Animal Magnetism,
Early Hypnotism,
and Psychical Research,
1766 – 1925

An Annotated Bibliography

Adam Crabtree

Bibliographies in the History of
Psychology and Psychiatry
A Series

Robert H. Wozniak, General Editor

[Originally published by
KRAUS INTERNATIONAL PUBLICATIONS
White Plains, New York
A Division of Kraus-Thomson Organization Limited]

Animal Magnetism, Early Hypnotism, and Psychical Research, 1766-1925: An Annotated Bibliography was first published by Kraus International Publications in 1988. Up to the time of its publication there was no annotated bibliography of the principal works in these interconnected fields, and the historical importance of mesmerism and its offshoots was largely unrecognized. Since 1988 the awareness of the significance of these works for the history of psychiatry, psychology, psychical research, and hypnotism has greatly increased. This bibliography's extreme scarcity in the book market makes this online version an extremely valuable resource for anyone interested in these fields.

—Adam Crabtree

Historical Introduction

Animal magnetism is little known today. Most historical scholars would probably be hard pressed to write more than a brief paragraph about Franz Anton Mesmer (1734–1815) and his discovery. Yet, for approximately seventy-five years from its beginnings in 1779, animal magnetism flourished as a medical and psychological specialty, and for another fifty years it continued to be a system of some influence.

When one examines the history of animal magnetism and its offshoots, it seems incredible that this once powerful system is now almost completely forgotten. That animal magnetism is no longer practiced is hardly surprising. The theory of animal magnetism in its original form would be difficult for most moderns to accept. What is puzzling is that the story of animal magnetism is so neglected.

Animal magnetism is not comparable to certain medical fads which flourished for a time and then died out. Such crazes did not significantly shape medical or psychological theory and practice, nor did they significantly affect the evolution of those disciplines. Animal magnetism, on the other hand, had a profound impact on medicine, psychology, and psychical research (today called parapsychology), as a brief examination of its history will show.

Franz Anton Mesmer and Animal Magnetism

The seeds of thought that gave birth to animal magnetism may be found in Mesmer’s thesis Dissertatio physico-medica de planetarum influxu of 1766, which he wrote for a doctorate in medicine at the University of Vienna. In this treatise Mesmer developed the notion of “animal gravitation,” a force which he considered to be both the cause of universal gravitation and the foundation for all bodily properties, and which he believed to affect organisms in the most intimate way. Mesmer believed that animal gravitation connected living things to the stars and was the basis for healthy functioning, since it harmonized the body in a fashion comparable to the tuning of a musical instrument.

Mesmer’s interest in invisible forces found concrete expression in his early medical practice, where he experimented with using iron magnets to treat illness. Spurred on by success, Mesmer enthusiastically turned his attention to revising his theory of “animal gravitation.” Retaining his central idea of a universal force that is the foundation for health and disease, he renamed that force “animal magnetism,” finding it to possess many of the characteristics associated with mineral magnetism. The more Mesmer experimented, the more he became disenchanted with using iron magnets to heal. He came to believe that the physician himself is a magnet of a very special kind, capable of channeling the invisible “magnetic fluid” that pervades the universe into the body of the sick person and bringing about the magnetic balance necessary for a cure.

The basic principles of Mesmer’s theory of animal magnetism were articulated in twenty-seven propositions in his Mémoire sur la découverte du magnétisme animal of 1779. Among the more informative are the following:

1) There exists a mutual influence between the celestial bodies, the earth and animate bodies; 2) The means of this influence is a fluid that is universally distributed and continuous . . . and which, by its nature, is capable of receiving, propagating and communicating all impressions of movement; 3) This reciprocal action is governed by mechanical laws as yet unknown. . . .; . . . 8) The animal body experiences the alternative effects of this agent which insinuates them into the nerves and affects them immediately; 9) It particularly manifests itself in the human body by properties analogous to the magnet. . . .; 10) Because the property of the animal body which makes it susceptible to the influence of heavenly bodies and to the reciprocal action of those around it is analogous to that of the magnet, I decided to call it “animal magnetism.” . . .; . . . 23) The facts will show, following the practical rules that I will establish, that this principle can heal disorders of the nerves immediately, and other disorders mediately.

Mesmer eventually discontinued the use of iron magnets entirely, relying instead on the application of newly evolved animal-magnetic techniques. These techniques involved “magnetic passes” or sweeping movements of the hands to direct magnetic fluid to diseased parts of the patient’s body. Using these methods, Mesmer performed some remarkable, if controversial, cures in Austria and Germany and attempted to gain acceptance for his theory of animal magnetism from the medical establishment of Vienna. He was not successful in this endeavor and in 1778 decided to go to Paris, where, he believed, new ideas were more favorably considered.

In Paris, Mesmer set up two treatment clinics, one for the rich and the other for the poor. The sick flocked to him and he treated them by the hundreds over the next few years. During that time there were many among both rich and poor who testified to being cured by animal magnetism, in some cases of long-term chronic illnesses.

During this period, Mesmer made attempts to get the medical establishment of Paris to approve his theory of animal magnetism, but try as he might, he could not gain a sympathetic hearing. On the contrary, the medical faculty at Paris became alarmed at the popularity of Mesmer’s clinics and moved to suppress them. In 1784 two commissions were constituted to investigate animal magnetism, both appointed by the king of France. One was made up of members of the Royal Academy of Sciences and the Faculty of Medicine; it included some of the country’s most eminent scientists and functioned under the chairmanship of Benjamin Franklin (1700–1790), then the American ambassador to France. The second commission was composed of physicians of the Royal Society of Medicine. The resulting investigations were carried out in the face of Mesmer’s objections and without his cooperation. Both commissions filed reports unfavorable to animal magnetism, although a member of the second commission wrote a dissenting opinion recommending further investigation. The first commission also drew up a secret report for the king on potential dangers to morals through the misuse of magnetic techniques.

The publication of the reports in 1784 was followed by a flood of treatises in response, many written by physicians. Some supported the conclusions of the commissions; others were strongly critical. In the latter category were the protests of dozens of medical practitioners who had themselves been using animal magnetism, in their opinion very successfully. They criticized the commissioners for both their attitude and the technique of investigation.

Meanwhile Mesmer had become embroiled in a controversy about how his theory and technique were to be taught. Mesmer desired to secure his financial condition by charging a fee to those who wanted to be trained in animal magnetism. A scheme was worked out on Mesmer’s behalf by a banker, Guillaume Kornmann (b. ca. 1740) and a lawyer and freethinker, Nicholas Bergasse (1750–1832). It involved the founding of Societies of Harmony—which were to be considered the official organs for teaching animal magnetism, membership in the Society being gained through the subscription of a considerable sum of money. From the parent Society of Harmony in Paris, dozens more were established throughout France. Mesmer and Bergasse, who had become the chief spokesman of the Society of Harmony in Paris, eventually had a falling out and a split resulted.

Mesmer grew more and more disillusioned with Paris and undertook a series of trips away from that city. Eventually, he settled in Germany and lived in comparative seclusion. Although he continued periodically to write on animal magnetism after 1790, he was not very actively involved in its affairs. In 1812, the Berlin Academy of Science, surprised to discover that Mesmer was still alive, sent Karl Christian Wolfart (1778–1832) to find out about animal magnetism directly from its discoverer. Wolfart remained with Mesmer for two years, putting together what would be the master’s last treatise on animal magnetism. It was published under the title Mesmerismus. Oder System der Wechselwirkungen in 1814. Mesmer died in 1815.

Magnetic Sleep

Although Mesmer’s personal fortunes and fame waned after 1790, animal magnetism (also called “mesmerism”) flourished. This was due in no small part to the work of the Marquis de Puységur (1751–1825), one of Mesmer’s most loyal and enthusiastic pupils. Puységur discovered that some individuals fell into a kind of trance when animal magnetism was applied to them. Although appearing to be asleep, they were still conscious and could reply to questions and convey information. In this state of “magnetic sleep,” as Puységur called it, the patient was very suggestible, taking for reality any fantasy the magnetizer might depict. Upon awakening from magnetic sleep, the patient would remember nothing that had taken place while asleep.

Puységur was fascinated by this unusual state of consciousness, so different from ordinary waking consciousness. He discovered that many in this state could apparently diagnose their own illnesses and those of others, and even prescribe effective remedies for the conditions they perceived. He also noticed that although magnetized subjects had no memory in the waking state for occurrences in the state of magnetic sleep, they did retain a continuous memory from sleep state to sleep state. Noting these two separate chains of memory that accompanied the two distinct states of consciousness, Puységur came to view magnetic sleep and the waking state as “two different existences.” From this seed, the notion of a seemingly separate mind or self operating covertly within the human psyche took root. It came to fruition some one hundred years later with the work of Pierre Janet and his concept of the “subconscious,” as described below.

Puységur noted the similarity between “magnetic sleep” and the natural phenomenon of “sleepwalking” or “somnambulism,” the only difference between the two states being that in magnetic sleep the subject is in a special connection or “rapport” with the magnetizer, whereas in sleepwalking the sleeper is in rapport with no one. Because of the similarity, Puységur called the newly discovered state “magnetic somnambulism.” Another term that eventually came into use was “artificial somnambulism.”

Hypnotism

Puységur’s work had a powerful influence on the practitioners of animal magnetism. Mesmer, working from a markedly mechanistic model of the human organism, had emphasized the physical action involved in magnetic healing. Puységur’s orientation was much more psychological. From his experiments with magnetic sleep, he developed the rudiments of a psychotherapy based upon the investigation of somnambulistic consciousness. He evolved a theory of mental disturbance as a state of “disorderly somnambulism” in which the individual moves in and out of a condition of disturbed somnambulism in a chaotic manner. Puységur’s psychological orientation is also demonstrated by the importance he placed on the role of human will when magnetizing and the need for the magnetizer to exercise “good will” in order to be effective. Although Puységur’s views differed in these significant ways from those of Mesmer, he nevertheless retained Mesmer’s notion of a “magnetic fluid” that passes between magnetizer and patient.

Puységur became a very influential figure in the history of animal magnetism. His psychological concerns were taken up by many investigators and this eventually led to a new formulation of the theory of animal-magnetic phenomena. That formulation was first hinted at in the writings of the Abbé Faria (1755–1819) and Alexandre Bertrand (1795–1831) and reached its culmination in the work of the Manchester physician James Braid (1795–1860). In 1842 Braid coined the term “hypnotism” or “nervous sleep” to replace “animal magnetism,” intending to do away with any notion of a physical agent such as “magnetic fluid” that passes between magnetizer and subject and produces the phenomena of somnambulism. Braid described hypnotism as a psycho-physiological state that needs no operator and can be self-induced. He also emphasized the role of suggestion both in producing the hypnotic state and in bringing about the healing effects associated with it.

Eventually Braid’s view became the dominant one and his terminology the accepted nomenclature. This took some time, however, and animal magnetism in its traditional form remained a force to be reckoned with for another sixty years.

Three Streams Flowing from Animal Magnetism

It is possible to trace three distinct currents of thought flowing directly from the discovery of animal magnetism. These three streams may be identified as 1) psychological, 2) medical, and 3) parapsychological.

Psychological Stream

The most important of these three currents, from an historical point of view, is the psychological stream. Justly it can be said that Mesmer’s discovery of animal magnetism was a pivotal moment in the evolution of modern psychology and psychotherapy. It led to Puységur’s investigation of the consciousness manifested in magnetic sleep and the eventual discovery of a subconscious realm of mental activity. It also led to Braid’s teaching about hypnotism as a psychological phenomenon and the resulting exploration of the psychotherapeutic power of suggestion.

The magnetic tradition of Puységur and the hypnotic tradition of Braid were both very much in evidence in mid-nineteenth-century France, particularly in experimentation with somnambulism and its effects. Braid’s writings were “discovered” in France around 1860, and by the 1870s and 1880s, men trained in psychological observation, such as Charles Richet (1850–1935), Henri Beaunis (1830–1921), and Joseph Delboeuf (1831–1896), began to become involved in work on hypnotic phenomena.

In the 1860s, Ambroise Liébeault (1823–1901), a provincial physician, had undertaken some special observations of his own. He used hypnotism to treat the illnesses of some of his clients with great success. Liébeault believed that hypnotism was based on suggestion and that its healing effects were due to the power of suggestion. Hippolyte Bernheim (1840–1919), professor of medicine at Nancy, was impressed by Liébeault’s results, and the two initiated what came to be called the Nancy school of hypnotism.

Meanwhile, the highly respected neurologist Jean-Martin Charcot (1825–1893) was developing his own ideas about the nature of hypnotism based on his work with hysterical patients at the Salpêtrière Hospital. Because Charcot worked from a more physicalist model of hypnotism, his ideas came into conflict with those of Liébeault and Bernheim. The resulting competition between the Nancy school and the school of the Salpêtrière continued for many years, resulting in extremely valuable experimental studies of hypnotism, suggestion, and hysteria.

Among the associates of Charcot, although not an adherent of his school, was Pierre Janet (1859–1947). Janet had a particular interest in hysteria and the automatisms associated with that condition. From his observations, he developed the notion of the “subconscious,” a realm of mental activity in which emotional disorders originate. His ground-breaking work in this area made possible the development of all modern psychotherapies that accept the reality of an unconscious realm of mental and emotional activity influencing ordinary human life. Janet’s discoveries had a strong impact on the subsequent work of Max Dessoir (1867–1947), Morton Prince (1854–1929), Boris Sidis (1867–1923), and William James (1842–1910), among others.

Multiple personality was one of the disorders that was most closely studied by Janet and others who were interested in fathoming the mechanism of the subconscious. It was considered to be a special form of hysteria in which somnambulistic consciousness had taken the form of well-defined, distinct personalities. Janet, Alfred Binet (1857–1911), Eugène Azam (1822–1899), and others pioneered work in this area and used their findings to throw light not only on hysterical disorders but also on the nature of hypnotic consciousness in the normal individual.

These insights into the subconscious carried implications for possible treatment methods for the emotionally disturbed. Sigmund Freud (1856–1939) was influenced by these developments, and his earlier works clearly reflect the magnetic-hypnotic tradition with its gradual unveiling of an unconscious mental life.

Medical Stream

In its origins, animal magnetism was a healing system. It was based on a view of the human organism as a self-healing entity requiring the proper balance of a universal “magnetic fluid” that affects the ebb and flow of the life force. The techniques of animal magnetism were geared to restoring that balance in persons suffering from illness.

Although Puységur’s work diverted the attention of many magnetizers to psychological pursuits, there remained a powerful current of interest in the healing work Mesmer originally envisioned. In the literature it is not always easy to differentiate between those interested in the investigation of somnambulistic consciousness and those interested in magnetic healing, since more often than not practitioners were involved with both. However, the two concerns were distinguishable in practice. This is reflected by the fact that many of the thousands of books written on animal magnetism before 1925 have one section dealing with the treatment of disease and another dealing with somnambulistic phenomena.

Puységur himself had pointed out that many individuals, when put into a state of magnetic sleep, would spontaneously diagnose their own illnesses and those of others. He also described instances in which the somnambulist prescribed treatment by specific medicines or medical procedures. He considered this to be one of the great benefits of magnetic sleep, claiming that somnambulists were almost always correct in their diagnosis and that their prescribed treatments were often successful.

In 1826 there appeared a hefty treatise of nearly twelve hundred pages compiled by Simon Mialle (b. ca. 1790) entitled Exposé par ordre alphabétique des cures opérés en France par le magnétisme animal. This work gives some idea of the vast extent of the tradition of magnetic healing in the decades following Mesmer. Here Mialle details cases of cure through the application of animal magnetism between 1774 and 1826. In each case there is a description of the disease treated, the animal-magnetic procedure employed, and the results produced. Each instance is documented by source, and the reader cannot help but be impressed by the sheer volume of work of this kind being done in those early years.

The healing tradition of animal magnetism continued well beyond the year 1826, extending even into the twentieth century. After 1880, books on animal-magnetic healing often incorporated chapters on healing by suggestion, taking a page from the successful medical use of hypnotism by Liébeault and his followers.

Besides healing, another medical use of animal magnetism was as an anesthetic for surgery. The first well-documented surgical operation on an individual in a state of magnetic somnambulism was performed in Paris on April 16, 1829. The mesmerist was Pierre Jean Chapelain and the surgeon was Jules Cloquet (1790–1883), later famous for his works on anatomy. The surgery was for the removal of a cancerous breast from a sixty-four-year-old woman, a Madame Plantin. The earliest use of animal magnetism as an anesthetic in the United States seems to have been a painless tooth extraction performed by the mesmerist Bugard in 1836. It seems that this new use of animal magnetism did not really come into its own until the early 1840s. In 1842 a Dr. Ward successfully performed the amputation of a leg at the thigh upon a mesmerized patient in London. His influential colleague, John Elliotson (1791–1868), immediately took up the cause for this medical use of animal magnetism, and in India James Esdaile (1808–1859), carried out dozens of serious operations on magnetized patients in the mid-1840s. At about the same time a series of surgical operations were performed under Dr. Loisel in Cherbourg, France.

All this promising activity involving animal magnetism as an anesthetic soon faded, however, with the introduction in Britain of ether as an analgesic in 1847. Although animal magnetism or hypnotism did not become widely used as an anesthetic, some surgical operations under its agency continued to be performed long after chemicals were well established in that role. In fact, the rise of interest in hypnotism in France around 1860 was strongly associated with its successful use in surgery.

