Touch Me Not
Merlin Cox, Hereward Tilton
Touch Me Not is an Austrian manuscript compendium of the black magical arts, completed c.1795. Unique and otherworldly, it evokes a realm of visceral dark magic. As the co-editor Hereward Tilton notes, the manuscript ‘appears at first sight to be a ‘grimoire’ or magician’s manual intended for noviciates of black magic. Psychedelic drug use, animal sacrifice, sigillary body art, masturbation fantasy and the necromantic manipulation of gallows-corpses count among the transgressive procedures it depicts. With their aid hidden treasures are wrested from guardian spirits, and the black magician’s highest ambition – an infernal transfiguration and union with the Devil – can be fulfilled.’
Hidden for decades within the Wellcome Library collection, Touch Me Not is published here as a full colour facsimile for the first time. We have commissioned a translation of the German and Latin texts from Hereward Tilton and Merlin Cox, scholars who have explored the sources for the various elements and provided copious references.
Hardback edition with belly-band
12.5 x 9.25 inches (31.5cm x 23.5cm)
160 pages
111 colour images
Deluxe edition
66 COPIES ONLY
Crushed full black morocco
Bevelled boards, blocked in red
Rubricated edges
Cloth-covered slipcase
2nd Edition
Hardback
Cloth-backed boards
12.5 x 9.25 inches (31.5cm x 23.5cm)
160 pages
111 colour images
