2024 started with the previously stated good intention of cutting down significantly on the rate of acquisitions of books by the library. However, a variety of circumstances limited the cumulative reduction realised on the rate of acquisitions in 2023 to a relatively modest decline.
Foremost among these was my decision to start a second-hand astrological bookshop in May 2024. This resulted in the purchase of a variety of mixed auction lots, as well as private collections, that incidentally included books and editions of books previously lacking from the library, which were therefore added to the relatively limited tally of cherry-picked additions during the year, swelling their numbers. The search for suitable books for my second-hand shop also inevitably heightened my vigilance in the direction of the second-hand listings online, causing me to spot a number of books and editions previously absent from the library that seemed worth acquiring in the circumstances of their availability.
Probably the most satisfying acquisitions of the year were the original editions of George Mensforth’s ‘Young Student’s Guide in Astrology’ (1785) and Alfred Pearce’s ‘A Defence and Exposition of the Principles of Astrology’ (1863), both exceedingly scarce but historically important works. Another early first edition bought during the year was H. Kirchenhoffer’s ‘The Book of Fate, Formerly in the Possession of Napoleon, Emperor of France’ (1822). Other mid-19th-century works of importance that were acquired during 2024 included the first edition of ‘Medical Botany’ by W. J. Simmonite (c. 1850-1) and ‘A Supplement, or Only True Key to the Use and Construction of the Celestial Planispheres’ by Thomas Oxley (1833).
I was also able to procure a beautifully conserved example of the 1881 facsimile edition of the Lapidario of Alfonso X. Another significant acquisition was a manuscript French translation dated 1902 by a translator apparently signing himself Étienne Dercaisay, though his signature is hard to decipher with absolute assurance, of books 22, 23 and 24 of Jean-Baptiste Morin’s Astrologia Gallica. As a signed manuscript, it is presumed most likely to be the only copy extant in the world of these translations. I did not, however, budget for or purchase any books from the 17th century or earlier during 2024.
After the belated completion of offline cataloguing several months into 2025, I have counted the total number of distinct authors by whom books were acquired during 2024 as 261 (corrected from 258 after the discovery of three previously uncatalogued books on May 8th). This excludes the mixed folders of papers filed under ‘Collective’, as these materials do not really count as distinct books or single-author works, but it includes the items classed as being under anonymous authorship, with one count for each clearly distinct anonymous author of a separate work in those cases – thus, a total of five anonymous authors are separately counted.
At this point in time, I am far behind with synchronising the offline and online catalogues. Thus, none of these acquisitions from 2024 has been incorporated into the live bibliography on Astrolearn just yet. There may or may not be time for this in the future, but the offline catalogue remains up to date, and it is my hope to make an up-to-date downloadable version of it available for purchase through the Downloads store before the end of 2025 if possible.
The summer of 2025 will mark the 30th anniversary of the true beginning of the library, which was started by the loans that eventually turned into donations of two Linda Goodman paperbacks by Telford-based art teacher Jo Hopkins in the summer of 1995. It has come a long way since then, further than I could ever have anticipated as the young student I was back then. But what of the future? I cannot sustain it all on my own indefinitely, and will be appealing for wider help in a more concerted fashion from the start of 2026. A larger building will certainly be needed for both my library and that of the Astrological Association in the not-too-distant future, if they are to continue to be maintained and ideally to be allowed to grow with new publications.