Parapsychological Stream: Psychical Research

Psychical research, the scientific study of the paranormal, may be said to have had its official beginning in 1882 with the establishment of the Society for Psychical Research in Britain. Psychical research was the direct result of certain developments arising from animal magnetism. These were: 1) the occult medico-philosophical tradition in Germany that adopted animal-magnetic theory; 2) the development of “magnetic magic” in France; and 3) the rise of spiritualism in the United States.

In Germany animal magnetism developed a strong early following among those influenced by romantic philosophy, so prominent at the end of the eighteenth century. Literary men such as Jean Paul Richter (1763–1825) and E.T.A. Hoffman (1776–1822), physicians including Johannes Kaspar Lavater (1741–1801) and Friederich Hufeland (1774–1839), and religious philosopher Johannes Heinrich Jung-Stilling (1740–1817) are examples of thinkers who found the notion of a universal magnetic agent that connected all beings and was the source of life and health a most congenial concept. The spiritual philosophy of Emanuel Swedenborg (1688–1772) had made inroads of its own in late eighteenth-century Germany; magnetic somnambulists began to have Swedenborgian style visions, communicating with the world of spirits in mesmeric ecstasy. Paranormal-type phenomena, such as clairvoyance and precognition, were common in these circles, astounding the curious observer. While there were many who were content to account for these marvels through a romantic, occult-oriented philosophy, some felt the need for a more scientific approach that could examine the facts systematically and evaluate their credibility, a need that would not be met until the rise of psychical research in the latter part of the nineteenth century.

The French developed their own particular melding of animal magnetism and occult tradition. The most influential magnetizer of this kind was the Baron Du Potet De Sennevoy (1796–1881). He developed a system called “magnetic magic” that revised animal magnetism’s traditional doctrine of a universal magnetic fluid by incorporating it within the older notion of a universal spiritual power, which serves as the basis for “natural magic.” This concept, so different from the mechanical view of Mesmer’s, considered magnetism to be the bond between spirit and matter, or body and soul. In Du Potet’s view, mesmerizers who recognized the true nature of magnetism could work “magic,” producing marvelous cures and various paranormal phenomena.

Animal magnetism began making significant inroads in the United States from the mid-1830s on. Lectures by Charles Poyen St. Sauveur (d. 1844) on animal magnetism excited the imagination of the country and led to the emergence of magnetic practitioners of a peculiarly American type. Itinerant magnetizers wandered the countryside with professional somnambulists at their sides, stopping in the local towns to give medical clairvoyant readings. For a fee, the somnambulist would diagnose an illness and prescribe remedies. The visionary Andrew Jackson Davis (1826–1910) began his career as such an itinerant somnambulist and eventually became an author of great popularity, using the magnetic trance to dictate his spiritual treatises. All this magnetic activity prepared the way for the rise of Spiritualism, initiated by “spirit rapping” in the home of John Fox in 1848. This spirit activity centered on the daughters of the household, and news of the purportedly paranormal activity of the Fox sisters spread rapidly throughout the United States, reaching England, France, and Germany within a few years. Spiritualist “mediums” appeared who claimed to be able to communicate with the departed on the “other side.” Typically, the medium would go into a self-induced trance and produce paranormal phenomena of the mental or psychic type (clairvoyance, telepathy, precognition, etc.) or the physical type (levitation of objects, materialization of forms, production of mysterious lights, etc.).

When Spiritualism spread to England in the early 1850s, it found a very receptive home. Within a few years spiritualistic mediums could be found in great abundance throughout the country. Spiritualist churches were established; spiritualist alliances were formed; and spiritualist books and newspapers came into print. There was such a proliferation of apparently paranormal spiritualistic phenomena that serious-minded people voiced the need for a careful scientific investigation to discover whether these things were real or illusory.

The successful spread of Spiritualism was to a large extent due to the popularity of a fad that grew out of spiritualistic circles and emigrated to Great Britain and Europe in 1853. This was the practice of “table tipping,” “table turning,” or “table tapping,” as it was commonly called. A group of people would gather around the parlour table, rest their hands in a circle on its surface, and wait for spontaneous movement to occur. Sometimes the table would rotate; at other times it would rise and fall on one side, tapping a leg on the floor. The tapping would be read as an alphabetical code, and a message would be deciphered. Many explained the phenomenon in terms of the action of spirits of the dead communicating with the living; others attributed the movements and messages to the action of animal magnetic fluid emanating from the participants; still others believed the participants were simply deluding themselves, the movement being produced by their own unconscious physical exertions.

In Germany, France, England, and the United States, the association between magnetic somnambulism and paranormal phenomena of the spiritualistic type was very strong. Many of the books and articles that appeared wove their way back and forth between the two areas, giving the impression that it was impossible to discuss one without dealing with the other. It is not surprising, then, that when the Society for Psychical Research was formed in England in 1882, it undertook to investigate not only the validity of spiritualistic phenomena, but also the nature of animal magnetism and hypnotism.

In the thirty years preceding the foundation of the Society for Psychical Research, there had been a number of notable attempts to investigate the phenomena of Spiritualism scientifically. Some were carried out by scientists, others by individuals untrained in the procedures of systematic investigation. The results were uneven and inconclusive. So when a group of academics, most of them associated with Cambridge, decided to set up a society that would undertake a study employing stringent scientific criteria, there was enthusiasm for the idea both from intellectuals and the Spiritualists themselves. The Society was fortunate to have the nearly full-time involvement of a number of highly gifted investigators and within a few years began publishing its Proceedings and a journal. This activity generated a great many similar studies of the paranormal by some of the brightest minds of the day. The result was the publication of a mass of material on psychical research that continued well into the twentieth century.

Conclusion

The three streams flowing from the discovery of animal magnetism often merged. Writers in the psychological stream such as William James and Charles Richet sometimes dealt with issues of psychical research. On the other hand, the literature of psychical research was rich in psychological writings of real significance. An example of this is F. W. H. Myers’s (1843–1901) classical work, Human Personality and Its Survival of Bodily Death (1903), which is generally considered to be a significant contribution to the investigation of the subconscious.

The crossover among the three streams is also illustrated by the fact that both those interested in the psychological stream and those drawn to psychical research often investigated the healing and medical aspect of animal magnetism. Among the former, for example, were Hippolyte Bernheim, Jean-Martin Charcot, and Pierre Janet, who explored the relationship between the healing effects of animal magnetism and psychological factors, such as suggestion; among the latter were the members of the Society for Psychical Research whose studies focused on the nature of magnetic healing.

The histories of animal magnetism, hypnotism, and psychical research are inextricably intertwined. As will be evident from the annotated entries in the bibliography, the literature of any one of these areas cannot but include the literature of the other two.

Format of the Bibliography

This bibliography is intended to include the literature of animal magnetism and those streams of thought that can be identified as flowing directly from it. Conceived in the broadest possible terms, that literature is vast, far exceeding the scope of this work.

This bibliography has been consciously circumscribed for two reasons. The first is the desire to include only those works that are immediately connected with animal magnetism and the themes that arise directly from it. The second is the intention to produce a work focused on the most significant writings within the historical tradition arising from animal magnetism.

The effect of including only those works that are closely connected with the themes arising from animal magnetism is most easily illustrated by describing the categories of literature that have not been included. Omitted are works that deal exclusively with occultism, possession, or witchcraft; theosophy, anthroposophy, Christian Science, or other spiritual philosophies; theology or religious thought; and conjuring or stage magic. While spiritualist writings have true importance for the history of animal magnetism and its offshoots, only those works have been included here that depict its development from mesmeric influences or that play a significant role in the rise of psychical research. This means that the bibliography does not include stories about clairvoyants, seers, or prophets; books relating communications from spirits; spiritualistic speculations about the afterlife or related matters; and collections of ghost-lore.

The second reason for circumscribing the bibliography, the wish to focus on the most significant writings arising within the animal magnetic tradition, necessitated the omission of works which, while legitimately part of the history of animal magnetism and its offshoots, are relatively minor. While it is difficult to define the criteria by which such a selection was made, a few words can be said about the thinking that was involved. Rating low on the list of works to be included were writings that simply summarize the work of others, collections of cases that have been dealt with in previous works, and popularizations intended to simplify and condense more serious treatises. In the field of hypnotism, this tended to exclude books on stage hypnotism, handbooks of hypnotic practice, pamphlets meant for home study of hypnotism, treatises on personal magnetism, and writings on auto-hypnosis and auto-suggestion. There are, of course, some works in these categories that were influential or otherwise significant, and they have been incorporated as appropriate into the bibliography.

Time Frame

The bibliography begins with the year 1766, the date of publication of Mesmer’s medical thesis Dissertano physico-medica de planetarum influxu, which contains the first seeds of animal magnetism. The bibliography ends with the year 1925. This date was chosen for a number of reasons. First, by 1925 publication of works on animal magnetism had almost completely ceased. Second, shortly after 1925 the study of hypnotism entered a new phase, in which researchers such as Clark Hull, M. M. White, and others adopted innovative laboratory and statistical methods to explore its nature and effects. Third, by 1925 most of the classical works of psychical research had been published, and psychical research too was about to enter a new stage of development. Like that of hypnotism, this new stage, initiated by the work of Joseph Banks Rhine at Duke University in the late 1920s, involved the introduction of laboratory and statistical methods into the study of paranormal phenomena. Indeed, what had been “psychical research” became popularly referred to as “parapsychology.”

Annotations

Annotations are intended to provide information about the content of the work and thereby indicate its place in the history of the field. The length of the annotation depends to some extent upon the significance of the entry in that history. In some cases, due to inaccessibility of a given work, annotations were compiled without benefit of direct inspection.

Annotations are given for approximately one-third of the entries. The intention is to provide annotations for the most important items and a sufficient variety of less significant works to convey to the reader a sense of the evolution of the literature.

Form of the Entries

Entries are listed by year, from 1766 to 1925. Within each year, works are listed alphabetically. Each entry contains full bibliographic information, including author, title and publication data. Many entries contain annotations.

Publication information is given in English: cities are cited in their commonly accepted English form (e.g., “Munich” rather than “München,” and “Rome” rather than “Roma”); multiple publishers are joined by English conjunctives (e.g., “Bailliére and Dentu” rather than “Bailliére et Dentu”); and “The Author” is used instead of “chez l’Auteur.”

Included with every item is the designation [H] or [P], and in some instances [H & P.] These initials stand for Hypnotism, Psychical Research, and both.

Every effort has been made to provide information about the first edition of each book. In the few cases in which that could not be obtained, information about a later edition is given. For books in languages other than English, English translations known to exist are listed. It is intended ordinarily to give the earliest English translation.

Finally, undated works have been assigned the most accurate date that can be ascertained. In some cases, because of inaccessibility of the works, entries lack information about publisher or pages.

Acknowledgments

I would like to acknowledge a number of people who helped make books available for my research. Particular thanks go to Bill Williams, O. C, a man with an abiding interest in the working principles of the mind, who opened to me his fine private library of works on psychical research. I also would like to express my appreciation for the assistance given me by Jane Lynch, Senior Interlibrary Loan Technician for the Robarts Library and her staff at the University of Toronto.

I am deeply grateful for the hospitality, advice, and assistance given me in Freiburg by Eberhard Bauer of the Psychologisches Institut at the University of Freiburg, who is editor of the Zeitschrift für Parapsychologie und Grenzgebiete der Psychologie. In addition, I am particularly indebted to both Eberhard Bauer and Professor Hans Bender for making available to me the rare works contained in the Fanny Moser Library in Freiburg. My thanks also to Professor Heinz Schott at the Institut für Geschichte der Medizin at the University of Freibrug.

I would also like to acknowledge with thanks a timely grant for this project provided by Therafields Foundation of Toronto.

Dr. Joel Whitton’s assistance in my work has been most important, as has been the information and inspiration given me by my colleague, John Gach. Valuable research for this project was carried out by Matthew O’Sullivan, along with Tom Snyders, Erin Clark, and Laurel Paluck.

My special thanks to my wife Josephine for her research work, editing, and overall support for this project.

Finally, I would particularly like to express my appreciation to Professor Rob Wozniak, editor of this bibliographic series, for his suggestion that I undertake this work, for his encouragement while I was working on the project, and for his invaluable input into each step of the process.

Glossary of Terms

amnesia

Absence of memory; sometimes experienced after coming out of a state of trance.

animal magnetism

Healing system devised by Franz Anton Mesmer; it posited the existence of a universal magnetic fluid that is central in the restoration and maintenance of health. Its use sometimes produced a trance state in the patient; this aspect eventually became known as hypnotism.

artificial somnambulism

A trance state brought about through the application of animal magnetic or hypnotic techniques.

automatism

An action produced by an individual without conscious knowledge.

baquet

The magnetic baquet was an invention of Franz Anton Mesmer designed to store and distribute animal magnetic fluid. It was a wooden tub partially filled with bottles of magnetized water seated on powdered glass and iron filings. The tub had a wooden cover with iron rods extending upward through the cover and then bent at right angles to be accessible to those using the device.

braidism

Another term for hypnotism (q.v.).

clairvoyance

The ability to be aware of objects, people, or events through means other than the five senses.

conjuring

The use of trick and illusion to produce striking effects.

control

In the context of spiritualism, a spirit who possesses the body of a medium and takes charge of a séance.

dissociation

The separation of any group of mental processes from the rest of the psyche.

divided consciousness

A way of referring to two distinct consciousnesses: the waking consciousness and the consciousness operative in artificial somnambulism.

double consciousness

Another term for divided consciousness (q.v.).

double memory

The state of having two apparently distinct memory chains: that of the waking state and that of the somnambulistic state.

doubling of the personality

The production of an apparent second personality or second self present in the subconscious and in some cases operative in the world.

dual personality

A disorder which involves the functioning of two distinct personalities in the life of one individual.

ectoplasm

A substance produced by mediums which is the basis for materializations (q.v.).

electro-biology

A doctrine originating in the United States that holds that the will of one individual can modify the physical or mental state of another; it is an alternate explanation for animal magnetism.

fascination

A hypnotic technique that involves engaging the eyes of the subject in an intense way; it produces a strong impulse to imitate the hypnotist.

higher phenomena of mesmerism or somnambulism

Unusual phenomena produced by some individuals in the trance state, including: physical rapport in which the subject experiences the sensations of the mesmerizer; mental rapport with the ability to read the mesmerizer’s thoughts; clairvoyance or awareness of things at a distance in space or time; and ecstasy or an elevated state of consciousness in which the subject has an awareness of spiritual things.

hypnotism

The term coined by James Braid (1795–1860) to replace “animal magnetism.” Its complete form is “neuro-hypnotism” and means “nervous sleep.”

hysteria

An emotional disturbance that manifests in a variety of physical symptoms, such as blindness, anesthesia, or paralysis. These symptoms are produced by subconscious functions that are dissociated from normal awareness.

lower phenomena of mesmerism or somnambulism

Less extraordinary phenomena produced by some individuals in the trance state, including: a sleep-waking kind of consciousness, divided consciousness (q.v.), loss of sense of identity, suggestibility, heightened memory, deadening of the senses and insensibility to pain, and rapport or a special connection with the mesmerizer.

lucid somnambulism

The state of somnambulism (q.v.) accompanied by clairvoyance (q.v.).

magic

In the context of this bibliography, this term is used to refer to the occult traditions of the western world.

magnetic crisis

A critical point reached when someone is treated by animal magnetism; it may involve anything from convulsions to sleep.

magnetic fluid

A universal, infinitely fine substance that pervades the universe and is characterized by an ebb and flow; it was believed to have certain properties usually associated with magnets, such as attraction, repulsion, and polarity.

magnetic medicine

A medical tradition beginning with Paracelsus that was based upon the notions of sympathy, antipathy, and a universal magnetism.

magnetic passes

Repeated regular movements of the hands (usually in a downward direction) made by a practitioner of animal magnetism to cure an illness; these movements were usually made at a slight distance from the body of the sick person.

magnetic sleep

Another term for artificial somnambulism (q.v.).

magnetic somnambulism

Another term for artificial somnambulism (q.v.).

magnetism

In the context of this bibliography, this term is usually used as the equivalent of animal magnetism (q.v.).

magnetization

Applying animal magnetism to an individual, usually using magnetic passes.

magnetization at a distance

Applying animal magnetism to an individual who is not in the presence of the magnetizer.

magnetizer

A person who applies animal magnetism.

materialization

The mysterious appearance of temporary forms composed of ectoplasm (q.v.) that possess human physical characteristics (e.g., hands, faces, or full figures).

medical clairvoyance

Clairvoyant diagnosis of disease, sometimes accompanied by prescription for treatment.

medium

A person who serves as a link between this world and the spirit world, or in a more general sense, one in whose presence paranormal phenomena can be observed.

mental healing

Healing illnesses through the use of the mind and will.

mental or psychic phenomena of spiritualism

Extraordinary phenomena of a non-physical kind associated with spiritualism, including: clairvoyance, telepathy, precognition, retrocognition, and astral travel.

mesmerism

Used as the equivalent of animal magnetism (q.v.).

mesmerizer

Another term for magnetizer (q.v.).

metalotherapy

A technique of treating disease by the direct application of various metals and compounds.

