The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion

Square spine, sound binding. Clean, unmarked interior. Former owner name in ink to the front pastedown. Very faint tobacco scent. Nice, full-cloth edition with spine printed in two colors. Mylar-protected jacket has some sunning, a few small areas of light soiling, and some very light edge-wear. Macmillan's stately 'Imperial Edition' of the comparative mythology classic by proto-anthropologist Frazer redacts the discussion of Christianity included in earlier editions, in an effort to widen the book's audience and appeal to conservative post-war tastes (Camille Paglia has noted that while earlier editions 'remain inspirational for enterprising students seeking escape from today's sterile academic climate', this one is 'bland' and should be 'avoided like the plague'). Handsome full-cloth binding with deckle fore-edge, two-color stamped spine complete with gilt boughs resembling olive more than mistletoe, and a graniteware-framed jacket design by Hollis Holland, whose hand-lettered title is a lovely example of the mid-century calligraphy whiz's output. 864 pp.