2024 book acquisitions by author, A-Z:
Adamah, Benjamin (2023 * 2; 2024)
Adams, Evangeline (1929; 1933)
Alexander, John (1992)
Alfonso X, Rey D. (1881; 1981)
Alispach, W. (c. 1967-9)
Ammons, Diane, ed. (2023)
Anonymous (91) (2018)
Anonymous (c. 1940s-1960s)
Anonymous (95) (c. 1946)
Anrich, Elsmarie (1951)
Arroyo, Stephen (1978)
Aureus, Dr. Wolfgang (1959)
Baragli, Beatrice (2022)
Bauer, Paul (1963)
Baur, Franz (1965)
Beckh, Hermann (1960)
Benham, William G. (1901)
Benjamine, Elbert (1943)
Bethor, Alexander (1936)
Bidez, J. (1935)
Bischoff, Willy (1952)
Blagrave, Joseph (c. 1990s)
Blaschke, Robert P. (2024)
Blickenstorfer, Hans (1954)
Bloxam, M. (undated, c. 1920s-1930s)
Bogart, Greg (2024)
Boney, Marc (2024 * 4)
Borealis, Alexey (2024 * 2)
Bouché-Leclercq, Auguste (2023)
Braha, James (1996)
Bredon, Juliet; Mitrophanow, Igor (1953)
Brunhübner, Fritz (1962)
Bryan, Mychal A. (2023; 2024)
Burkhardt, Titus (1977)
Burnett, Charles & Mantas, Pedro, ed. (2016)
Burns, William (2023)
Butler, W. E. (1964)
Campbell, Dave (2023)
Cardella, Dante Leo (1954)
Carelli, Adriano (1977)
Carnarius, Stan (2014)
Carter, Charles E. O. (1952; 1972)
Caruana, Charles (1997)
Casey, Caroline W. (1998)
Cassidy, Nancy (1997 * 2)
Champion, Maude Houghton (c. 1935-8)
Charak, Dr. K. S., ed. (2022; 2024)
Charubel (1952; 1960)
Chawdhri, L. R. (c. 1990s)
Cheiro (1894)
Collective (c. 1930s – 1950s, * 2; c. 1925-1972)
Collins, Gene F., Jr. (2009)
Councel, Paul (1938; c. 1930s-1940s)
Crowley, Aleister (c. 1960s)
Cumont, Franz (1921)
Cunningham, Clifford J. (2016; 2021)
D’Arpentigny, M. le Capitaine C. S. (1895)
D’Occhieppo, Konradin Ferrari (1969)
Daivanja, Mukunda (1982)
Davison, Ronald C. (1963; 1983)
DeLuce, Robert (1932)
Deinert, Wilhelm (1960)
Dessauer, Friedrich (c. 1948)
Discepolo, Ciro (2017)
Doane, Doris Chase (1956; 1971)
Douval, H. E. (1956)
Du Preez, Petra (2003)
Ebertin, Elsbeth (1930; 2024)
Ebertin, Reinhold (1957; 1961; 1965; c. 1967-1973; 1970)
Eberty, Felix (1925)
Edwards, Thaya (2022)
Einhorn, Eliza (2018)
Elenbaas, Virginia (1974)
English, Mary (2019; 2023)
Eshelman, James A. (2024)
Etteila (2024)
Eymerich, Nicholas (2023)
Fallon, Astrid (2001)
Farnell, Kim (2002)
Fauth, Wolfgang (1995)
[Fendulus, Georgius Zothorus Zaparus] (2024)
Fenton, Edward, ed. (1998)
Fox, Marcha (2024)
Gabotto, Ferdinando (1891)
Galter, Hannes D., ed. (1993)
Garin, Eugenio (1983)
Garrett, Helen Adams (1989; 1990; 1991; 1995; 1997, 1998)
Garrett, Helen & Jim (1982)
Gauerke, Elizabeth Detz (1989)
Gauquelin, Michel (1970)
George, Llewellyn (1922)
Georgeana, Madame (undated)
Gettings, Fred (1985)
Gillen, Jack (1979; 1980)
Gillett, Roy (c. 2020; 2021)
Godden, Patricia (2023)
Goldstein-Jacobson, Ivy M. (1960)
GopalaKrishnan, Tirupur S. (2023)
