Spells and Bindings

by Tristram Potter Coffin

Gift Quality! 1985 Time Life hardback with exquisite color plates and illustrations. Warm Brown cloth boards, gilt lettering and designs on cover and spine, no DJ as issued, Spine slightly faded. No remainder marks. Same day shipping.

Genres: Fantasy, Mythology, Reference, Art, Magic, Folklore, Fiction

143 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1985

About the author

Tristram (“Tris”) Potter Coffin was an American folklorist and leading scholar of ballad texts in the 20th century. Coffin spent the bulk of his career at the University of Pennsylvania, where he was a professor of English and a co-founder of the Folklore Department. He was the author of 20 books and more than 100 scholarly articles and reviews.

Reviews

[sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

I simply can't imagine why anyone would review this negatively. The stories are enchanting and the artwork is absolutely wonderful. I've spent the last couple of days in a dreamy haze, my mind filled with thoughts of ethereal worlds and spells and a time when 'the world was still young.' and princesses and gods and- I just love this book. I definitely plan on attaining the rest.

[Lucy Doyle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was one of my favorites from this series. I loved both stories and pictures included. Before reading I thought there would be more info on the lore of spells and bindings themselves, but instead it focused on more of the famous stories of people under enchantments. Over all I really enjoyed it.

[Rex Hurst · Rating 5 out of 5]

I must give a hearty congratulations to the author(s) for managing to string together a disparate collection of tales from all across the map and up and down history, while placing them securely under the banner of this title. While the title may have been strung together by leftover stories, not fitting into the other titles in the series, or being cut from them for space reasons, they all snugly fit together under the idea of Spells and Binding.

While the three chapters - “Double Edged Power:; “Webs of Enchantment”; “Deliverance from Magic’s Coils” - attempt to split the stories into some alternate type of theme, the basic logic behind the ideas of magical spells and so forth is that they derive from the old powers, chaos, which ruled and shaped before the coming of the Christian religion and its principles of order, reason, and education. Nearly all the stories revolve around a spell being cast through malice, or broken by ignorance to the detriment of all involved.

Nearly all of the tales, you most likely have read before: Bluebeard, Psyche and Eros, Sleeping Beauty, The Princess and the Frog, the Pied Piper of Hamlin, Pandora’s Box, various tales of Morgan Le Fey, and so on, and so on. Again, it’s mostly elementary school stories, with a few extra old Irish tales tossed in, but the art excels itself. I think the art for this book is some of the best (if not the best in the series). That’s what sets this volume apart.

[Katrin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a truly awesome one of the series. Great flow of the stories, easy blended together from different countries and regions. Irish and Welsh lore is dominant, but others take part, too. Enjoyed this very much, what a fantastic series! I should have one more to read in my collection.

[Ella · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was my most prized possession throughout my childhood. I literally read it over and over again for 20 years until it fell apart.

[Alexander Serban · Rating 4 out of 5]

really nice little read

[Keri-Ann Nelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this whole collection. These books are beautiful and I love the mix of mythological stories and the brief history behind some of them. I didn't expect some of the stories that were included in this one and was pleasantly surprised with what I read. Any one into fantasy, myths and legends I would recommend this whole series.

[C.E. Crowder · Rating 2 out of 5]

In the mid-eighties I saw television ads for this series and brought them not so subtly to my parents’ attention, without result. They dismissed it as not worth the money. Twenty-five years later I found this volume in a garage sale and greedily snapped it up for a buck.

I anticipated a delving into the history of myths, a through-the-years overview of legends which have spells and binding as their key elements and some kind of study around how those legends were produced and evolved, noteworthy running themes, how the morals linked to their times, comparison of cultures, etc.

No effort was made along these lines. The entire volume speaks of laziness. Even the artwork, the element I was most prepared to praise, turns out to be entirely from secondary sources and nothing was commissioned. There’s a list of sources at the back, but no footnotes or endnotes refer to them. Transitions are weak and poorly marked, the layout interruptive. The overall impression is a hastily gathered body of research was collected from which a number of euro-centric stories were cited and then linked through a running narrative. The book’s narrative commentates on the dangers of the fairy world, etc., but presents no thesis and has no substantial introduction or conclusion concerning its topic.

The content isn’t entertaining enough for passing on to a youth, its most familiar stories more engagingly told in my young son’s generic fairy tales collection. Presumably every volume is similarly written. This series was a money grab, displaying only just enough effort and substance to prevent its being returned to the publisher by the truckload.

[Athena · Rating 5 out of 5]

My review for all of these books in this series is the same.

Time-Life has once again done an outstanding job putting together a series. From cover to cover they are thoughtful, beautiful books. I'm starting to sound generic, but it's true.
I'm a DK fan, I like white backgrounds and side notes with clear sections for every subject. This series has none of that. What they do have is an old book feel. Timeless artwork, thoroughness, and very well written makes these a must on my occult/paranormal bookshelf at home. I've been collecting the series slowly over several years and still have a few books to go. I refuse to go on amazon and buy them. It's all in the hunt for me. There is no subject they have left untouched. I highly recommend them.

[Faith Fishcrazy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the classic fairy tale feel (illustrations and prose), though there were a few nude paintings (yikes!)... so not really good for some of the younger siblings! I am certainly considering buying this book--its authentic feel is rare.

[Holly Interlandi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every tale of folklore you'd ever want to know is somewhere in this series, and the illustrations are gorgeous.

[Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

A series of short articles and stories.

[Adrian Fowler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Incitefull,......