EXPERIMENTUM by Frederick Hockley – Deluxe Half Bound in Goat with Decorative Boards in Custom Slipcase

Description

Numbered limited edition of 100 copies (10ins x 8ins) 33pp full colour plates reproducing Hockley’s lavishly illustrated manuscript. 37pp text by Dan Harms gives a brief Introduction, full transcript. Quarter Bound in Goat, with decorative boards and marbled endpapers and housed in a custom slipcase. Book is in near fine condition with some very light shelf wear else fine.

In the work Hockley collects a number of rituals, giving some a powerful visual form, akin to a Mandala. In the final ritual, a perilous invocation of Oberion, he records the appearance of the spirit in a grotesque form reminiscent of Edvard Munch’s the Scream. This shows Hockley to be an occult artist of a status hitherto unrealised in publications of his work. One wonders if the references to the ritual use of cannabis and opium in Experimentum signal tools that Hockely used. There are magical procedures for causing the destruction of enemies, routing out thievery, the magical protection of places and buildings, magical fascination, fulfilling sexual desire and a perilous invocation of the spirit Oberion. There is a strong folkish element hand in hand with complex ritual. Hockley gives some spells a striking visual forms, akin to Mandala. These, supplemented by a haunting illustration of a grotesque Oberion – reminiscent of Edvard Munch’s the Scream, establish Hockley as an innovative occult artist in ways unseen in previous publications. Throughout he employs calligraphic hands, rather than his usual handwriting, making this a visually impressive volume.