Gramatzki, H. J. (1922)
Grasse, Ray (2024)
Gravenkamp, Curt (1949)
Grebner, Bernice Prill (1982)
Griffin, Anthony (2024)
Grimm, A. M. (1925)
Gundel, Wilhelm (1959)
Gyeltsen, Geshe Tsultim (2000)
Hall, Judy (1996; 1997)
Hamade, J. M. (2024)
Hartmann, Otto J. (1938)
Heimsoth, Otto J. (1928)
Heindel, Max and Augusta Foss (1928)
Helms, Karl-Udo (c. 1949)
Henseling, Robert (1940)
Hermann, Joachim (1960; 1962)
Hijmans, Steven E. (2024 * 2)
Hill, Judith (2024)
Hill, Lynda & Hill, Richard (1995)
Höcker, Dr. Carl (1954)
Hodgson, Joan (1978)
Hughes, Robert A. (1977)
Issberner-Haldane, Ernst (c. 1950; c. 1952; c. 1955)
Jaccard, Michel (2018; 2020)
Jäger, Charlotte (1956)
Jansky, Robert Carl (1976 * 2)
Jones, Marc Edmund (1931-2; 1941; 1942-3; 1943 * 2; 1944; 1955; 1956; 1971; 1978; 1987)
Jossé, Roland Dionys (c. 1950s)
Kemmerich, Dr. Max (1922)
Kenton, Warren (1978)
Keysers, Theodor (1961)
Kirchenhoffer, H. (1822)
Knapp, Elsie Margaret (c. late 1960s)
Koch, Dr. Walter (1962; c. 1968)
Köln, Gert Dietz (1961)
Kismet the Astrologer (1926)
Krishnawamy, Pandit V. (c. 1935)
Kühr, Erich Carl (1948)
Kumar, Raj (2008; 2010)
Kupfer, Armandus (1921 * 2)
Larbalestier, P. G. (c. 1949)
Labouré, Denis (1999; 2018; 2021; 2022; 2024)
Lavoie, Alphee (2020)
Le Delmate, Hermann (2021)
Lebzeltern, Ddr. Gustav (1955)
Leek, Sybil (1975; 1977)
Leinbach, Esther V. (1977)
Leo, Alan (1906)
Lévi, Éliphas (1894)
Lewi, Grant (1968)
Lilly, William (2022)
Lindenberg, Hugo (1950)
Löhlein, A. (1953)
Löhlein, Herbert A. (c. 1958 * 2)
Louis, Anthony (2023)
Mackenzie, Donald A. (undated, c. 1920s)
Macniece, Louis (1965)
Maltwood, K. E. (undated)
Manilius, Marcus (2024)
Manthri, Chandra Dhi (undated, c. 1970-3)
Markel, Stephen (1995)
Matthews, E. C. (1947; c. 1950s; 1971)
McCoy, Karen and Staub, Christine E. (2018)
Mengel, Margret (undated)
Menke, R. R. (1925)
Mensforth, Geo. (1785)
Merriman, Raymond A. (1982)
Mishra, Dr. Suresh Chandra (2005)
Moore, Thomas (1982)
Morales, Olga (2024)
Moran, Botanifar (2021; 2022)
Morin de Villefranche, Jean-Baptiste (1902; 2024)
Muir, Ada (1943)
Munkasey, Michael (2018)
Neal, Jeremy (2024)
Needham, Joseph; Wang, Ling and Price, Derek J. (1960)
Negus, Joan (1992)
Noel, G. L. (1955)
Oak, P. N. (1967)
Oken, Alan (1990)
Orlasya, Oresha (1984 * 9; undated)
Ou-i, Chih-Hsu (1987)
Oxley, Thomas (1833)
Palmer, Lynne (1974)
Parashar, Dr. Ambika Prasad & Parashar, Dr. Vinod Kumar (2007 * 2)
Parise, Frank (1982)
Pässler, Günther (1961)
Pearce, Alfred (1863)
Pegasus (1934)
Pico della Mirandola (2022)
Poddar, Sarajit (2021 * 9; 2022 * 11; 2023 * 8; 2024 * 8)
Pontin, Marie Juliette (1924)
Proctor, R. A. (1890)
Pryor, Olive Adele (c. 1971)
Pseudo Abele (2024)
[Ptolemy, Claudius] (1896; 1923; 1938; 2022 * 3)
