The Starry Wisdom Library: The Catalogue of the Greatest Occult Book Auction of All Time

by Nate Pedersen (Editor), Scott David Aniolowski (Contributor), Glynn Owen Barrass (Contributor)

Scholars and book collectors across the country have long pondered the intended fate of the infamous collection of rare occult books left to rot in the Church of Starry Wisdom in Providence, Rhode Island, after the Starry Wisdom cult dispersed to parts unknown in the late 19th century.

The recent, shocking discovery of a previously unknown book auction catalogue issued in 1877 offers insight into the myriad mysteries of the cult. Entitled “Catalogue of the Occult Library of the Recently Disbanded Church of Starry Wisdom of Providence, Rhode Island,” and issued by the notorious Arkham firm Pent & Serenade, the catalogue reveals the long-suspected fact that the Church intended to sell its library to finance its removal from Providence.

The sale, of course, never materialized—as later events make obvious—but the book auction catalogue informs us of the cult’s
original intent and leaves for us an enormously valuable and fascinating piece of ephemera detailing the infamous collection of rare occult books in all of its dark and foreboding glory.

Furthermore, the book auction catalogue is unique amongst its contemporaries in that the auction firm Pent & Serenade—recognizing
the importance of the exceedingly rare volumes in the cult’s possession—commissioned a wide variety of 19th-century scholars to write essays on the histories of the books offered at auction.

As such, the catalogue is a uniquely—almost absurdly—valuable item for scholars and collectors around the world, and is presented here in exacting facsimile by PS Publishing.

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Fiction, Cthulhu Mythos, Anthologies, Lovecraftian, Role Playing Games

176 pages, Hardcover

First published December 1, 2014

About the author

Nate Pedersen is a librarian, journalist, and historian in Savannah, Georgia. His website is http://natepedersen.com

Reviews

[Geticus Polus · Rating 3 out of 5]

Books about books is not something new. Mind blown already? Even books about books about books is not something unseen before. What about a book about books about books about books? Now that's a book I want to see. No, really, someone should do that quickly before I approach it myself and take the small press world by storm. I have received this little odd tome as a surprise gift from PS Publishing. They probably know how much I love Lovecraft (ahem) so they thought it would be a nice gesture to send me this sulphurous item. What a good idea! Let's keep this brief. The Starry Wisdom is the bookish equivalent of a bunch of awesome Dungeon & Dragons nerds fooling around in a dark forest, while waiting for the supper. Is that good or bad? I don't know but I like it. This a lovely lovely designed and printed book, with some amazingly nerdy texts. It is actually very entertaining, don't let the 3 stars distract you. If you play Call of Cthulhu the Roleplaying Game, this is a mandatory book. If you don't play that, well, I really don't know what to say anymore.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fictional catalog of occult book auction from 1877 held in Arkham, Mass (where else?). The character of an auction announcement is maintained well enough to make Stanisław Lem proud. Meaning that the book is at times much more dry than you might expect. I still enjoyed it taken in small doses. There are plenty of ominous tidbits, humorous jokes and references to Lovecraftian Mythos and beyond (a nod to Umberto Eco's nod to Jorge Luis Borges being my favorite). As is typical for PS, the book itself is absolutely lovely.

[Jeff Raymond · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very weird book. Highly conceptual (it's literally presented as a catalogue of a fictional occult book sale) and very Loveraftian, it is equally funny at times with so many little nods and references from various aspects of the Lythos and weird fiction in general that it probably needs a closer reading to fully appreciate everything going on here. Clearly a labor of love by all involved, this is just such a small niche thing that I'm glad I read and owned it, but can't think of many people who would really get into it, either.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

'What the hell is the point of that?' would be a fair reaction from someone not versed in Lovecraftian arcana or steeped in metafictional, er, broth. But if you are, as I am, then hey! An entirely unmissable book - brilliantly executed (though with some typos which are quite annoying: facsimile is no excuse. Wait, it's not a real... oh, whatever.), fascinating and, I feel sure, useful. No, honestly.

[Christian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Awesome idea for a collection. I appreciate that the authors went all in on this including footnotes, quotes, descriptions of books themselves.

However, only a few of the "books" themselves are memorable for me (Las Regias de Ruina, The Nameless Tome, and Cultes des Goules) . Many tromp the same familiar territory or even unintentionally repeat other pieces in the collection.

Still, I'm happy to have this in my own library.

[Eugene · Rating 5 out of 5]

very niche, but for followers of Lovecraft and students of the arcane this is both fascinating and indispensable

[Otto Hahaa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tässäpä postmoderni kirja! Myyntiluettelo kirjoista, joita ei ole! Toki tällaisia kirjoja on tehty aikaisemminkin, esimerkiksi Lemillä (kirjailija, ei paikkakunta) on tuotannossa kirjallinen kirja-arvosteluja olemattomista kirjoista. Erityisesti on huomattava, että tässä kirjassa esitellyt kirjat ovat Lovecraft-mytologian kuka-kukin-on ja sekös saa keski-ikäisenkin nörtin sydämen pamppailemaan. Pidin siis tästä kirjasta kovin paljon (kuten olin jo tilatessani arvannutkin). Homma ei puuduta, koska jokaisen kirjan kuvauksen on kirjoittanut eri kirjoittaja ja kirjoittajissa on mytologian huippunimiä, myös Lovecraft itse, kiitos äärellisten tekijänoikeusaikojen (Mikki Hiirtä odotellessa...). Kuvitusta olisin halunnut enemmän, nyt mukana on vain kymmenkunta kuvaa samalta taiteilijalta. Ah, jos kaikista kirjoista tai niiden sisällöstä olisi ollut kuva! Noh, sitä odotellessa...

[Reedin Rainbough · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can see people dismissing a book cataloguing fictional books from an equally fictious book auction as pointless. I would be inclined to agree, unless you happen to be super into the Cthulhu Mythos. Each book lot description is a sort of short story, largely referencing other H.P. Lovecraft tales as well as others in the "Lovecraft Circle" (Robert E. Howard for example). One drawback is that each tome (or grimoire, or scroll) has a similar dark history where people died or disappeared under mysterious circumstances etc. So it can be very repetitive. That being said, this isn't a book you read cover to cover. I mean, I suppose you could but I feel its more a book that you can dip into every once and awhile.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eine super Idee: Ein (leider fiktiver) Auktionskatalog okkulter Bücher, liebevoll, geistreich (pun intended) und witzig gemacht. Jeder zur Auktion stehende Titel lässt Lovecraft-Leser erblassen.
Einziger kleiner Wermutstropfen: Die Schrift ist mir zu klein und drum anstrengend zu lesen.
Trotzdem: Eine Empfehlung an alle Fans von HPL.