multiple personality

A disorder which involves the functioning of two or more distinct personalities in the daily life of an individual.

paranormal phenomena

Those phenomena that transcend the limits of what is usually considered to be physically possible. Equivalent of “supernormal phenomena.”

perkinism

A healing technique employing metallic tractors invented by Elisha Perkins (1741–1799) in the late eighteenth century United States; it has certain aspects in common with animal magnetism.

phenomena of mediumship

Those paranormal occurrences that happen in connection with spiritualistic séances; they include mental phenomena such as clairvoyance and precognition, and physical phenomena such as the movement of objects without the use of physical force and materializations of human form.

phenomena of spiritualism

See phenomena of mediumship.

phrenology

An approach developed by Franz Joseph Gall (1758–1828) at the end of the eighteenth century that claimed that character and personality could be analyzed by examining the shape and size of various parts of the skull; it was an attempt to relate personality traits to brain development.

phreno-magnetism

A technique that combined animal magnetism and phrenology.

physical phenomena of spiritualism

Extraordinary phenomena of a physical kind associated with the practices of spiritualism; they include the movement of objects without the application of physical force, materializations of the human form, the production of sounds without any apparent physical cause, and the manifestation of lights for which there seems to be no normal explanation.

planchette

A heart-shaped piece of wood mounted on casters with a pencil pointed downwards, designed to use to communicate with spirits; the hands of the operator were placed on top of the instrument and it wrote on paper.

precognition

Paranormal knowledge of future events.

psychic

Adjective: endowed with extraordinary mental powers, such as clairvoyance or precognition. Noun: a person reputed to possess psychic abilities;

psychical research

The scientific investigation of supernormal phenomena (q.v.); later called parapsychology.

psychometry

The paranormal ability to sense the history of an object by touching or holding that object.

retrocognition

Paranormal knowledge of past events.

scrying

Divination carried out by gazing at crystalline or shiny objects.

somnambulism

A state of consciousness which has characteristics of both sleep and waking; as a spontaneous phenomenon it is called sleepwalking or sleeptalking; induced deliberately through animal magnetism or hypnotism, it is called artificial somnambulism.

spiritism

The belief that human beings survive death and may communicate with the living.

spiritualism

A modern religio-philosophical movement that began in the United States in 1848 and embodies the beliefs of spiritism (q.v.).

subconscious

A part of the human psyche normally outside conscious awareness, which is the arena of mental and emotional activity that may affect a person’s thoughts and behavior; the term was coined by Pierre Janet (1859–1947), who was one of the most important investigators of subconscious phenomena.

subliminal consciousness

A term coined by F. W. H. Myers (1843–1901) to designate the realm of human activity that is “below the threshold” (limen) of awareness. It is the source of instinctual impulses and subconscious complexes, and the arena of human paranormal faculties. The subliminal consciousness is the counterpart of supraliminal (“above the threshold”) consciousness, the ordinary self of daily life.

supernormal phenomena

Unusual phenomena for which there seems to be no explanation by the known laws of science; they include such things as telepathy, clairvoyance, apparitions, telekinesis, and materializations.

table tapping

A phenomenon in which a number of individuals are seated around a table, usually with hands joined, and a rising and falling of one side of the table with a tapping of one of its legs on the floor occurs; often the taps spell out messages by alphabetical code.

table tipping

The same as “table tapping” (q.v.).

table turning

A phenomenon in which a number of individuals are seated or stand around a table, usually with hands joined, eventually bringing about the rotation of the table; often practiced in connection with table tapping (q.v.).

talking tables

See table tapping.

telekinesis

The movement of objects apparently without the application of physical force, considered to be accomplished by the power of the mind or a “psychic force.”

telepathy

The communication of information from one mind to another apparently without using the recognized channels of sense; also called thought transference.

unconscious

That part of an individual’s mind that produces actions or mental processes without that individual’s conscious participation.

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1. Mesmer, Franz Anton.

Dissertatio physico-medica de planetarum influxu. Vienna: Ghelen, 1766, 48 pp. English: “Physical-Medical Treatise on the Influence of the Planets,” in Mesmerism. Translated and edited by George Bloch. Los Altos, California: William Kaufmann, 1980.

The first published writing of Franz Anton Mesmer is a dissertation presented to the University of Vienna medical school for the degree of doctor of medicine. While the title page of the dissertation carries the initials of a doctorate in liberal arts and philosophy after Mesmer’s name, there is a serious doubt that this degree was ever conferred. Although there is no record of what Mesmer studied in the years from 1755 to 1759, the rest of his education is known, and there is little reason to think he attained a degree during that hiatus. Mesmer came to Vienna in 1759 to study at the university. After one year in law, he began a six-year program in the medical school, finishing with this dissertation. At the very beginning of the thesis Mesmer states that he is attempting to continue the work of Richard Mead (1673–1754) who wrote about the influence of the stars on men. Mesmer emphasizes that he is not talking about an astrological understanding of that influence, but a purely physical, scientific one. After a general discussion of the laws of planetary motion, centrifugal force, and gravitation, he writes of his notion that there must be tides in the atmosphere just as there are in the ocean. Frank Pattie of the University of Kentucky, in his study of the influence of Mead on Mesmer, points out that this idea is central in Mead’s De imperio solis ac lunae (1704), and that Mesmer sometimes reproduces Mead’s own words on the matter, only slightly altered, without giving him credit. Mesmer then presents his own original ideas. He says that just as there are tides in the sea and the atmosphere, so also there are tides in the human body. There is, he asserts, a universal gravitation by which our bodies are affected. Through this influence emanating from the stars, our bodies are caused to resonate in a harmonious fashion. This fact, says Mesmer, must be taken seriously by medical practitioners, for if human bodies are violently shaken by the action of celestial bodies, then understanding the nature of that influence is of utmost importance. This generalized influence is labeled by Mesmer “animal gravitation.” Some years later, this concept will reappear, somewhat modified by his experience with magnets, as “animal magnetism.” [H]

2. Hell, Maximillian.

Unpartheyischer Bericht der allhier gemachten Entdeckungen der sonderbaren Würkung der kunstlichen Stahlmagneten in verschiedenen Nervenkrankheiten. Vienna: n.p., 1775.

[H]

3. Mesmer, Franz Anton.

Gedruckte Antwort des Herrn Dr Mesmer vom 19. Januar 1775. N.p., n.p., 1775.

Mesmer’s third published writing. Apparently the treatise first appeared in a Viennese periodical and then as a separate pamphlet. Now it can only be found in the Sammlung der neuesten gedruckten und geschriebenen Nachrichten (see entry number 9). It is a response to an article of Maximillian Hell, an expert on the construction of magnets, who wrote an article critical of Mesmer’s Schreiben über die Magnetcur (entry number 5). Hell claimed that the cures ascribed by Mesmer to animal magnetism were really due to the action of magnets. In his response, Mesmer not only reasserts that animal magnetism was the cause, he also denies that magnets are of any use in treating illness. [H]

4. Mesmer, Franz Anton.

Herrn Dr Mesmers Schreiben an die Frankfurter vom 10. Mai 1775. N.p., n.p., 1775.

A letter on magnetism addressed to the inhabitants of Frankfort. It can be found today only in the Sammlung der neuesten gedruckten und geschriebenen Nachrichten (see entry number 9). [H]

5. Mesmer, Franz Anton.

Schreiben über die Magnetkur von Herrn. A. Mesmer, Doktor der Arzneygelahrtheit, an einen auswartigen Arzt. (Vienna): Joseph Kurzbock, 1775, (1) + 14 pp. English: “Letter from M. Mesmer, Doctor of Medicine at Vienna to A. M. Unzer, Doctor of Medicine, on the Medicinal Usage of the Magnet,” in Mesmerism. Translated and edited by George Bloch. Los Altos, California: William Kaufmann, 1980.

Written on January 5, 1775, to Doctor Johann Christoph Unzer of Altona, this treatise appeared as a pamphlet and was then immediately published in the Neuer gelehrter Mercurius (edited by Unzer). In this attempt to explain his theory of cure through magnetism, Mesmer first uses the term “animal magnetism” in print. This term he now equates with the “animal gravitation” of his Dissertation (see entry number 1). He distinguishes animal magnetism from mineral magnetism, but at the same time shows the analogy between the two. Mesmer points out that the animal magnetic fluid penetrates everything and can be stored up and concentrated, like “electric fluid.” Like mineral magnetism, animal magnetism can operate at a distance. An edition of this work published in 1776 has an important addition: a section titled Anhang von einigen Briefen und Nachrichten. This appendix contains excerpts from letters describing cures performed by Mesmer and ascribed to animal magnetism. [H]

6. Unzer, Johann Christoph.

Beschreibung eines mit dem kunstlichen Magneten angestellten medicinischen Versuchs. Hamburg: Herold, 1775, 144 pp.

Having read of Mesmer’s work, Unzer, a physician and editor of the periodical Neuer gelehrter Mercurius, experimented with magnets in the treatment of his own patients. The results were good, and he wrote this favorable opinion of the medical use of magnets. [H]

7. Klinkosch, Joseph Thaddaus.

Schreiben den Thier. Magnetismus u. die sich selbst wieder ersetzende Kraft Betreffend. Prague: n.p., 1776.

Klinkosch included the alleged cures through exorcism performed by Gassner and those carried out by Mesmer using animal magnetism in the same category. He considered them to be false and delusory and argued that if any such cures occurred, it must be through electricity rather than magnetism. [H]

8. Mesmer, Franz Anton.

Discours sur le magnétisme. N.p.: n.p., (1778?).

A small treatise found today only in L’antimagnétisme by Paulet (see entry number 94). There are questions about both authorship and date. Amadou believes it a genuine piece by Mesmer, while Frank Pattie has his doubts. There is no date given by Paulet who took his version from the Recueil des effets salutaires de l’aimant (see entry number 22). Amadou places the treatise somewhere between Mesmer’s controversy with Hell and the publication of his Mémoire (see entry number 10). In the treatise, Mesmer describes how he first became aware of a “magnetic quality” in his own person that had effects upon the bodies of the sick, analogous to that produced by mineral magnetism. [H]

9. Mesmer, Franz Anton.

Sammlung der neuesten gedruckten und geschriebenen Nachrichten von Magnet-Curen, vorzüglich der Mesmerischen. Leipzig: Hilscher, 1778, 4 + 194 pp.

A collection of journal articles and polemical pamphlets written by Mesmer, Hell and others about the nature and efficacy of magnetic healing. For some of those writings this is the only remaining source. Mesmer himself acknowledged the accuracy of the reproductions in this collection. [H]

10. Mesmer, Franz Anton.

Mémoire sur la découverte du magnétisme animal. Geneva and Paris: Didot le jeune, 1779, vi + 85 pp. English: “Dissertation on the Discovery of Animal Magnetism,” in Mesmerism. Translated and edited by George Bloch. Los Altos, California: William Kaufmann, 1980.

A foundational work in the history of modern psychology. In this, Mesmer’s first and most influential public presentation of his theory of animal magnetism, he describes the context of his discovery of animal magnetism, depicts the first cures performed through its application, and sets forth twenty-seven propositions which delineate its nature and effects. Having experimented with iron magnets to treat illnesses, Mesmer came to the conclusion that the human body itself is a magnet and that the physician, using his own body magnetically, can produce the most effective cures. To promote his discovery, Mesmer moved in 1778 to Paris, which was the intellectual center of the Europe of his day. His Parisian clinic claimed many remarkable cures. This dramatic success and the Mémoire of 1779 caused his fame to spread quickly throughout France. Mesmer considered himself above all a physician and a scientist. In the foreword to the Mémoire, he states his basic belief that “nature affords a universal means of healing and preserving men,” and throughout the text he emphasizes his conviction that he has discovered a natural principle whose laws would eventually be revealed by critical observation of the facts. According to Mesmer, there exists in nature a universal agent which, through as yet unknown laws, produces a mutual influence among the heavenly bodies, the earth, and living things. When this agent is observed operating in living organisms, it is seen to have properties of attraction similar to those of the magnet, even exhibiting polarity. Because of this similarity to mineral magnetism, Mesmer names this universal agent “animal magnetism.” He claims that it acts upon the nerves of living things and that its discovery makes available a powerful means of curing illness and preserving health. Animal magnetism operates in the organism by means of an extremely fine “fluid” (the term common among scientists of the time to denote any subtle substance or influence), which Mesmer calls “magnetic fluid.” Cure of disease is brought about by the direct intervention of the physician himself. He uses the magnetic power of his own body to influence the ebb and flow of magnetic fluid in that of his patient, restoring the natural balance of animal magnetic currents and thus aiding nature in the cure of disease. Mesmer states that in this way animal magnetism can cure nervous disorders directly and other disorders indirectly. Although Mesmer lived and wrote until 1815, he never significantly altered the outline of his theory as it is presented in the Mémoire of 1779. It contains all the basic principles which were to be applied to treatment of the sick by “magnetizers” for decades to come. [H]

11. D’Eslon, Charles.

Discours prononcé en l’assemblée de la Faculté de Médecine de Paris le 18 septembre 1780. N.p., n.p., (1780?).

D’Eslon was physician to the Comte d’Artois, the regent of the Faculty of Medicine of Paris. Mesmer’s first important associate in Paris, D’Eslon was educated by him in the theory and practice of animal magnetism. This well-constructed explanation and defence of animal magnetism was directed by D’Eslon to his medical colleagues in Paris. It resulted in their demand that he give up his involvement with the practice of animal magnetism. It can be found in Mesmer’s Précis historique (1781), pp. 173 ff. (see entry number 17). [H]

12. D’Eslon, Charles.

Observations sur le magnétisme animal. London and Paris: Didot, 1780, (4) + 151 pp.

Because of his standing in the medical world, D’Eslon gave Mesmer credibility among the intelligentsia of Paris. This book was his major opus on animal magnetism in which he describes his first exposure to animal magnetism and how he became convinced of its efficacy. He adheres to all of Mesmer’s teachings about the nature of the phenomenon, although he does not emphasize the doctrine of a magnetic fluid. D’Eslon stresses the importance of the fact that animal magnetism is effective as a treatment for illness. He knew this from his own experience, having been cured by Mesmer of a life-long ailment. Showing little concern about the niceties of theory, D’Eslon’s appreciation of the practical efficacy of animal magnetism marks him as a sincere promoter of what he thought to be a great benefit to mankind. [H]

13. [Horne, ——— de.]

Réponse d’un médecin de Paris à un médecin de province, sur le prétendu magnétisme animal de M. Mesmer. Vienna and Paris: L. A. Delalain le jeune, (1780), 16 pp.

De Horne was physician to the Comtesse d’Artois and the Duke of Orleans. In this booklet he criticizes the animal magnetic fluid of Mesmer, claiming it is simply an electro-magnetic influence. [H]

14. [Paulet, Jean Jacques.]

Les miracles de Mesmer. N.p.: n.p. (1780), 23 pp.

Paulet, a botanist and physician who was strongly opposed to animal magnetism, was editor of the Gazette de Santé. This pamphlet is a reprint of two book reviews from that journal: the first, a review of D’Eslon’s Observations sur le magnétisme animal (entry number 12); the second, a review of de Horne’s Réponses d’un médecin de province (entry number 13). In the reviews, Paulet makes some extravagant claims against Mesmer and animal magnetism. [H]

15. Bergasse, Nicolas.

Lettre d’un médecin de la Faculté de Paris à un médecin du College de Londres; ouvrage dans lequel on prouve contre M. Mesmer que le magnétisme animal n’existe pas. The Hague: n.p., 1781, 70 pp.

Bergasse was a lawyer, philosopher, and political theorist from Lyons. In 1781 he was successfully treated by Mesmer and became his devoted follower. In this letter he declares his belief in the efficacy of the cures performed by Mesmer and condemns the closed attitude of orthodox medicine. [H]

16. [Fournier-Michel, ———.]

Lettre à M. Mesmer, et autre pièces concernant la maladie de mademoiselle de Berlancourt de Beauvais. Beauvais: P. Desjardins, 1781, 15 pp.

An important early testimony of a cure by Mesmer with independent witnesses. The condition and cure (paralysis of part of the body of a young woman) are described in some detail. [H]

17. Mesmer, Franz Anton.

Précis historique des faits relatifs au magnétisme animal jusques en Avril 1781. Tr. de l’allemand. London: n.p., 1781, (8) + 229 + (2) pp.

This collection of documents and comments was translated into French from an outline written by Mesmer in German. The original outline was later destroyed and the German version of this work published in 1783 was a translation from the French edition. The translator and editor was apparently D’Eslon. The work attempts to give a history of animal magnetism to date by reproducing and commenting on important relevant documents. The history of animal magnetism is divided into five time periods: 1) dealings with the Faculty of Medicine at Vienna, 2) dealings with the Academy of Sciences at Paris, 3) dealings with the Royal Society of Medicine at Paris, 4) various activities in the two years following, and 5) dealings with the Faculty of Medicine at Paris. Mesmer uses the documentation format to reiterate his views and emphasize his side in the various disputes in which he had been involved. [H]

18. [Thouvenel, Pierre.]

Mémoire physique et médicinal, montrant des rapports évidens entre les phénomènes de la baguette divinatoire, du magnétisme et de l’électricité, avec des éclaircissements sur d’autres objects non moins importants, qui y sont relatifs. Paris and London: Didot, 1781, (3) + 304 pp.