Pull, Frank C. (1966)
Putzien, Rudolf (1958)
Raiola (1950)
Raman, Bangalore Venkata (1938; 1963)
Rangacharya, Iranganti (1995)
Rao, Dr. Bh. Satyanarayana (1953)
Reich, Dr. med Heinrich (1951)
Reinhart, Melanie (2009)
Richards-Wheatcroft, Alan (2023)
Riemann, Fritz (1936)
Ring, Thomas (1958)
Robson, Vivian E. (1932; 1934; 1939)
Rose, Christina (2024)
Rothenburg, Walter (1948)
Rudhyar, Dane (1930; 1942; 1943; 1946; 1963 * 2; 1975; 1982)
Sakoian, Frances & Acker, Louis (1975)
Sasportas, Howard (1985)
Schiffer, S. (c. 1936)
Schmitz, Oskar A. H. (1953)
Schoener, Gustav-Adolf (2023)
Schulman, Martin (1978)
Schult-Oberstdorf, Artur (1958)
Schultz, Joachim (1963)
Schwickert, Friedrich (1950)
Sed, Nicolas (1981)
Seidel, Oskar (1956)
Seghal, Shweta (1987)
Sepharial (1903; 1927; undated, c. 1930s; 1979)
Shesso, Renna (2014)
Siegländer, Hans (1952)
Simmonite, W. J. (c. 1850-1; undated, c. 1840s-50s)
Skasa-Weiss, Eugen (1960)
Skinner, Stephen (1980)
Smith, Junius B. (1936)
St. Hill, Katharine (c. 1927)
Steib, Regina (c. 1961-2)
Stereder, Hans (1963)
Stiopei, Maria (2023)
Stuart, Alec (1924)
Stumpff, [Prof.] Dr. K[arl] (1942; 1955)
Sub-Editor of Modern Astrology, the (c. 1950s)
Sucher, Willi O. (1959)
Tiede, Ernst (1969)
Tolsa, Cristian (2024)
Townley, John (c. 1978)
Tucker, William J. (1959; 1962; 1968 * 2; 1975)
Tuckerman, Bryant (1962; 1964)
Usher, Joy (2018 * 2)
Varaha Mihira (1925)
Varlen, Kory (2023)
Vettius Valens (2022)
Von Bressensdorff, Otto (1930; 1931)
Von Spallart, Johannes (1965)
Von Winter, Dr. V. M. (1957)
Von Xylander, Ernst (1953)
Voss, Lena (c. 1926)
Wassilko-Serecki, Gräfin Zoë (undated, c. 1960s)
Wehrmann, Frodi Ingolfson* (1929)
Weiner, Errol (2001)
Wen, Benebell (2023)
Wenner, Charlotte (2023)
Willeumier, P. (1927)
Winkel, M. Erich (1928)
Wyss, Phoebe (2008)
Yano, Michio (2019)
Yayathi (undated, c. 2020s)
Zadkiel (1834)
Zoller, Robert (c. 1998)
* This book, on fortune-telling, was acquired as part of a large auction lot from a single collection formerly belonging to a German astrologer. It has since come to my attention that Wehrmann held objectionable views. I wish it to be known that I strongly denounce all racist views, which unfortunately were somewhat common in the pre-Nazi Germany of the 1920s. The acquisition of books on astrology and related disciplines by authors who may have subscribed to Nazi-compatible ideologies at the time in which they lived is never deliberate, but such books may nonetheless be of some historical value to researchers, and as such it would seem contrary to sound scholarly principles to cast them out on principle based on the unfortunate associations of their authors.
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