TREATISE ON MAGIC AND POSSESSIONS, PARIS 1732 – DEMONOLOGY

Manual of Possession and Witchcraft

Doctrinal tool for priests, physicians, and judges – France, 18th century

Published in Paris in 1732, the Traité sur la magie, le sortilège, les possessions, obsessions et maléfices belongs to that singular category of works conceived not for simple reading, but for practical use in situations considered troubling or dangerous.

The author, Antoine-Louis Daugis, asserts with conviction the supernatural and demonic origin of numerous phenomena — physical disorders, mental disturbances, unexplained manifestations — and proposes an interpretation in which the action of an invisible evil must be recognized, understood, and fought.

The book explicitly presents itself as a manual intended for priests, physicians, and judges. This triple purpose is essential: it reveals a period in which the fight against witchcraft and possession did not belong to a single domain, but mobilized religion, medicine, and justice simultaneously. The work was thus meant to serve as a practical guide to identify cases of possession, interpret signs considered suspicious, and guide spiritual or judicial decisions.

The present copy retains visible traces of this function. Nearly three centuries old, it bears the natural marks of a book long handled: patinated binding, old restorations, stains, and localized alterations. These elements should not be understood as mere defects, but as the direct consequences of real use. This volume was not preserved untouched in a scholarly library; it was opened, consulted, and transported, likely in contexts where one sought to understand or combat situations deemed abnormal.

Through both its content and its material condition, this book now appears as a tangible witness to a world in which possession and witchcraft could be taken seriously by religious, medical, and judicial authorities. It embodies a culture of doubt and fear in which the printed text became an instrument of action against the invisible.

Condition and bibliophilic description

Copy in antique used condition. Significant water staining at the top of the volume in the first section, with a large dark mark suggesting a wax flow or splash, highly visible on a preface leaf that has undergone an old restoration. Contemporary brown calf binding with restorations to the spine ends, surface wear, pronounced rubbing, and small losses, overall reflecting prolonged handling and genuine use over time. Interior generally well preserved despite some foxing, marks, and normal signs of use for a work that has survived nearly three centuries.

Format : in-12
Dimensions : approx. 17 × 10 cm
Size : approx. 6.7" × 3.9"
Language : French
Date : 1732
Binding : contemporary brown calf, spine with raised bands and decoration, title label missing