A study of the use of the divining rod and its effectiveness in discovering hidden sources of water. Thouvenel recalls the tradition of magnetic medicine and the theories of earlier writers concerning a universal magnetic force which accounts for such mysterious powers. He writes about “animal electricity” and “animal magnetism” as derived from that tradition, not from the writings of Mesmer. The similarities between these ideas of Thouvenel and those of Mesmer are, however, striking. [H]

19. Bourzeis, Jacques Aimée de.

Observation très-importante sur les effets du magnétisme animal. Paris: P. F. Gueffier, 1782, 28 pp.

A little work complaining about the treatment Mesmer gave to the author’s patient. [H]

20. D’Eslon, Charles.

Lettre de M. d’Eslon, docteur régent de la Faculté de Paris, et médecine ordinaire de Monseigneur le comte d’Artois, à M. Philip, docteur en médecine, doyen de la Faculté. The Hague: n.p., 1782, 144 pp.

One of a number of attempts by D’Eslon to present his views on animal magnetism to the medical establishment at Paris. [H]

21. [D’Eslon, Charles.]

Lettre de M. le Marquis de***, à un médecine de province. N.p.: n.p., (1782), 46 + (2) pp.

A collection of letters on animal magnetism, including a letter by Mesmer protesting D’Eslon’s claim to represent the interests of animal magnetism (see Lettre sur un fait relatif à l’histoire . . . , entry number 23) and correspondence between Mesmer and D’Eslon on the matter. The collection is ascribed to D’Eslon. [H]

22. [Harsu, Jacques de.]

Recueil des effets salutaires de l’aimant dans les maladies. Geneva: B. Chirol and E. Didier, 1782, 60 + 276 pp.

An extremely rare book which contains, among other things, the original of a small treatise by Mesmer entitled: Discourse sur le magnétisme. This treatise was later published in L’Antimagnétisme by Paulet (see entry number 94). [H]

23. [Mesmer, Franz Anton.]

Lettre sur un fait relatif à l’histoire du magnétisme animal adressée à M. Philip, doyen de la Faculté de Médecine de Paris. London and Aix-la-Chapelle: n.p., 15 pp.

This letter was addressed by Mesmer to the dean of the Faculty of Medicine at Paris and written to protest D’Eslon’s claim to be in possession of Mesmer’s teaching. According to Mesmer, D’Eslon said that Mesmer would not be returning to Paris and for that reason the informal investigation of animal magnetism being conducted by the Faculty should examine his (D’Eslon’s) work. Mesmer objects, saying that D’Eslon cannot possibly claim to present a complete picture of the theory and practice of animal magnetism. [H]

24. Puységur, Antoine Hyacinte Anne de Chastenet, comte de.

Lettre de M. le C** de C**P** a M. le P**E** de S **. N.p.: n.p., 1782, 59 pp.

[H]

25. Retz, Noel de Rochefort.

Lettre sur le secret de M. Mesmer ou réponse d’un médecin à un autre, qui avait demandé des éclaircissements à ce sujet. Paris: Méquignon, 1782, 22 pp.

Retz, “physician ordinaire” to the King of France, rejects the theory of animal magnetism. However, he does admit that cures have been brought about through its application. His explanation is that the cures were accomplished through “imagination.” [H]

26. Thouret, Michel Augustin and Andry, Charles Louis François.

Observations et recherches sur l’usage de l’aimant en médecine; ou Mémoire sur le magnétisme médicinal. Paris: L’imprimerie de monsieur, 1782, 168 pp.

This work is an extract from the Mémoires of the Société royale de médecine for the year 1779. The authors describe the medical uses of magnets, beginning with a history of the subject. They then take up contemporary practitioners who use magnets to heal, including Franz Anton Mesmer. They concentrate on Mesmer’s use of the mineral magnet, but they note his Mémoire of 1779 in their footnote and refer to his original “discoveries.” Generally, the authors convey a positive attitude towards Mesmer’s work. In 1784, however, Thouret revised his view, becoming very critical of animal magnetism in his Recherches et doutes (1784, entry number 116). [H]

27. Andry, Charles Louis François and Thouret, Michel Augustin.

Rapport sur les aimons présentés par M. l’abbé Le Noble; lu dans la séance tenus au Louvre, le mardi premier avril 1783. Paris: P. D. Pierres, (1783), 266 pp.

[H]

28. Bacher, Alexandre André Philippe Frédéric.

Grande belle découverte du magnétisme animal. N.p.: n.p., 1783, 15 pp.

This pamphlet consists of a letter from Mesmer to a Doctor Philip (1782) with comments added by Bacher. [H]

29. Court de Gébelin, Antoine.

Lettre de l’auteur de monde primitif à messieurs ses souscripteurs sur le magnétisme animal. Paris: Valleyre l’aîné, 1783, 47 pp.

Court de Gébelin was one of the most highly respected intellectuals of his day. His monumental nine-volume Monde primitif (1773–1784) was a virtual encyclopedia of studies in comparative linguistics. In this letter he tells of how he was cured of a serious illness by Mesmer’s animal magnetism. He passionately appeals for a serious study of that system and indicates the directions that study might take. Court de Gébelin had long sought to unearth the outlines of a primitive science present in the great cultures of the west. In animal magnetism he believed he had discovered the true basis for that science. [H]

30. Bailly, Jean Sylvain.

Exposé des expériences qui one été faites pour l’examen du magnétisme animal. Lu à l’Académie des sciences, par M. Bailly en son nom & aux nom de Mrs. Franklin, Le Roy, de Bory, et Lavoisier, le 4 Septembre 1784. Paris: Imprimerie Royale, 1784, 15 pp.

Presented as a courtesy to the members of the Academy of Sciences which had been commissioned by the king to investigate animal magnetism. This brief report was intended to give them an account of some of the experiences which the commissioners had during their investigation. It is considerably shorter than the official report (see entry number 31). [H]

31. Bailly, Jean Sylvain, ed.

Rapport des commissaires chargés par le roi de l’examen du magnétisme animal. Paris: Imprimerie Royale, 1784, 66 pp.

In the spring of 1784 the King of France appointed this commission made up of members of the Academy of Sciences to investigate the claims of animal magnetism. He chose some of the most eminent men of science of his day. The chairman was Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790), a founding father of the United States of America, ambassador of that country to France, and a person highly knowledgeable in electricity and terrestrial magnetism. The commission’s president was Antoine Laurent Lavoisier (1743 –1794), a follower of Condillac and one of the most important chemists of the age. The secretary of the commission and editor of its report was the famous astronomer Jean Sylvain Bailly (1736–1793). The commission also included the director of the Academy of Sciences, Jean Baptiste Leroy (1724–1800), an investigator of electricity of some note. The fifth member of the commission was the physician de Bory, about which nothing is known today. The commission began its investigations on March 12, 1784, and published its report in August of that year. Both this commission and one made up of members of the Faculty of Medicine of Paris, appointed by the King at the same time, investigated animal magnetism as practiced by Charles D’Eslon, a disciple of Mesmer. D’Eslon wanted this official inquiry, while Mesmer strongly opposed it. By cooperating with the commissions, D’Eslon effectively removed himself from his teacher’s fold. Although D’Eslon’s theory of animal magnetism, as presented to the commission, was somewhat different from that of Mesmer, the commissioners did not seem to be bothered by that fact. They contended that theory made no difference to their mandate, which was to decide about the existence and utility of animal magnetism. Their conclusion was that they found no evidence for the existence of an animal magnetic fluid. They ascribed any cures or improvement of health that might occur through the application of animal magnetism to the action of “imagination.” The report was very influential and became a center of a vigorous controversy which raged for a number of years, with pamphlets and books being written for and against its conclusions. [H]

32. [Bailly, Jean Sylvain.]

Rapport secret présenté au ministre et signé par la commission précédente. N.p.:n.p., 1784, 10 pp.

This secret report by the Franklin commission was not published at the time of the public report. It was presented privately to the King of France and appeared for the first time in print in 1800 (see entry number 213.). [H]

33. Supplément au deux rapports de MM. les commissaires de l’Académie et de la Faculté de médecine et de la Société royale de médecine.

Amsterdam and Paris: Gueffier, 1784, 80 pp.

A summary of cures through animal magnetism attested to by the magnetizer that performed them or by the patient who had been cured. The cures were in many cases not described with the detail needed to judge the effectiveness of the treatment. [H]

34. [Barbeguière, J. B.]

La maçonnerie mesmérienne, ou leçons prononcées par Fr. Mocet, Riala, Themola, Seca et Célaphon, de l’Ordre des F. de l’harmonie, en Loge mesmérienne de Bordeaux, l’an des influences 5784, et le premier du mesmérisme. Amsterdam: n.p., 1784, 83 + (1) pp.

The pronouncement of a group of Bordeaux freemasons concerning their views on mesmerism. They were at first orthodox members of the Bordeaux Lodge of Harmony founded to teach animal magnetism. However, in 1784 they broke away for a brief period, but were soon returned to the fold. [H]

35. [Barré, P. Y. and Radet, J. B.]

Les docteurs modernes, comédie-parade en un acte et en vaudeville, suivie du Banquet de santé, divertissement analogue mêlé de couplets représentée pour la première fois à Paris par les comédiens italiens ordinaires du Roy, le mardi 16 Novembre 1784. Paris: Brunet, 1784, 59 pp.

Two plays staged in Paris in 1784. Les docteurs modernes satirized Mesmer and D’Eslon. Banquet de santé continues the theme. It takes place in a healing salon equipped with a magnetic “baquet.” The plays represent Mesmer and D’Eslon as charlatans who make fun of their dupes. The play occasioned an impassioned reaction from a supporter of Mesmer named Duval d’Eprémesnil (see entry 57). [H]

36. Bergasse, Nicolas.

Considérations sur le magnétisme animal, ou sur la théorie du monde et des êtres organisés, d’après les principes de M. Mesmer, par M. Bergasse avec des pensées sur le mouvement, par M. le Marquis de Chastellux, de l’Académie française. The Hague: n.p., 1784, 149 pp.

Bergasse, along with Kornmann, helped Mesmer found the Society of Harmony of Paris, the first of many which would take on members for a fee to teach them the doctrine and techniques of animal magnetism. Bergasse delivered lectures to the members of the Paris Society, and these lectures were distilled into the content of the present book. Bergasse and Mesmer had their disagreements and although in Considérations Bergasse vigorously defends Mesmer against all attacks, divergences of doctrine do nevertheless appear. Within a year after the publication of the book, Mesmer and Bergasse publicly ended their association. [H]

37. [Bergasse, Nicolas.]

Dialogue entre un docteur de toutes les universités et académies du monde connu, notamment de la faculté de médecine fondée à Paris dans la rue de la Bucherie, l’an de notre salut 1472 et un homme de bon sens, ancien malade du docteur. Paris: Gastellier, 1784, 24 pp.

A satirical work written by Bergasse and published anonymously. It is aimed at those physicians who condemned animal magnetism. [H]

38. [Bergasse, Nicolas.]

Théorie du monde et des êtres organisés suivant les principes de M. . . . Paris: n.p., 1784, 15 + 21 + 16 pp.

Produced by Bergasse, at a time when he was still a loyal and fanatical disciple of Mesmer, for the “adepts” of animal magnetism—those initiated into its secrets through membership in the lodge of Harmony. Composed in a format that reminds one of certain alchemical texts, the work presents text and symbols according to a code that only the initiated could understand. Beginning with the basic postulates of Mesmer’s theory, Bergasse moves on to examine in detail the properties of matter and motion, and concludes with a section on the nature of man. [H]

39. [Bombay, ———.]

Procédés du magnétisme animal. (Paris?): n.p., 1784, 53 pp.

The work of an experienced magnetizer who was influenced by the work of Puységur. Attributed to the physician Bombay, the book contains descriptions of the use of physical objects as repositories of magnetism which can be used to treat the ill. In this category are trees, tubs of water, and the baquet as devised by Mesmer. The author tells how to impart magnetic fluid to these objects. [H]

40. Bonnefoy, Jean Baptiste.

Analyse raisonée des rapports des commissaires chargés par le roi de l’examen du magnétisme animal. Lyon and Paris: Prault, 1784, (4) + 98 pp.

The preeminent magnetizer of Lyon at the time of the report of the Franklin Commission, the physician Bonnefoy strongly criticized the report using, among other things, arguments drawn from the electrical science of the day. [H]

41. Bormes, ———, baron de.

Lettres de M.l.B.d.B. à M.P.L.G.H.D.L.S., à Marseille, sur l’existence du magnétisme animal et l’agent universel de la nature dont le Dr Mesmer se sert pour opérer ses guérisons . . . avec le moyen de se bien porter sans le secours du médecin. Geneva and Paris: Couturier, 1784, 87 pp.

[H]

42. [Bouvier, Marie André Joseph.]

Lettres sur le magnétisme animal; où l’on discute l’ouvrage de M. Thouret, intitulé: Doutes et recherches . . . et le rapport des commissaires sur l’existence. . . . Brussels: n.p., 1784, 103 + (3) p.

Written by the physician Bouvier of Versailles, the work defends the reality of animal magnetism and its effectiveness as a cure. Bouvier himself used animal magnetism successfully in his medical practice. [H]

43. [Brack, ———.]

Histoire du magnétisme en France, de son régime et de son influence, pour servir à développer l’idée qu’on doit avoir de la médecine universelle. Vienna and Paris: Royez, 1784, 32 pp.

Brack was a physician who wrote a number of pamphlets against Mesmer and animal magnetism. In this work he provides interesting information about the foundation of magnetic Societies of Harmony in Paris and the provinces. [H]

44. [Brack, ———.]

Lettre de Figaro au Comte Almaviva sur la crise du magnétisme animal, avec des détails propres à fixer enfin l’opinion sur l’inutilité de cette découverte; nouvelle édition précédée et suivie des réflexions qui ont rapport aux circonstances présentes, traduites de l’espangnol. (Madrid and) Paris: n.p., 1784, 45 pp.

One of a number of pamphlets written by the physician Brack against animal magnetism. The first edition of this work is not known to be extant and reference to a Spanish original seems to be a literary fiction. [H]

45. [Brissot de Warville, Jacques Pierre.]

Un mot à l’oreille des académiciens de Paris. N.p.: n.p., 1784, 24 pp.

Brissot, a French revolutionary, social critic and theoretician, believed that animal magnetism could serve as a means of achieving social reform. In this work, among other things, he writes of how animal magnetism could make the rich more human and concerned about the poor. [H]

46.[Cambry, Jacques.]

Traces du magnétisme. The Hague: n.p., 1784, 48 pp.

An erudite study of the “traces” of animal magnetic phenomena in antiquity. Written by an antiquarian and supporter of Mesmer. [H]

47.[Cloquet, ———.]

Détail des cures opérées à Buzancy, près Soissons par le magnétisme animal. Soissons: n.p., 1784, 42 pp.

An important and very rare document in the history of animal magnetism that contains, among other items, a letter written by a M. Cloquet describing in detail the induction of artificial somnambulism by the Marquis de Puységur. This letter is the first mention in print of “magnetic sleep,” as Puységur would call it in his Mémoires (see entry number 105), written a few months later. Puységur’s historic discovery of what would eventually be termed “hypnotic trance” was a turning point in the history of modern psychology and psychotherapy. The treatise also contains a letter written by Puységur to Bergasse, a letter written by the Rev. Gérard, Superior General of the Order of Charity, a brief description by Puységur of 62 cures performed through animal magnetism at Buzancy, and a description of a cure performed by Mesmer on the son of the banker Kornmann. [H]

48. Confession d’un médicin académicien et commissaire d’un rapport sur le magnétisme animal avec les remontrances et avis de son directeur.

(Paris): n.p. (1784), 70 pp.

[H]

49. [Dampierre, Antoine Esmonin Marquis de.]

Réflexions impartiales sur le magnétisme animal, faites après la publication du rapport des commissaires chargés par le roi de l’examen de cette découverte. Geneva and Paris: Barthélemy Chirol (Geneva) and Périsse le jeune (Paris), 1784, 50 pp.

Dampierre was a theologian, magistrate, and president of the parliament of Bourgogne. A member of the mystical Lyons school of freemasons, he developed a philosophy of animal magnetism that viewed it as an aid to the healing and social evolution taking place according to hidden laws of nature. Dampierre delineates four different types of “magnetic crisis” that can be experienced by an individual suffering from illness. The first is the necessary and salutary crisis that an ill person may experience before magnetic treatment—certain gestures and actions that demonstrate nature’s attempt to heal. The second type of crisis is that produced by suggestive individuals, when being magnetized, through imitation and the action of imagination—this being a useless and even harmful type of crisis. The third type is the crisis produced through fear upon seeing another person in the throes of a violent crisis—this also being a harmful type of crisis. The fourth type of crisis is that produced by the action of animal magnetism in susceptible persons who have a strong desire to remain in the state of crisis—this type being dangerous to the patient. Since none of these crises leads, with the possible exception of the first, to a fruitful conclusion, Dampierre and his colleagues at Lyons sought an alternate, positive healing crisis. Dampierre believed that the crises most often produced by animal magnetism as practiced by those who used the techniques of Mesmer were of the harmful type described. He considered these crises to be embarrassing and obscene for the patient and narcissistically flattering for the magnetizer. Dampierre’s solution was the magnetic technique developed by his fellow Freemason at Lyons, the Chevalier Barberin. In contrast to that of Mesmer which relied on magnetic “passes” that involved physical contact, or were applied at the most a few inches from the body, the magnetizing of Barberin was done at a distance, sometimes a distance of miles. This approach could produce magnetic somnambulism with the attendant apparently paranormal phenomena first noted by the Marquis de Puységur (q.v.). This Lyons brand of Freemason animal magnetism was as such strongly oriented towards the occult worldview of the magical tradition of the West. [H]

50. Les débris du baquet ou Lettres critiques de la requête de Mesmer.

Paris: n.p., 1784, 23 pp.

