The Book of Fortune-Telling by Madame Fabia | 1935 First Edition | Occult, Palmistry, Astrology, Dreams & Divination

The Book of Fortune-Telling, edited by Madame Fabia and first published by Daily Express Publications in 1935.
A wonderfully evocative interwar compendium of fortune-telling, divination and popular occult practices, covering palmistry, card reading, numerology, phrenology, handwriting, dreams, astrology and numerous other methods of interpreting character and predicting the future.

The book brings together contributions from a number of writers and practitioners and is extensively illustrated throughout with diagrams, charts and examples. Sections range from reading the mounts and lines of the hand to card layouts, astrological interpretation and an extensive dictionary of dream meanings.

Published at a fascinating point in the history of popular occultism in Britain, when astrology and fortune-telling were becoming increasingly visible in mass-market newspapers and publishing. The Daily Express itself had begun publishing regular astrology material earlier in the decade, making this substantial 1935 volume an interesting piece of British social and publishing history as well as an attractive occult reference book.

This is the original 1935 first edition, rather than one of the numerous later editions and modern reprints. Contemporary bibliographical listings confirm the original edition as a 512-page illustrated hardback published by Daily Express Publications.

Bound in blue cloth with an unusual circular zodiac design to the front board and black lettering to the spine.

Condition:
Good vintage condition for a book approaching 100 years old. The blue cloth boards show general age-related rubbing, fading and wear, particularly around the edges and spine extremities, with some marking to the cloth. Corners show some bumping and wear. The pages have the expected age toning, with occasional marks and wear visible. There is some wear around the internal binding/gutter visible in the photographs, but the book remains an attractive and highly presentable copy. No dust jacket. Please examine all photographs carefully as these form part of the condition description.

A lovely original interwar volume for a collection of occultism, divination, astrology, tarot, palmistry or supernatural folklore, and particularly attractive as a display piece with its wonderfully period zodiac cover.