292 - [VAMPIROLOGY] CALMET, Augustin. Treatise on the Apparitions of Spirits, and on Vampires, or the Revenants of Hungary, Moravia, etc.

[VAMPIROLOGY] CALMET, Augustin. Treatise on the Apparitions of Spirits, and on Vampires, or the Revenants of Hungary, Moravia, etc. The seminal text of modern vampirology in its definitive 1751 edition. A fine copy in its period full calf binding. Paris, Debure l’Aîné, 1751. 2 tomes in 2 volumes, in-12 (170 x 96 cm), each bound in full brown marbled calf, ribbed spine, ornate panels with fine metalwork and a central fleur-de-lis, red leather title label, gilt fillet with cutouts, guilloché caps, red edges. 1 blank leaf, XXVII and 485 pp.; XVI and 483 pp., 2 blank leaves (approval and privilege). Minimal scuffing from use, rare small foxing spots. Second edition, partly original, revised, corrected, and considerably expanded by the author. It includes numerous additions, notably the Letter from the Marquis Maffei on Magic. The title has also been changed. From a simple “dissertation” (first edition), the work becomes a “treatise” and, in this version, establishes itself as the seminal text of vampirology in Europe. In the mid-18th century, the Benedictine abbot Dom Calmet (1672–1757) decided to investigate disturbing reports from Eastern Europe concerning the undead. His goal at the time was purely rational: to dissect the testimonies in order to dispel superstition. But the outcome eluded him. By meticulously compiling these accounts of “the dead returning in the flesh,” he unwittingly provided the first theoretical framework for vampirism. It is in this seminal treatise that the modern codes of the myth—which would fuel all fantasy literature, from Polidori to Bram Stoker—were established. The set is in fine condition.