[H]

51. Décret de la faculté de médecine de Paris, du 24 août 1784 par lequel est adopté le Rapport des commissaires (Français et Latin).

Paris: Marchand, 1784, 23 pp.

[H]

52. D’Eslon, Charles.

Observations sur les deux rapports de MM. les commissaires nommés par sa majesté pour l’examen du magnétisme animal. Philadelphia and Paris: Clousier, 1784, (1) + 31 pp.

A critique of the report of the commissioners charged with examining animal magnetism. D’Eslon’s criticism is based on direct knowledge of their investigations. He condemns their prohibition of the practice of animal magnetism and says it is unenforceable. [H]

53. [Duplicate of entry 33; deleted.]

54. Devillers, Charles Joseph.

Le colosse aux pieds d’Argille. (Paris): n.p., 1784, iv + 176 pp.

Devillers was a member of the very active lodge of Freemasons of Lyon. When its members took sides on the issue of animal magnetism in 1784, he supported the opposition. In this book he admits that some of the phenomena of animal magnetism are genuine, but denies that they are due to the action of Mesmer’s magnetic fluid. He attempts to show that the power of imagination is sufficient explanation. Charles Joseph Devillers should not be confused with Charles de Villers (1765–1815) who wrote a novel in 1787 entitled Le magnétiseur amoureux (see entry number 175). [H]

55. Doppet, François Amédée.

Traité théorique et pratique du magnétisme animal. Turin: Jean Michel Briolo, 1784, 80 pp.

Doppet was a pupil of D’Eslon and practitioner of animal magnetism. He held a somewhat unusual attitude toward magnetism: he believed magnetism was an important medical tool and used it himself, but was not sure that it was all that the theory claimed to be. [H]

56. [Dufau, Julien.]

Remarques sur la conduite du sieur Mesmer et de son commis le P. Hervier, et de ses autres adhérents; où l’on tache de venger la médecine de leurs outrages. (Paris): n.p., 1784, 30 pp.

The purpose of this pamphlet is to destroy the credibility of Hervier and his cure by Mesmer through animal magnetism. [H]

57. [Éprémesnil, Jean Jacques Duval d’.]

Réflexions préliminaires à l’occasion de la pièce intitulée Les docteurs modernes jouée sur le Théatre Italien, le seize, Novembre 1784. (Paris): n.p., 1784, 3 pp.

In this leaflet, Éprémesnil, a vehement supporter of Mesmer at this time, expresses his indignation about the play Les docteurs moderne (see entry number 35) which satirized Mesmer, D’Eslon, and the practice of animal magnetism. Éprémesnil scattered the leaflet into the audience during a performance. [H]

58. [Éprémesnil, Jean Jacques Duval d’.]

Suite des réflexions préliminaires à l’occasion des Docteurs modernes. (Paris): n.p., 1784, 8 pp.

A second statement on the part of Éprémesnil supporting Mesmer in face of the jibes of the play Les docteurs modernes (see entry number 35). Like the first leaflet, this one was tossed to the audience during a performance. [H]

59. Fontette Sommery, ———, comte de.

Lettre à M. d’Eslon, médecin ordinaire de Monseigneur le Comte d’Artois. Glasgow and Paris: Prault, 1784, 27 pp.

[H]

60. Foughet, Par.

Lettre d’un médecin de la faculté de Paris à M. Court de Gébelin, en réponse à celle que ce savant a adressée à ses souscripteurs et dans laquelle il fait un éloge triomphant du magnétisme animal. Bordeaux: Bergeret, 1784, 69 pp.

A letter addressed to Court de Gébelin about his supposed illness and cure through animal magnetism. The author, a physician of Paris, states that it was very likely that Court de Gébelin had not been ill at all, but if he had been ill, then it was the healing power of nature itself, not animal magnetism, that had cured him. The letter also contains a number of criticisms of the way animal magnetism was being practiced in Paris. [H]

61. Gallert de Montjoie, Cristophe Félix Louis.

Essai sur la découverte du magnétisme animal. N.p.: n.p., 1784, 9 pp.

[H]

62. Gallert de Montjoie, Cristophe Félix Louis.

Lettre sur le magnétisme animal, où l’on examine la conformité des opinions des peuples anciens & modernes, des sçavans & notament de M. Bailly avec celles de M. Mesmer: et où l’on compare ces mêmes opinions au rapport des commissaires chargés par le roi de l’examen du magnétisme animal adressé à Monsieur Bailly de l’Académie des Sciences etc. Paris and Philadelphia: Pierre J. Duplain, 1784, (4) + v–viii + 136 pp.

In the first part of this defence of Mesmer and animal magnetism, Gallert de Montjoie tries to find points of rapprochement between Mesmer and the astronomer Bailly. He then compares the ideas of Mesmer to those of Descartes and Newton, siding with Newton against Bailly in his view of matter and motion. The author explains Mesmer’s view of the ebb and flow of magnetic fluid and attempts to show how it is in agreement with the best contemporary views of physics. In the second part, Gallert de Montjoie takes up the report of the Franklin commission, devoting considerable space to the issue of the place of the imagination in the action of animal magnetism. He examines the place of the will in the action of the magnetic fluid, stating that it is principally by the will that the fluid is directed and that it is involved in magnetization at a distance. [H]

63. [Gardane, Joseph Jacques de.]

Eclaircissements sur le magnétisme actuel. London: n.p., 1784, 36 pp.

A treatise on animal magnetism by a man who experimented with electricity as a medical aid. He accepted the reality of the effects of animal magnetism, but believed that imagination was probably the principal cause. [H]

64. Gérardin, ———.

Lettre d’un Anglais à un Français sur la découverte du magnétisme animal et observations sur cette lettre. Paris: Bouillon, 1784, 24 pp.

A letter in favor of animal magnetism. Some scholars attribute this pamphlet to Sébastien Gérardin. [H]

65. Gilbert, ———.

Mémoire en réponse au rapport de MM. les Commissaires chargés par le roi de l’examen du magnétisme animal. Morlaix: n.p., 1784, 26 pp.

Critical of the findings of the Franklin commission. [H]

66. Gilbert, Jean Emmanuel.

Aperçu sur le magnétisme animal ou résultats des observations faites à Lyon sur ce nouvel agent. Geneva: n.p., 1784, 76 pp.

Gilbert was a highly reputable physician and professor of medicine. Among other things he was known for his opposition to all forms of quackery in medicine, having written extensively on the subject. In this treatise he attests to the genuineness of the healing effects of animal magnetism, which he had repeatedly witnessed with his own eyes. Gilbert does not say that he agrees with Mesmer’s theories of magnetic fluid. However, as a strong believer in the healing powers of nature, he is sympathetic with the practice of animal magnetism. [H]

67. [Girardin, ———.]

Observations adressées à Mrs. les commissaires chargés par le Roi de l’examen du magnétisme animal; sur la manière dont ils y ont procédé, & sur leur rapport. Par un médecin de province. London and Paris: Royez, 1784, 36 pp.

Comments addressed to the king’s two commissions that investigated animal magnetism, offered by a man who was present at the experiments the commissions carried out with the aid of D’Esïon. The author’s comments are meant to correct certain errors in the report and further explain the nature of the treatment. [H]

68. [Girardin, ———.]

Observations adressées à messieurs les commissaires de la Société royale de médecine, nommés par le Roi. . . . Sur la manière dont ils on procédé, et sur le rapport qu’ils en ont fait. Par un médecin de P—. Pour servir de suite à celles qui ont été adressées sur le même objet à MM. les commissaires tirés de la Faculté de médecine & de l’Académie royale des sciences de Paris. London and Paris: Royez, 1784, (1) + 17 pp.

A second set of comments continuing observations started in the first (see entry number 67). [H]

69. [Guigoud-Pigale, Pierre.]

Le baquet magnétique, comédie en vers et en deux actes. London and Paris: Gastellier, 1784, 126 pp.

A farce in two acts about animal magnetism. [H]

70. Hervier, Charles.

Lettre du père Hervier aux habitants de Bordeaux. Paris: n.p., 1784, 4 pp.

A letter extolling animal magnetism. [H]

71. Hervier, Charles.

Lettre sur la découverte du magnétisme animal à M. Court de Gébelin. (Peking and) Paris: Couturier, 1784, viii + 48 pp.

Hervier expresses his enthusiasm for animal magnetism, the result of the healing that it had accomplished for him personally. Like Court de Gébelin, to whom he addresses the letter, Hervier was cured of an illness through the application of Mesmer’s techniques. This letter provides a detailed description of the illness and treatment. [H]

72. [Jussieu, Antoine Laurent de.]

Rapport de l’un des commissaires chargés par le Roi, de l’examen du magnétisme animal. Paris: Veuve Harissart, 1784, 51 pp.

Jussieu strongly disagreed with the conclusions of the principal report which followed the investigation of animal magnetism by the Société Royale de Médecine in 1784. He stated his own views in this treatise. The commission had seen the demonstrations of animal magnetism given by D’Eslon and Lafisse (Mesmer having refused to take part in the investigation). He distinguished four different kinds of facts observed by the commissioners concerning animal magnetism: the first were those general positive effects about which it was not possible to come to any conclusions as to cause; the second were those which were negative, showing only the non-action of the alleged magnetic fluid; the third were effects, either positive or negative, which could be attributed to the work of the imagination; and the fourth were those positive effects that could only be explained through the action of some unknown agent. Jussieu concluded that although the existence of a magnetic fluid had not been proven, there were enough effects of the fourth kind to justify the continued use of animal magnetism and further investigations of the exact nature of those effects. [H]

73. [La Grezie, Bertrand de.]

Le magnétisme animal dévoilé par un zélé citoyen français. Geneva: n.p., 1784, 36 pp.

A denunciation of Mesmer and animal magnetism by a man Mesmer failed to cure. La Grezie states his belief that magnetizers simply harm their clients. He also presents his own theory of the possibility of communicating electrical fluid from one person to another. [H]

74. [Landresse, C. de.]

Le cri de la nature, ou le magnétisme au jour; ouvrage curieux et utile pour les personnes qui cherchent à étudier les causes physiques du magnétisme ainsi que les phénomènes qui s’y rapportent. London and Paris: n.p., 1784, 40 pp.

The author himself had been cured of an illness through animal magnetism by D’Eslon. Because of his appreciation for the technique, he wants to make it known to the public. [H]

75. Lettre a un magistrat de province, sur l’existence du magnétisme.

N.p.: n.p., (1784), 32 pp.

[H]

76. Lettre de M. A. *** à M. B. ***, sur le livre intitulé: Recherches & doutes sur le magnétisme animal de M. Thouret.

Brussels: n.p., 1784, (1) + 42 pp.

[H]

77. Lettre sur la mort de Court de Gébelin.

Paris: n.p. 1784, 6 pp.

[H]

78. [Mahon, Paul Augustin Olivier.]

Examen sérieux et impartial du magnétisme animal. London and Paris: Royez, 1784, (1) + 43 pp.

A booklet attributed to the physician Mahon. He writes in favor of animal magnetism, and states that if his fellow physicians look into the matter seriously, they will find much of value there for their medical practice. [H]

79. [Mahon, Paul Augustin Olivier.]

Lettre de l’auteur de l’Examen sérieux et impartial du magnétisme animal à M. Judel, médecin membre de la Société de l’Harmonie, où, en répondant à la critique qu’en a faite ce docteur, et qu’il a insérée dans les affiches du pays chartrain, on fait voir que les disciples de d’Eslon peuvent être aussi instruits de la doctrine du magnétisme animal, que ceux de M. Mesmer et quelquefois mieux. Paris and Philadelphia: n.p., 1784, 16 pp.

Mahon, a physician and supporter of animal magnetism, comments on the opinion of Judel that the commissioners who investigated animal magnetism should not have used D’Eslon as their practitioner, since he did not know the art as well as Mesmer. Mahon did not agree with Judel’s position. [H]

80. Marat, Jean Paul.

Mémoire sur l’électricité médicale. Paris: N. T. Méquignon, 1784, 111 pp.

A treatise in which the author mentions animal magnetism in the context of a discussion of medical applications of electricity. [H]

81. Mesmer, Franz Anton.

Apologie de M. Mesmer; ou, Réponse à la brochure intitulée: Mémoire pour servir à l’histoire de la jonglerie dans lequel on démontre les phénomènes du mesmérisme. (Paris?): n.p., 1784, 8 pp.

[H]

82. Mesmer, Franz Anton.

Lettre de M. Mesmer à M. Le Cte de C*** (31 août 1784). N.p.: Imprimerie royale, (1784), 11 pp.

The letter includes the “Copie de la requête à nos seigneurs de Parlement en la grand’ Chambre” in which Mesmer objects to the procedure used by the commission appointed by the king to examine animal magnetism. Mesmer asserts that they were not justified in carrying out their investigation with the aid of D’Eslon, who did not have the true doctrine of animal magnetism. [H]

83. Mesmer, Franz Anton.

Lettre de M. Mesmer à M*** (Vicq-d’Azyr), Paris, 16 août 1784. N.p.: n.p., 1784, 6 pp.

Originally appearing in the journals of the day, this letter is found in the Recueil des pièces les plus intéressantes sur le magnétisme animal (see entry number 87). It contains Mesmer’s criticisms of Thouret’s Recherches et doutes sur le magnétisme animal (see entry number 116). Thouret had pointed to Mesmer’s dependency on sixteenth- and seventeenth-century writers. Mesmer denies such dependency, stating that Thouret builds his case largely on the writings of Maxwell, whom Mesmer had not even read and whose doctrine is in any case very different from that of Mesmer. [H]

84. Mesmer, Franz Anton.

Lettres de M. Mesmer à messieurs les auteurs du Journal de Paris, et à M. Franklin. N.p.: n.p., (1784), 14 pp.

Letters to the editors of the Journal de Paris and to Benjamin Franklin, head of the commission appointed by the king to investigate animal magnetism. Mesmer complains that the commission carried out its investigation with D’Eslon, whose work Mesmer had rejected. He asserts that history will be the judge of the worth of his discovery. [H]

85. Mesmer, Franz Anton.

Lettres de M. Mesmer, à M. Vicq-d’Azyr, et à messieurs les auteurs du Journal de Paris. Brussels: n.p., 1784, 30 pp.

A collection of letters written by Mesmer to the editors of the Journal de Paris and a letter written by him in response to a critical article by Vicq-d’Azyr published in that journal. [H]

86. [Mesmer, Franz Anton.]

Lettre d’un médecin de Paris à un médecin de province. (Paris): n.p., 1784, 16 pp.

Addressed to a “physician of the Commission” appointed by the king to investigate animal magnetism, this letter accuses D’Eslon of contravening an agreement made between him and Mesmer concerning the control of the propagation of animal magnetism. The text of the agreement is given. [H]

87. Mesmer, Franz Anton et al.

Recueil des pièces les plus interessantes sur le magnétisme animal. N.p.: n.p., 1784, (4) + (6) + 7–468 pp.

An important collection of works written on the subject of animal magnetism by Mesmer and others. It includes Mesmer’s Mémoire of 1779 (entry number 10); the Lettre sur la mort de M. Court de Gébelin (entry number 77); Détail des cures opérées à Buzancy près Soissons par le magnétisme animal (entry number 47); and many others. [H]

88. Mesmer guéri ou Lettre d’un provincial au R. P. N. . . ., en réponse à sa lettre intitulée Mesmer blessé.

London and Paris: n.p., 1784, 13 pp.

This letter supports the views of Hervier expressed in his Lettre sur la découverte du magnétisme animal (see entry number 71). [H]

89. Moulinié, Charles.

Lettre sur le magnétisme animal adressée à M. Perdriau, pasteur et professeur de l’église et de l’académie de Genève. Paris: n.p., 1784, 25 pp.

An unusual document written by a Christian magnetizer. Moulinié was the pastor of a church and an extremely effective practitioner of animal magnetism. His mere presence seemed to be enough to heal some people, and the poor were often the beneficiaries of his magnetic power. He was extremely enthusiastic about the great good he believed Mesmer’s discovery had bestowed upon mankind. [H]

90. [Muletier, ———.]

Réflexions sur le magnétisme animal, d’après lesquelles on cherche à établir le degré de croyance que peut mériter justqu’ici le système de M. Mesmer. Brussels and Paris: Couturier, 1784, (1) + 43 pp.

The author believes that Mesmer’s remarkable success was due only to the fascination with the marvelous that was popular at the time. He mentions use of the technique of fixation of the eyes to produce a convulsion and closure of the eyelids. [H]

91. Observations sur le rapport des commissaires chargés par le Roi de l’examen du magnétisme animal. Par M. G. C. Membre de diverses académies.

Vienna: n.p., 1784, 20 pp.

