The Golden Bough, A Study in Magic and Religion. London: MacMillan Co., 1900.
Second Edition, Revised and Enlarged. Complete in three volumes. Large octavo, original blue green cloth, gilt decoration, two volumes with original printed dustjackets. The very scarce Second Edition (and especially so with two volumes including their original printed 19th Century dustjackets), a volume larger than the original 1890 printing, but substantially shorter than the twelve volumes the work would ultimately grow to by the 1935 edition. The greatest comparative study of magical and religious practices. Garrison & Morton 184. "The Golden Bough attempts to define the shared elements of religious belief and scientific thought, discussing fertility rites, human sacrifice, the dying god, the scapegoat and many other symbols and practices whose influence has extended into twentieth-century culture. Its thesis is that old religions were fertility cults that revolved around the worship and periodic sacrifice of a sacred king. Frazer proposed that mankind progresses from magic through religious belief to scientific thought." Very Good firmly bound and attractive set, some webbing visible at front inner hinge of volume one and lower rear inner hinge of volume three, volumes one and three with original printed dustjackets, both Very Good, some chipping at spine ends, some splitting at flap edges.
Price: $1,250.00