three main divisions are:

• Mysticism (miracles, apparitions, prophecies…)

• Religions (sects, secret societies…)

• Philosophy (exoteric, metaphysic…)

2. The Natural world is more practical.

• The Meta-sciences (black and white magic, witchcraft, grimoire…)

• The Sciences (numeracy, astrology, alchemy…)

3. The Human world, where man is the main subject.

• Invisible man (magnetism, hypnotism, suggestion…)

• Ethnology (history, sociology…)

• Letters and Arts (myths, legends…)

• Anthropology (Buddha, Jesus, Plato…)

• Medicine (hermetic, death…)

Many tables are also available in their bibliographical works. Even after many readings, I still found it very complex to use and to understand as it requires a large amount of fore-knowledge of the different topics to be able to use it well. I have listed some of the subdivisions and smaller sections here to give a feel of where some of the key subjects would be found.

Table 11: The three orders in Dorbon system

1. The Divine Order	2. The Natural order	3. The Human Order
1.1 Mysticism	2.0 Meta-sciences	3.0 Invisible man 301. Animal Magnetism 302. Personal magnetism 303. Metaphysics 3.1 Ethnography 314. Sociology 3.2 Letters 3201. Periodicals 3202. Encyclopædia 3203. Theatre 3.3 Arts 3.4 Anthropology 3413. Monsters 3.5 Medicine
103.Cabbala 105. Spiritism 111. Apparitions 1111. Dreams 112. Oracles 113. Stigmata	201. Magic 202. Witchcraft 2021. Talisman, amulets 2022. Secrets, grimoire 203. Divination
1.2 Religion	2.1 The Sciences
1211. Oriental religions 1212. Mythology 1213. Secondary religions 12131. Druidism 1214. Sacred books 12141. Tarot 122. Christian theology 1221.Bible, inquisition 12224. Antichrist 12312. Templars 12331. Rosecrucians	211. Maths 212. Physics 2122. Geography 2124. Alchemy 21241. Chemistry

One can only imagine that the shop was organised in this way. Unfortunately, like so many occult collections, it is no longer in existence and I haven’t discovered any other collections using a similar system. Theoretically, I can see how it worked. In practice it would be confusing particularly, when it came to deciding where each new item would go.

 

2.3 Special collections

 

2.3.1 Generalities

 

Another way for libraries to deal with such unusual collections is to keep them together in their own organisational unit; something normally referred to as a special collection. Frequently special collections will require different treatment to that of a normal one and are more than likely to be housed entirely separately. Their physical environment is also frequently different as special care is often needed to help guard against damage and theft. Special collections can come from a variety of sources including demand arising from members’ particular interests, as a gift from society benefactors or as a purchase by the library if deemed to be complementary to their existing collection.

Quite often private occult collections will either be donated to a library or be sold at an auction. During my research I came across a wide range of private collections evidenced in the main by the existence of their catalogues. Most of them were very difficult to trace as many have been bought by other private collectors. Of the many private collections, most were sold at auction and as is often the case, these collections become dispersed once the owner or founder has passed away.

However, two large private collections went on to become “special collections” and I will be discussing them next.

 

2.3.2 The Ferguson collection

 

Ferguson was a great collector and also a professor at the University of Glasgow from 1874-1915. His private collection mainly dealt with alchemy, chemistry, occult sciences, witchcraft, Cabbalism, Rosicrucianism, Freemasonry and gypsy literature. The collection comprises over 7,500 volumes including 104 incunabula’s and 317 manuscripts primarily on alchemy. All of the books in his collection were catalogued by Ferguson himself and he also added detailed bibliographical entries and notes. Ferguson also catalogued the extensive alchemical collection of James Young in Bibliotheca Chemica in 1906 (this collection is now housed in the University of Strathclyde Library). The Alchemy Research library website describes these collections as follows: “Together they provide access to 85-90% of all alchemical books.” Ferguson, whose knowledge of alchemia was reputedly unequalled, had arranged the books in alphabetical order under the author’s name.

When he died the collection was divided up and sold in two lots. One of these lots was bought by Glasgow University with the help of a special fund whilst the rest was sold by Sotheby’s. In 1943, Glasgow University published a two-volume catalogue of the collection available in their purpose built department of special collections.

In answer to concerns that the collection was unable to expand a side project was established in 1997 called the Alchemical Research Library. This project continues to acquire volumes complementary to the Ferguson collection. These books will eventually become part of the collection proper and will be kept in perpetuity. The classification of the collection is, like many special collections, slightly different to the library’s collection as a whole and as such is stored as a whole under one unit.

Illustration 1: Catalogue search with the Ferguson collection as location

Surprisingly, many of the items have now been catalogued and their details are available electronically. The Glasgow University Library has set up a wide range of different ways of linking into the collection. Many of the keywords such as demonology, witchcraft and occult in the online selective subject index will take you straight to the Ferguson Special Collection page.

Additionally, the catalogue can be searched in a variety of ways and the library also has a significant quantity of books on this subject in their normal collection. In 1985, an exhibition called the “Damned Art” was organised by the library to show the books relating to the history of witchcraft and demonology. As with many special collections, it is hard to tell how the collection itself have been organised, although each item does appear to have its own number.