[H]

92. Orelut, Pierre.

Détail des cures opérées à Lyon par le magnétisme animal, selon les principes de M. Mesmer. Précédé d’une lettre à M. Mesmer. Lyon: Faucheux, 1784, 27 pp.

Orelut begins with a letter to Mesmer telling him that when he (Orelut) arrived in Lyon he found the city to be in a state of excitement about animal magnetism and the cures being attributed to it. He states that his purpose in writing this account of various well-attested cures is to help make known Mesmer’s marvelous discovery. The author then describes in some detail the nature of the cases treated and the positive effects produced. [H]

93. O’Ryan, ———.

Discours sur le magnétisme animal lu dans une assemblée du Collége des médecins de Lyon le 15 septembre 1784. Dublin: n.p., 1784, 31 pp.

A well-written treatise arguing against animal magnetism. A professor of medicine at the University of Montpellier, O’Ryan bases his opposition on cases of animal magnetic practice that he had actually observed. [H]

94. [Paulet, Jean Jacques.]

L’antimagnétisme, ou Origine, progrès décadence, renouvellement et réfutation du magnétisme animal. London: n.p., 1784, (2) + 252 pp.

Paulet’s longest and most thorough critique of Mesmer and his theory of animal magnetism. The author begins with an examination of the “traces of magnetism” to be found in the authors of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, such as Paracelsus, Van Helmont, and Fludd. This is followed by a discussion of Mesmer’s propositions on animal magnetism and certain writings of the followers of Mesmer. Paulet also examines the work of the “stroking doctors” such as Greatrakes and the “miracles” of the exorcist Gassner, viewing them as the product of the imagination. This is one of the most important and intelligent of the early critiques of animal magnetism. It includes a famous engraved frontispiece depicting Mesmer drawing magnetic fluid from the heavens and conferring it upon the ill. [H]

95. [Paulet, Jean Jacques.]

Mesmer blessé ou réponse à la lettre du P. Hervier sur le magnétisme animal. London and Paris: Couturier, 1784, 34 pp.

Paulet sets out to convince Hervier that his cure by Mesmer was not remarkable, because he (Hervier) had not been truly ill in the first place. [H]

96. [Paulet, Jean Jacques.]

Mesmer justifié. Constance and Paris: n.p., 1784, (2) + 46 pp.

A farcical piece which makes fun of Mesmer and his practices by pretending to give serious instructions about how to use animal magnetism, while really mocking the whole procedure. It prescribes, for instance, a “blissful disposition” on the part of the operator and “blind submission” on the part of the patient. It also goes into great detail about the necessity of knowledge of the “poles and equators” to properly use animal magnetism. [H]

97. [Peaumerelle, C. J. de B. de.]

La philosophie des vapeurs ou Correspondance d’une jolie femme, nouvelle édition, augmentée d’un petit traité des crises magnétiques à l’usage des mesmériennes. Paphos and Paris: Royez, 1784, xxii + 168 pp.

[H]

98. [Pétiau, abbé.]

Autres rêveries sur le magnétisme animal à un académicien de province. Brussels: n.p., 1784, 48 pp.

The Abbé Pétiau was a secretary of the Paris Society of Harmony and a friend of Bergasse. In this pamphlet he defends Mesmer against D’Eslon and voices his disagreement with the findings of the king’s commission on animal magnetism. [H]

99. [Pétiau, abbé.]

Lettre de M. l’abbé P. . . de l’Académie de la Rochelle, à M. . . de la même Académie sur le magnétisme animal. N.p.: n.p., 1784, 7 pp.

[H]

100. [Philip, ———.]

La Mesmériade, ou le triomphe du magnétisme animal. Poème en 3 chants dédié à la lune. Geneva and Paris: Couturier, 1784, 15 pp.

This satirical piece is attributed to Doctor Philip, dean of the faculty of medicine at Paris at the time when it carried out its investigation of animal magnetism. [H]

101. Poissonnier, Pierre Isaac, Caille, Claude Antoine, Mauduyt de Varenne, Pierre Jean Claude, and Andry, Charles Louis François.

Rapport des commissaires de la Société royale de médecine nommés par le Roi pour fair l’examen du magnétisme animal, imprimé par ordre du Roi. Paris: Imprimerie royale, 1784, 39 pp.

This report was compiled by a commission of the Royal Society of Medicine set up by the king to investigate the claims of animal magnetism. This commission was constituted at approximately the same time as a second commission (The Franklin Commission), also appointed by the king, made up of nine eminent scientists from the Academy of Sciences. The commission of the Royal Society of Medicine began its investigations on April 5, 1784. The findings of this commission condemned animal magnetism. Hampered by a lack of scientific method and a surfeit of theoretical dogmatism, however, its report proved to be far less significant than that of the Franklin commission. One of the members of the Royal Society’s commission strongly disagreed with its published findings and wrote his own report (see Jussieu, entry number 72). [H]

102. Pressavin, Jean Baptist.

Lettres sur le magnétisme. (Lyon): n.p., (1784), 16 pp.

[H]

103. Pressavin, Jean Baptiste.

Suite de la correspondance de Monsieur Pressavin gradué etc., avec les magnétiseurs de la même ville. N.p.: n.p., 1784, 15 pp.

[H]

104. Prony, Gaspard Clair François Marie Riche.

Nouvelles cures opérées par le magnétisme animal. Paris: n.p., 1784, 64 pp.

[H]

105. Puységur, Armand Marie Jacques de Chastenet, marquis de.

Mémoires pour servir à l’histoire et à l’établissement du magnétisme animal. Paris: Dentu, 1784, (7) + 8–232 pp.

A work of great significance for the history of modern psychology. Puységur was an artillery officer in the army, a colonel of the regiment of Strasbourg. A member of an old and distinguished family, he had inherited a large property in Buzancy near Soissons and spent most of his time there looking after his land and occasionally carrying out experiments with electricity. Having heard about animal magnetism and its marvelous curative powers, he went to Paris to learn from Mesmer. Returning to his estate at Buzancy, he began to use animal magnetism to alleviate the ills of local residents. Among the first he treated was a peasant named Victor Race who was suffering from a fever and congestion of the lungs. When applying the magnetic passes to the man, Puységur noticed that Victor had fallen asleep. This sleep was not, however, a normal one, for he could still communicate with Puységur. While in this state Victor showed himself to be extremely suggestible and even seemed, in Puységur’s estimation, to be able to read his magnetizer’s thoughts. When returning to his normal state of consciousness, Victor remembered nothing of what had happened. Puységur also noted that there seemed to be a specially close relationship between himself and Victor, a relationship that he would later (Suite de Mémoires, entry number 148) call an “intimate rapport.” He also was struck by the dramatic change in personality that Victor underwent between the state of magnetic sleep and his normal state: in the latter he was of rather ordinary or even slow wit, while in the former he became extremely bright, perceptive, and articulate. Puységur termed this newly discovered condition “magnetic sleep” and “magnetic somnambulism,” since he immediately noticed the similarity between this state and that of natural “somnambulism” or “sleep-walking.” Puységur went on to further investigate this state through experimentation with other patients. He noted that they all showed the same characteristics as the ones that Victor had demonstrated. His work with Victor and subsequent investigations are described in the Mémoires. Puységur’s discovery of artificial somnambulism started a whole new trend in the practice of animal magnetism, shifting the emphasis from the physical to the psychological. The alteration in consciousness between the state of magnetic sleep and the normal waking state, with its attendant amnesia, revealed, within human beings, a double or divided consciousness with two memory chains. This revelation opened up a new line of investigation that would eventually lead to the psychological concepts of the “subconscious,” the “subliminal self,” and the “unconscious” in the latter part of the nineteenth century. The second edition (1809) and the third and most complete edition (1820) are supplemented by the Suite de Mémoires (entry number 148) which further develops the discoveries of the Mémoires. [H]

106. Puységur, Jacques Maxime Paul de Chastenet, comte de.

Rapport des cures opérées à Bayonne par le magnétisme animal, adressé à M. l’abbé de Poulouzat, conseiller clerc au Parlement de Bordeaux, par le comte de Puységur, avec notes de M. Duval d’Espremenil, conseiller au Parlement de Paris. Bayonne and Paris: Prault, 1784, 72 pp. English: “Report of cures by animal magnetism occurring at Bayonne with verifications,” in Maurice Tinterow, Foundations of Hypnosis. Springfield, Illinois: Charles C. Thomas, 1970.

The Comte de Puységur, brother of the Marquis de Puységur, was second in command of the Regiment of Languedoc when the occurrences described in this pamphlet took place. He had learned the techniques of animal magnetism and found occasion to use them at this posting. Here he mentions some sixty cures accomplished through animal magnetism. One of the most curious was that of a dog which had been injured by an angry soldier. The Comte de Puységur approached the animal, which seemed to be barely alive, and applied magnetic passes. The dog was restored to good health in the space of a few minutes. This seems to be the first example in the literature of animal magnetism of the application of magnetic healing to an animal. [H]

107. Rapport de la Société royale de médecine sur l’ouvrage intitulée Recherches et doutes sur le magnétisme animal, etc.

Paris: n.p., 1784, 22 pp.

[H]

108. Rapport du rapport de MM. les Commissaires nommés par le Roi, etc. par un amateur de la vérité excité par l’imagination, l’attouchement et magnétisé par le bon sens et la raison. Adressé à M. Caritides, fils de cet illustre savant qui avait conçu l’ingénieux projet de mettre toutes les côtes du royaume en port de mer, actuellement résident au Monomotapa.

Peking and Paris: Couturier, 1784, 34 pp.

[H]

109. [Retz, Noel de Rochefort.]

Mémoire pour servir à l’histoire de la jonglerie, dans lequel on démontre les phénomènes du mesmérisme. Nouvelle édition précédée d’une lettre sur le secret de M. Mesmer. . . . On y a joint une réponse au Mémoire qui paroit ici pour la première fois. London and Paris: Méquignon, 1784, (1) + 47 + (1) + 8 pp.

Contains a reprint of Retz’s earlier Lettre (entry number 25) with the assertion that it had anticipated the conclusions of the report of the Franklin commission of 1784. In the Mémoire Retz deals with the healing “impostures” that have been perpetrated over the ages. He mentions Gassner’s exorcisms, the magnetic medicine of the seventeenth century, the “powder of sympathy,” and other “impostures.” Although the title seems to indicate the work is to be a defense of Mesmer, it in fact rejects animal magnetism as the latest of the “impostures.” This second edition seems to be the only one still extant. [H]

110. Salaville, Jean Baptiste.

Le moraliste mesmérien ou lettres philosophiques sur l’ influence du magnétisme. London and Paris: Berlin, 1784, 132 pp. [H]

111. [Servan, Joseph Michel Antoine.]

Doutes d’un provincial, proposés à messiers le médecins-commissaires chargés par le roi de l’examen du magnétisme animal. Lyon and Paris: Prault, 1784, (4) + 136 pp.

Servan was a distinguished French lawyer and a correspondant of Voltaire and d’Alembert. He had been cured by a mesmerist when traditional medicine had failed to help him. In this treatise, Servan defends Mesmer’s views on animal magnetism in the wake of the negative reports of the two commissions. He addresses some well-considered questions to the members of the commission of the Société Royale de Médecine. These “doubts” question: why they expected quick cures through animal magnetism and dismissed its efficacy on the basis of brief trials; why they did not choose optimal conditions for success but arbitrarily set up conditions they preferred; and why with their limited experience they felt justified in drawing such far-reaching conclusions about the non-existence of animal magnetism. Servan’s treatise is one of the most thoughtful contemporary criticisms of the findings of the commission. [H]

112. [Servan, Joseph Michel Antoine.]

Questions du jeune Docteur Rhubarbini de Purgandis, adressés à Messieurs les docteurs-régents, de toutes les facultés de médecine de l’universe, au sujet de M. Mesmer & du magnétisme animal. Padua: n.p., 1784, xii + 50 pp.

[H]

113. Sousselier de la Tour, comte.

L’ami de la nature, ou Manière de traiter les maladies par le prétendu magnétisme animal. Dijon: Capel, 1784, xiii + 176 pp.

[H]

114. Swinden, Han Hendrik van.

Recueil de mémoires sur l’analogie de l’électricité et du magnétisme: couronnés & publiés par l’Académie de Baviere; traduits du Latin & de L’Allemand, augmentés de notes, & de quelques dissertations nouvelles. 3 vols. Haye: Libraires Associés, 1784.

Van Swinden was an eminent physicist and first president of the Royal Institute of the Netherlands. This collection contains a section called Reflexions sur le magnétisme animal, et sur le système de M. Mesmer. [H]

115. Le système de la rose magnétique.

(Paris): n.p., 1784, 18 pp.

The dating of this work is uncertain, but it is believed to be 1784–1789. [H]

116. Thouret, Michel Augustin.

Recherches et doutes sur le magnétisme animal. Paris: Prault, 1784, xxxv + (1) + 251 pp.

Thouret was a member of the Royal Society of Medicine in Paris and one of the leading spokesmen of the opposition of that society to animal magnetism and the teachings of Mesmer. In this work Thouret claims that his main concern is not to examine the details of cures being performed by animal magnetism, but to trace the history of the theory and practice of animal magnetism. He nevertheless clearly sides with those who reject animal magnetism as an illusion. Admitting that many persons of stature accept animal magnetism as an effective cure, Thouret uses his considerable erudition to show that such cures are not new and that Mesmer was simply the most recent of a long tradition of thinkers who posited a hidden power of nature that produces healing effects. He cites Paracelsus, Kircher, Maxwell, and Fludd as examples of men who held views similar to those of Mesmer. He also points out that there have been many healers over the ages who have accomplished cures resembling Mesmer’s, mentioning the exorcist Gassner and the “stroking doctor” Greatrakes as examples. Thouret’s learned critique was extremely influential and served as a starting point for much of the discussion at the time about the originality and effectiveness of animal magnetism. [H]

117. [Thouvenel, Pierre.]

Second mémoire physique et médicinal, montrant des rapports évidents entre les phénomènes de la baguette divinatoire, du magnétisme, et de l’électricité, avec des éclaircissements sur d’autres objets non moins importons, qui y sont relatifs. London and Paris: Didot le jeune, 1784, (2) + 268 pp.

After presenting summaries of some of the responses to his first Mémoire (see entry number 18), Thouvenal describes subsequent attempts to use the divining rod to seek water. He points out that he has been charged by the king to investigate the mineral and medicinal waters of the realm. Once again Thouvenal brings in “animal magnetism,” which he defines as the flux and reflux to which the “electrical matter” in all living things is subject. As in the first Mémoire, Thouvenel makes no mention of Mesmer and his own brand of animal magnetism, which by this time must have been known to him. [H]

118. [Tissart de Rouvres, Jacques Louis Noel, marquis de.]

Nouvelles cures opérées par le magnétisme animal. (Paris): n.p., (1784), 64 pp.

The work describes successful treatment of various illnesses by animal magnetism. |H]

119. La vision contenant l’explication de l’écrit intitulé: Traces du magnétisme, et la théorie des vrais sages.

Memphis and Paris: Couturier, 1784, iv + 31 pp.

[H]

120. [Archibold, ———, ed.]

Recueil d’observations et de faits relatifs au magnétisme animal, présenté à l’auteur de cette découverte, et publié par la société de l’harmonie de Guienne. Paris and Bordeaux: Pallandre jeune, 1785, (2) + 168 pp.

[H]

121. Bell, John.

Animal Electricity and Magnetism, &c. Demonstrated after the Laws of Nature; with New Ideas upon Matter and Motion. In Two Parts. (London): The Author, 1785, 36 + vi + 7–44 pp.

John Bell, trained in the theory and practice of animal magnetism in Paris, witnessed Puységur’s experiments with magnetic somnambulism. In this, the least memorable of his works on animal magnetism, Bell presents a confused physics of magnetism, animal magnetism, magnetic fluid, etc. He does have some interesting things to say with regard to the place of “idea” and “will” in directing the action of the magnetic fluid, and his description of the use of the hands and movement in the application of animal magnetism is also informative. [H]

122. [Bergasse, Nicolas.]

Confession d’un médecin académicien et commissaire d’un rapport sur le magnétisme animal, avec les remontrances et avis de son directeur. N.p.: n.p., 1785, 70 pp.

A satirical confession of wrongs by a fictitious member of the commission that condemned animal magnetism. Attributed to Bergasse. [H]

123. Bergasse, Nicolas.

Observations de M. Bergasse sur un écrit du docteur Mesmer, ayant pour titre: Lettre de l’inventeur du magnétisme animal à l’auteur des Reflexions préliminaires. London: n.p., 1785, (2) + 101 pp.

Here Bergasse announces the split that had opened between Mesmer and himself. It is valuable for the information it provides about contemporary events concerning the fortunes of animal magnetism. [H]

124. Bergasse, Nicolas.

Supplément aux Observations de M. Bergasse, ou Règlemens des sociétés de l’harmonie universelle, adoptés par la société de l’harmonie de France dans l’assemblée générale tenue à Paris, le 12 Mai 1785; avec des notes pour servir à l’intelligence du texte. N.p.: n.p., (1785), 32 pp.

The constitution for the Societies of Harmony which were to be set up all over France. The parent society in Paris was to have special privileges, being designated the “Society of Harmony of France.” The rules lay out the conditions under which an individual may become a member and the fees for membership. In the rules Mesmer was given the title of “Perpetual President.” Bergasse was principal speaker of the Society in Paris and the chief architect of these rules. [H]

125. Bonnefoy, Jean Baptiste.

Examen du Compte rendu par M. Thouret, sous le titre de Correspondance de la Société royale de médecins, relativement au magnétisme animal. Lyon: n.p., 1785, 59 pp.

[H]

126. [Brack, ———.]

Testament politique de M. Mesmer, ou la précaution d’un sage, avec le dénombrement des adeptes; le tout traduit de l’Allemand par un Bostonien. Leipzig and Paris: n.p., 1785, 50 pp.

A pamphlet against Mesmer. The reference to a German original seems to be a literary fiction. [H]

127. Bruno, ——— de.

Recherches sur la direction du fluide magnétique. Amsterdam and Paris: Gouffier, 1785, viii + 206 pp.

De Bruno developed a theory of magnetic fluid that was similar to that of Mesmer whom he cites. He posits one universal magnetic fluid, rather than many, which explains all physical phenomena. [H]

128. Carra, Jean Louis.

Examen physique de magnétisme animal; analyse des éloges & des critiques qu’on en a faits jusqu’à présent; et développement des véritables rapports, sous lesquels on doit en considérer le principe, la théorie, la pratique & le secret. London and Paris: E. Oufroy, 1785, 98 pp.

Carra was a prolific writer in many fields, including that of physics. In this work he seems to disagree with Mesmer’s theory of magnetism, but he agrees that the techniques devised by Mesmer were efficacious for healing illness. Carra gives his own somewhat convoluted physical and philosophical explanations about why this is so. [H]

129. [Caullet de Veumorel, ———, ed.]

Aphorismes de M. Mesmer, dictés à l’assemblée de ses élèves, & dans lesquels ou trouve ses principes, sa théorie & les moyens de magnétiser; le tout forant un corps de doctrine, développé en trois cents quarant-quatre paragraphes, pour faciliter l’application des commentaires au magnétisme animal. Ouvrage mis au jour par M. C. de V. Paris: M. Quinquet, 1785, (2) + xxiv + 172 + (4) pp.

A compilation of “class notes” taken down from talks given by Mesmer to those he was training in the theory and practice of animal magnetism. Edited and published by Caullet de Veaumorel, a disciple of D’Eslon, the book was rejected by Mesmer. It is nonetheless believed to faithfully reproduce Mesmer’s teaching. The Aphorismes was a very popular book and went through many editions. [H]

130. [Delandine, Antoine François.]

De la philosophie corpusculaire, ou des connaissances et les procédés magnétiques chez les divers peuples. Paris: Cuchet, 1785, iii + 200 + (3) pp.

A wide ranging study of phenomena that are analogous to animal magnetism. The author covers everything from electricity and magnetism in the human body to the curative effects of music. His speculations on the nature of sympathetic cures are particularly interesting. [H]

131. Delandine, Antoine François.

Notice historique sur les systèmes et les écrits anciens qui se rapportent au magnétisme animal. Paris: n.p., (1785), 16 pp.

An attempt to trace the historical antecedents of animal magnetism. Delandine works along the same lines as those pursued in his De la philosophie corpusculaire (entry number 130). [H]

132. D’Eslon, Charles.

Lettre adressée par M. d’Eslon aux auteurs du Journal de Paris et voluntairement refusée par eux, concernant l’extrait de la correspondance de la Société royale relativement au magnétisme animal, rédigé par M. Thouret et imprimé au Louvre. N.p.: n.p., (1785), 7 p.

A criticism of the views of Thouret on the nature of animal magnetism. [H]

133. Devillers, Charles Joseph.

L’antimagnétisme martiniste ou barbériniste; observations trouvées manuscrites sur la marge d’une brochure intitulée: Réflexions impartielles sur le magnétisme animal, faites après la publication du Rapport des commissaires, &c. Lyon: n.p., 1785, 43 pp.

A work opposing the brand of animal magnetism being practiced in Lyon by a number of practitioners associated with Freemasonry, particularly those under the leadership of the Chevalier de Barberin. [H]

134. [Doppet, François Amédée.]

Oraison funèbre du célèbre Mesmer, auteur du magnétisme animal et président de la Loge de l’Harmonie. Grenoble: n.p., 1785, 39 pp.

A satirical piece written on the supposed death of Mesmer. [H]

135. Elie de la Poterie, Jean Antoine.

Examen de la doctrine d’Hippocrate, pour servir à l’histoire du magnétisme animal. Bordeaux: n.p., 1785, 87 pp.

[H]

136. [Éprémesnil, Jean Jacques Duval d’.]

Sommes versées entre les mains de monsieur Mesmer pour acquérir le droit de publier sa découverte. Paris: n.p., 1785, 8 pp.

A pamphlet, written by a former supporter of Mesmer, objecting to Mesmer’s claim to hold the exclusive right to propagate the doctrine of animal magnetism. Éprémesnil contends that since he and others had paid Mesmer a good deal of money (listed in detail in the pamphlet) to teach them animal magnetism, they should now be able to teach it to the public. [H]

137. [Favrye, Mme. de la.]

Les rêves d’une femme de province sur le magnétisme animal, ou Essai théorique & pratique sur la doctrine à la mode. London and Paris: n.p., 1785, (1) + 42 pp.

[H]

138. [Fortia de Piles, Alphonse, Jourgniac de St-Médard, François de, and Boisgelin, Louis de.]

Correspondance de M. M. . . . sur les nouvelles découvertes du baquet octogne, de l’homme-baquet et du baquet moral, pour servir de suite aux aphorismes. Recueillie et publiée par MM. de F....; J.... et B.... Libourne and Paris: n.p., 1785, 163 pp.

[H]

139. [Fournel, Jean François.]

Essai sur les probabilités du somnambulism magnétique: pour servir à l’histoire du magnétisme animal. Paris: Gastelier, 1785, (2) + 70 pp.

After the discovery of “magnetic somnambulism” by Puységur in 1784, Fournel was the first person to attempt to theorize about the nature of this new phenomenon. He sees magnetic somnambulism as a state midway between waking and sleep, a state essentially the same as natural somnambulism, which had been widely recognized as a reality. Fournel points out that the seemingly extraordinary phenomena associated with magnetic somnambulism, such as suggestibility and clairvoyance, have been noted for centuries in connection with natural somnambulism. Speaking of the sudden rise to popularity of magnetic somnambulism, he estimates the number of somnambulists in Paris and the provinces to be in the neighborhood of six thousand. Fournel makes a strong case for accepting magnetic somnambulism as a genuine phenomenon which deserves further study. [H]

140. Fournel, Jean François.

Mémoire pour M. Charles Louis Varnier . . . appellant d’un décret de la Faculté; contre les doyen et docteurs de ladite Faculté, intimés. Paris: Hérissant, 1785, 68 pp.

[H]

141. [Fournel, Jean François.]

Remonstrances des malades aux médecins de la Faculté de Paris. Amsterdam: n.p., 1785, (1) + 103 pp.

[H]

142. Histoire véritable du magnétisme animal, ou nouvelles preuves de la réalité de cet agent tirées de l’ancien ouvrage d’un vieux docteur.

The Hague: n.p., 1785, 16 pp.

A satirical treatise written in opposition to animal magnetism. The “old doctor” is François Rabelais (1490–1553). [H]

143. [Laugier, Esprit Michel.]

Parallèle entre le magnétisme animal, l’électricité et les bains médicinaux par distillation, &c. appliqués aux maladies rebelles. On a joint à ce précis l’art de conserver la santé, & de guérir les maladies le plus rebelles. . . . Paris: Morin, 1785, 12 + 91 pp.

The author uses the popular interest in animal magnetism to advertize the use of medicinal baths and other approaches such as exercise and music to treat illnesses. However, there is very little about animal magnetism in the pamphlet. Its mention in the title was obviously just to arouse the curiosity of the reader. [H]

144. Mesmer, Franz Anton.

Lettre de l’auteur de la découverte du magnétisme animal à l’auteur des Réflexions préliminaires. Pour servir de réponse à un imprimé ayant pour titre: Sommes versées entre les mains de M. Mesmer pour acquérir le droit de publier sa découverte. (Paris): n.p., (1785), 26 pp.

Written by Mesmer to defend himself against accusations leveled at him by a former supporter, Jean Duval d’Éprémesnil, in a work entitled: Sommes versées entre les mains de monsieur Mesmer. . . (entry number 136), Éprémesnil had objected to Mesmer’s claim that those who had paid Mesmer to teach them had no right to make the doctrine known to the public. Mesmer counters that it was explicitly stated in their agreement with him that the doctrine of animal magnetism remains his property and that only he can determine how it is to be propagated. [H]

145. Mullatera, Giovanni Thommaso.

Del magnetismo animale, e degli effetti ad esso attribuiti nella cura delle umane infermità. Biella: Antonio Cajani, 1785, (6) + 7–60 pp.

Apparently the earliest Italian book on animal magnetism, and there are no references to it in any of the bibliographical sources for animal magnetism. It was published with the “imprimatur” of the Roman Catholic Church. Mullatera dedicates the book to Innocenzo Laneri, Professor of medicine at the University of Torino. He begins with something of an apology for writing a book on the subject of animal magnetism, a subject which is of questionable merit. He points out that some French commissions had already dismissed it as a matter of imagination. But since there are people in Italy, at Piedmont, who are nonetheless practicing it, something needs to be written in response. Mullatera examines the background of magnetic medicine in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Europe, pointing out the similarity between the teachings of Mesmer and those of Paracelsus, Van Helmont and Fludd. For his contemporary sources he uses principally the reports of the commissions (including that of Jussieu) and the propositions of Mesmer. He finds animal magnetism to be of no particular value as a method of cure and places it in the category of useless, fantastic medical treatments. [H]

146. Nouvelle découverte sur le magnétisme animal; ou, Lettre adressée à un ami de province, par un partisan zélé de la vérité.

N.p.:n.p., 1785, 64 pp.

[H]

147. [Paulet, Jean Jacques.]

Réponse à l’auteur des Doutes d’un provincial, proposés à MM. les médecins commissaires chargés par le Roi de l’examen du magnétisme animal. London: n.p., 1785, 70 pp.

Paulet takes Servan, author of the Doutes d’un provincial (see entry number 111) to task for his criticism of the medical establishment and its rejection of animal magnetism. [H]

148. [Puységur, Armand Marie Jacques de Chastenet, marquis de.]

Suite des mémoires pour servir à l’histoire et à l’établissement du magnétisme animal. Paris and London: n.p., 1785, 256 pp.

Through this work Puységur meant to supplement the findings of his monumental Mémoires of 1784 (entry number 105). Here he further develops his notion of the importance of the “will” in the action of animal magnetism and presents more information about the phenomena of magnetic somnambulism. Also, for the first time, he uses the word “rapport” to describe the special connection between magnetizer and somnambulist mentioned in the Mémoires. [H]

149. Récit de l’avocat-général de —, aux chambres assemblées du public, sur le magnétisme animal.

Philadelphia and Paris: P. J. Duplain, 1785, 39 pp.

[H]

150. Requête burlesque et arrêt de la cour du parlement, concernant la suppression du magnétisme animal.

N.p.: n.p., 1785, 21 pp.

[H]

151. Société de l’harmonie de Guienne.

Recueil d’observations et des faits relatifs au magnétisme animal présenté à l’auteur de cette découverte et publié par la Société de l’harmonie de Guienne. Paris: n.p., 1785, 168 pp.

[H]

152. [Tardy de Montravel, A. A.]

Essai sur la théorie du somnambulisme magnétique. London: n.p., 1785, 108 pp.

The first treatise to attempt to present a comprehensive theory of magnetic somnambulism. It was published in 1785 shortly after the essay of Fournel (see entry number 139), which Tardy de Montravel knew and appreciated. Like Fournel, he notes that since its modest beginnings at Buzancy in the previous year, the phenomena of magnetic somnambulism could now be found in Paris, Strasbourg, and throughout all the provinces of France. Tardy de Montravel had observed many somnambulists, but he bases his newly formulated theory of magnetic somnambulism chiefly on experiments he conducted with a certain Mademoiselle N., the first person he seriously attempted to magnetize. He found that she seemed to possess certain extraordinary abilities already noted in magnetic somnambulists by Puységur and others. These qualities included the ability to diagnose her own illness and those of others and the ability to perceive clairvoyantly. He also states that his Mademoiselle N. could directly see the magnetic fluid and describe its colors. Tardy de Montravel believed the somnambulist could exercise these powers because of a “sixth sense” that is activated in the somnambulistic state. He held that this sixth sense proceeded from the stomach area and that somnambulists could see and hear with their stomachs. In this he anticipated the writings of Petetin who made the same discovery in his work with hysterics (see Petetin, Mémoire, entry number 171). Tardy de Montravel describes the special connection between magnetizer and somnambulist as a “harmonic rapport,” and compares it to “platonic love.” He emphasizes, however, that the relationship between them is completely moral, and that, should the magnetizer attempt anything improper, the somnambulist would immediately awaken. This work is one of the most important and influential early writings on magnetic somnambulism, being cited in nearly all treatises on the subject written before 1800. [H]

153. Thomas d’Onglée, François Louis.

Rapport au public de quelques abus en médecine; avec des réflexions & notes historiques, critiques & médicales. Paris: Hérissant, 1785, (3) + 169 pp.

[H]

154. Thouret, Michel Augustin.

Extrait de la correspondance de la Société royale de médicine, relativement au magnétisme animal. Paris: Imprimerie royale, 1785, 74 pp.

[H]

155. Valleton de Boissière, ———.

Lettre de M. Valleton de Boissière, médecin à Bergerac, à M. Thouret, médecin à Paris, pour servir de réfutation à l’Extrait de la correspondance de la Société Royale de Médecine, relativement au magnétisme animal. Philadelphia: n.p., 1785, 240 pp.

[H]

156. Annales de la société harmonique des amis réunis de Strasbourg, ou Cures des membres de cette société ont opérées par le magnétisme animal.

Vols. 1–3; 1786–1789.

[H]

157. Archiv für Magnetismus und Somnambulismus.

Vols. 1–2; 1786–1788.

This journal originated in Strasbourg and was edited by Johann Lorenz Böckmann. [H]

158. [Barberin, Chevalier de.]

Système raisonné du magnétisme universel. D’après les principes de M. Mesmer, ouvrage auquel on a joint l’explication des procédés du magnétisme animal accomodés au cures des différentes maladies, tant par M. Mesmer que par M. le Chevalier de Barberin et par M. de Puységur, relativement au somnambulisme ainsi qu’une notice de la constitution des Sociétés dites de l’harmonie . . . Par la Société de l’harmonie d’Ostende. Ostende: n.p., 1786, v + (3) + 133 pp.

A member of the very active Lyon branch of Freemasonry and a friend of the celebrated philosopher Louis Claude de Saint-Martin (1743–1803), the Chevalier de Barberin developed a mystical and spiritualist type of animal magnetism that quickly influenced many practitioners in France. The notion of a physical magnetic fluid was de-emphasized and a more psychological—even magical—view of animal magnetic action took its place. The magnetic passes were made without touching the body and there was much emphasis placed on magnetizing at a distance—even at very great distances. The importance of the will was emphasized, and the magnetizer was expected to be in tune with the patient in order sympathetically to diagnose and then heal the person. Barberin rejected as harmful the convulsive crisis so often connected with magnetic cures, placing importance on the gentle crisis, the magnetic somnambulism of Puységur. He also truly believed in the pronouncements of his magnetic somnambulists, both for their usefulness in the healing process and for their spiritual messages. [H]

159. [La Breteniere, ——— de.]

Extrait du journal de ce qui s’est passé concernant le somnambulisme magnétique de Mme ***. (Paris?): n.p., (1786), 28 pp.

A description of cures and other phenomena associated with the somnambulist Madame de La Breteniere. [H]

160. [Lutzelbourg, comte de.]

Cures faites par M. Le Cte. de L******. Sindic de la Société de Bienfaisance établie à Strasbourg. . . . Avec des notes sur les crises magnétiques appellées improprement somnambulisme. (Strasbourg): Lorence & Schouler, 1786, (7) + 8–92 pp.

This work is better known by the title of its second expanded edition: Extrait des journaux d’un magnétiseur, (1786). The Comte de Lutzelbourg learned to magnetize directly from Puységur and in this work the similarities in approach are apparent. In this work Lutzelbourg distinguishes four degrees of “magnetic crisis,” the fourth being characterized by an inability to feel pain and a completely reliable clairvoyance. Like Puységur, Lutzelbourg shows himself to be very interested in the magnetic subject’s emotional state and how that affects the cure. [H]

161. [Tardy de Montravel, A. A.]

Journal du traitement magnétique de la demoiselle N. Lequel a servi de base à l’Essai sur la théorie du somnambulisme magnétique. London: n.p., 1786, xxxii + 255 pp.

A detailed description of Tardy de Montravel’s first experiences with magnetic somnambulism, which were held with Mademoiselle N., a particularly good somnambulistic subject. The author develops at length his notion of a sixth sense which is brought into operation in the magnetic state. Tardy de Montravel used these experiences as the starting point for his Essai sur la théorie du somnambulisme magnétique (entry number 152). [H]

162. [Tardy de Montravel, A. A.]

Suite du traitement magnétique de la demoiselle N., lequel a servi de base à l’Essai sur la théorie du somnambulisme magnétique. London: n.p., 1786, 206 pp.

[H]

163. Birnstiel, F. H.

Gesammelte Acten-Stücke zu Aufdeckung des Geheimnisses des sogenannten thierischen Magnetismus in einigen freundschaftlichen Briefen dem Herrn Ernst Gottfried Baidinger mitgetheilet. Marburg: Neue Academ. Buchhandlung, 1787, 96 pp.

Birnstiel was a well-known professor of medicine at Marburg; Baldinger was a physician. This collection of letters is one of the earliest German works that critically examines the nature of animal magnetism. [H]

164. Favrye, Mme. de la.

Idées de physique ou résumé d’une conversation sur la cause des sensations avec la composition de la poudre de sympathie, ouvrage dédié aux dames de Paris. Paris: Gastellier, 1787, 111 pp.

In support of animal magnetism and one of the few works written by a woman in the early years of its history. [H]

165. Gmelin, Eberhard.

Über thierischen Magnetismus. In einem Brief an Herrn Geheimer Rath Hoffmann in Mainz. 2 parts in one vol. Tübingen: Heerbrandt, x + 134 + 247 pp.

Gmelin, a physician, was a member of a distinguished family of intellectuals at Tübingen. Intrigued by a paper on animal magnetism written by Hoffman, Gmelin decided to experiment with this potential source of healing on his own patients. In this work he presents detailed case histories of his magnetic treatments and draws preliminary conclusions about the nature of animal magnetism. [H]

166. Lettre à Madame la Comtesse de L . . . contenant une observation magnétique faite par une somnambule sur un enfant de six mois.

Besançon: n.p., 1787, v + (7)–16 pp.

[H]

167. Lutzelbourg, comte de.

Extrait du journal d’une cure magnétique. Traduit de l’allemand. Rastadt: J. W. Dorner, 1787, 14 pp.

[H]

168. Magnetische Magazin für Nieder-Deutschland.

Vols. 1–8; 1787–1790.

Published in Bremen and edited by Arnold Wienholt. [H]

169. [Meltier, ———.]

Lettre adressée à M. le Marquis de Puységur sur une observation faite à la lune, précédée d’un système nouveau sur le mécanisme de la vue. Amsterdam: n.p., 1787, 84 pp.

The letter is written as a farce. [H]

170. [Mouilleseaux, ——— de.]

Appel au public sur le magnétisme animal, ou Projet d’un journal pour le seul avantage du public, et dont il serait le coopérateur. Strasbourg: n.p., 1787, 100 pp.

Mouilleseaux proposes the establishment of a journal that will publish articles on the systematic and scientific study of animal magnetism (a journal that never came into being). In the process of making his proposal, the author gives an informative picture of the present state of affairs with regard to animal magnetism. He has a note on the phenomena of magnetic somnambulism that is one of the best summaries of that subject of the time. In this note Mouilleseaux makes what seems to be the very first published reference to the phenomenon that would much later be called “post-hypnotic suggestion.” He writes that somnambulists are sometimes observed “to execute, in their natural [waking] state, the will of their magnetizer; they do this through an irresistible compulsion without being able to give a reason for their action and without realizing that the intimation of this will was made while they were in crisis [magnetic somnambulism]—and the effect of this will might occur right away or many days later” (p. 83). [H]

171. Petetin, Jacques Henri Desire.

Mémoire sur la découverte des phénomènes que présentent la catalepsie et le somnambulisme, symptômes de l’affection hystérique essentielle, avec des recherches sur la cause physique des ces phénomènes. Première partie. Mémoire sur la découverte des phénomènes de l’affection hystérique essentielle, et sur la méthode curative de cette maladie. Second partie. (Lyon?): n.p., 1787, 62 + 126 + (1) pp.

Petetin describes a number of cases of hysteria that he treated through the induction of magnetic somnambulism. He believed that certain hysterics spontaneously enter somnambulistic states and that magnetic somnambulism could be better understood through the experiences of these patients. He, like Tardy de Montravel before him, believed that somnambulists could see and hear from the stomach area. [H]

172. [Tardy de Montravel, A. A.]

Journal du traitement magnétique de Madame B. . . . pour servir de suite au Journal du traitement magnétique de la Dlle. N. ... & de preuve à la théorie de l’Essai. Strasbourg: Librairie Académique, 1787, 279 pp.

[H]

173. [Tardy de Montravel, A. A.]

Lettres pour servir de suite à l’essai sur la théorie du somnambulisme magnétique. London: n.p., 1787, (4) + 65 + (1) pp.

Two years after the publication of his Essai sur la théorie du somnambulisme magnétique (entry number 152), Tardy de Montravel wrote these letters in answer to criticisms of that earlier work. The letters also contain comments on certain issues raised in his Journal de la traitement magnétique de Demoiselle N. (entry number 161) and Journal de traitement magnétique de Madame B. (entry number 172). These letters have become rather rare. [H]

174. [Ulrich, A.]

Der Beobachter des thierischen Magnetismus und des Somnambulismus. Strasbourg: Lorenz and Schuler, 1787, (12) + 243 pp.

The author writes with the purpose of bringing a balance to the controversy for and against animal magnetism. He says that he has himself observed errors of judgment and unfounded conclusions reached by the supporters of animal magnetism, but this should not serve to lead to the condemnation of that doctrine. What is needed, he says, is a balanced and careful investigation of the facts, not a wholesale dismissal of the phenomenon because of admitted shortcomings in some of its supporters. [H]

175. [Villers, Charles de.]

Le magnétiseur amoureux, par un membre de la société harmonique du régiment de Metz. Geneva (Besançon): n.p., 1787, viii + 229 pp.

Villers was a friend and aide-de-camp to the Marquis de Puységur and was strongly influenced by Puységur’s approach to animal magnetism. Villers was a member of the society of harmony of the Metz artillery regiment associated with that of the Marquis at Strasbourg. His highly philosophical theory of animal magnetism was clearly influenced by that of the Lyon school of the Chevalier de Barberin. This work is a novel, but is as much a theoretical treatise on animal magnetism as it is a work of fiction. An important writing in the history of animal magnetism and psychotherapy, it develops a definite psychology of the relationship between magnetizer and magnetized. The title has a significant nuance of meaning, referring both to the magnetizer-hero, Valcourt, who is in love with the daughter of the household in which the novel is set, and to the central theme of the book, which discusses the affection and “cordiality” that the magnetizer must exercise toward his patient if he wants to cure effectively. Villers does not seem to believe in the existence of a magnetic fluid—at least he does not place any importance upon a physical agent in the action of animal magnetism. Rather he sees animal magnetism as the work of the soul, a spiritual entity, which makes use of the will to bring about the desired curative effects. Villers mentions two different kinds of suggestion at work in the relationship between magnetizer and patient: the first being a kind of “identification” that is established between their souls, and the second an “inspiration” that follows from expectations about the effects which are supposed to take place. Villers, more than any other writer of the age, emphasized the psychological interaction of the magnetic relationship and insisted that there must be a “moral affection” on the part of the magnetizer in order to heal. He believed that patients must put their trust in the magnetizer, opening themselves completely to his influence, and he in turn must exercise a familial benevolence towards them. This emphasis on the emotional interaction of successful magnetic treatment was an important step towards establishing principles of a magnetic psychotherapy which only much later (in the work of Liébeault, Janet, Brever, Freud, etc.) would come to fruition.

This work has a curious publication history. Today only one copy of the first edition is extant. Villers had sent some copies to his friends, including the Marquis de Puységur, but the rest were destroyed by the minister of police. In 1825 Puységur, presumably using the copy given him by Villers, decided to issue a new edition. As he states in his preface, he made some changes, but left the work principally intact. The new version was published in two-volume form (Paris: Dentu, (4) + 296; (4) + 281 pp.). However, Puységur, for some unknown reason (perhaps he feared the title could give animal magnetism a bad name), ordered this entire new edition to be destroyed. In any case the second edition is extremely rare. [H]

176. Wienholt, Arnold.

Beitrag zu den Erfahrungen über den thierischen Magnetismus. Hamburg: n.p., 1787, 80 pp.

[H]

177. Würtz, Georg Christophe.

Prospectus d’un nouveau cours théorique et pratique de magnétisme animal, réduit à des principes simple de physique, de chymie, et de médecine. Dans lequel on démontrera le système de M. Mesmer, et ses procédés; on rectifiera quelques unes de ses erreurs; on analysera la cause et le mécanisme par le quel les différents effets magnétiques sont produits; on prouvera enfin l’analogie qu’ils ont avec beaucoup d’autres effets naturels, et pourquoi ils ne présentent rien d’opposé aux connaissances que nous avions jusqu’ici de l’économie animale. Strasbourg: Treuttel, 1787, 54 pp.

Würtz is a strong supporter of orthodox animal magnetism as taught by Mesmer. He compares Mesmer to Galileo and Harvey whose important discoveries were rejected by their contemporaries. Würtz says that Mesmer, recognizing a power in nature noted by some of the ancients but not understood by them, was able to lift this healing technique out of the mire of superstition and into the realm of science. He criticizes the views of D’Eslon and the condemnation of the Franklin commission, stating that if a proper investigation had been made, Mesmer would have been vindicated. He then sets out a proposal for a course of study of animal magnetism, highlighted by an investigation of the physics, chemistry and metaphysics of magnetism. The proposed course would also deal with the practical application of animal magnetism to healing and with procedures to be used for different cases. Würtz insists that, for the most effective use of magnetic healing, the practitioner must combine a grasp of these techniques with a knowledge of conventional medicine. Within this framework he suggests an examination of the effects of magnetic somnambulism, particularly questioning the accuracy of the medical pronouncements of somnambulists. In discussing this issue, Würtz states that Mesmer knew of magnetic somnambulism in his practice and recognized the reality of a special sixth sense that can operate in a magnetized person, but Mesmer and his followers were very cautious about this faculty. [H]

178. Bell, John.

An Essay on Somnambulism, or Sleep-walking, produced by Animal Electricity and Magnetism. As well as by Sympathy, &c. Dublin: The Author, 1788, 38 pp.

In the preface to this work, Bell describes his initiation into the study of animal magnetism by “Father Harvier” at the Augustin Convent in Paris. Soon after that, Bell met the Marquis de Puységur and learned about magnetic somnambulism. Bell states that he then developed his own practice of animal magnetism, and it is from these experiences that he writes the present treatise. Bell finds magnetic somnambulism the most interesting aspect of animal magnetism because the phenomena it produces are so striking. He writes of the sixth sense that comes into play in the somnambulist and the rapport or “analogy” that exists between magnetist and magnetized. Bell’s treatment of the subject is fairly thorough, a much more readable essay than his first endeavor in the field (see Animal Electricity and Magnetism, entry number 121). This is the first lengthy discussion of magnetic somnambulism written in English. [H]

179. Inchbald, Elizabeth Simpson.

Animal Magnetism: A Farce, in Three Acts, as Performed at the Theatre Royal, Covent-Garden. Dublin: P. Byron, (1788), 36 pp.

This play was also published in New York in 1809 and performed there in the New York Theatre. [H]

180. Levade, Louis, Reynier, Jean François, and Berchem, Jacob Pierre Berthout van.

Rapport fait à la Société des Sciences Physiques de Lausanne, sur un somnambule naturel. Lausanne: Henri Vincent, 1788, 61 pp.

[H]

181. Lo-Looz, Robert de.

Recherches physiques et métaphysiques sur les influences célestes, sur le magnétisme universel et sur le magnétisme animal dont on trouve la pratique de temps immémorial chez les Chinois. London and Paris: Couturier, 1788, 148 pp.

Lo-Looz was a Belgian physician who was also a spiritual philosopher. This book devotes about sixty pages to animal magnetism, a phenomenon which the author claims to have known about before Mesmer. Lo-Looz also finds hints in the writings of the Chinese that they had long known about animal magnetism. [H]

182. Lutzelbourg, comte de.

Dieu, l’homme et la nature. Tableau philosophique d’une somnambule. (London): n.p., 1788, 36 pp.

A treatise containing pronouncements on spiritual matters by a magnetic somnambulist, along with prescriptions for how to apply animal magnetism. [H]

183. Lutzelbourg, comte de.

Nouveaux extraits des journaux d’un magnétiseur depuis 1786 jusqu’au mois d’avril 1788. Strasbourg: n.p., 1788, 99 pp.

The continuation of Lutzelbourg’s unsigned Cures faites par M. Le Cte. de L... of 1786 (see entry number 160). [H]

184. Meiners, Christoph.

Über den thierischen Magnetismus. Lemgo: Werner, 1788, (8) + 340 + (4) pp.

One of the earliest German treatises on animal magnetism. Acknowledging that more often than not animal magnetism has been a subject of ridicule, Meiners undertakes to present enough information about it to convince the reader that it is a respectable subject of inquiry. He concentrates on animal magnetism as a healing art and describes the method to be used in magnetizing and the marks that characterize the magnetized state, emphasizing that this state has a remarkable power to bring about healing in the physical organism. In the process of examining this healing power, Meiners describes in detail a number of interesting case histories. [H]

185. Rosenmüller, Johann Georg.

Briefe über die Phänomene des thierischen Magnetismus und Somnambulismus. Leipzig: G. J. Goschen, 1788, 106 pp.

This treatise, better known in the French translation (Lettre à la Société exégétique et philantropique de Stockholm . . .), was written by the author at the request of the Exegetic and Philanthropic Society of Stockholm. That society had issued a publication in the form of a letter entitled Lettre sur la seule explication satisfaisante des phénomènes du magnétisme animal et du somnambulisme . . . in the same year addressed to the Société des amis réunis de Strasbourg, and had sent a copy to Rosenmüller. His comments are highly critical of the position taken by members of the Swedish society. He objects to the basically religious orientation of their explanation of the phenomena of animal magnetism, their belief that supernatural and spirit forces are at work. Rosenmüller believes that a purely natural explanation for the phenomena is sufficient and best. Where the society attributes all sickness to the action of evil spirits and all cure to the removal of those spirits, Rosenmüller says the modern physicians must look for natural and physical causes for ill health. This even-handed and well-written work is one of the best discussions of the problems of occult interpretations of magnetic phenomena to appear before 1800. [H]

186. Société Exégétique & Philantropique, Stockholm.

Lettre sur la seule explication satisfaisante des phénomènes du magnétisme animal et du somnambulisme déduite des vrais principes fondés dans la connaissance du créateur, de l’homme, et de la nature, et confirmée par l’expérience. Stockholm: L’imprimerie Royal, 1788, 40 pp.

The Exegetic and Philanthropic Society of Stockholm was founded to study and promote the teachings of Emmanuel Swedenborg (1688–1772), a visionary and intellectual of great influence. The theory of animal magnetism, and especially the experiences connected with magnetic somnambulism, were very attractive to this society and it incorporated them into its world view. This treatise, addressed to the Société des amis réunis de Strasbourg, attempts to formulate the results of this amalgamation. It is not surprising that the Swedish society found the writings of the Strasbourg society, oriented as they were to the psychological and moral aspects of magnetic somnambulism, congenial to its philosophical framework. The Stockholm society believed that supernatural and spirit forces were at work in the creation of disease and so must be involved in the cure. The Stockholm Society attempted to show that this Swedenborgian view of illness was the only reasonable way to explain the phenomena of animal magnetism and magnetic somnambulism. This letter was commented on by Rosenmüller in the previous entry (see entry number 185). [H]

187. Usteri, Paulus.

Specimen bibliothecae criticae magnetismi sic dicti animalis. Göttingen: Joann. Christ. Dieterich, 1788, 44 pp.

Written to obtain a degree in medicine and surgery, this is an interesting but very abbreviated list of works on animal magnetism. It cites the title of the work, place of publication, and number of pages. Its greatest value is that it lists periodical articles on animal magnetism and also gives locations of periodical reviews of the books mentioned. [H]

188. Edwards, D.

Treatise on Animal Magnetism; Discovering the Method of Making the Said Magnets, for the Cure of Most Diseases Incident to the Human Body. From the Writing of Paracelsus, Tentzelius, Fludd, Boulton, &c. London: Wagstaff, 1789, 17 pp.

[H]

189. Pratt, Mary.

A List of a Few Cures Performed by Mr. and Mrs. De Loutherbourg of Hammersmith Terrace, Without Medicine. London: J. P. Cooke, for The Author, 1789, 9 pp.

[H]

190. Rahn, Johann Heinrich.

Über Sympathie und Magnetismus. Aus den Lateinischen übersazt und mit anmerkungen begleitet von Heinrich Tabor. Heidelberg: F. L. Pfahler, 1789, 272 pp.

A doctoral thesis presented in 1786, with a translator’s preface written in 1788. “Sympathy” in this treatise basically refers to the connection between body and soul. Rahn states that he has studied the writings on animal magnetism and has not discovered anything essentially new. Rather he has found a revision of old opinions about a universal world spirit that also exists in the human body. This universal world spirit not only produces the general mutual influence between all bodies, heavenly and earthly, but also produces the special sympathy between one man and another, and is, in the last analysis, the bond between body and soul. Rahn notes there is a remarkable connection between individuals who are magnetized at the same time and he relates this connection to the old, well-known notion of natural sympathy. But he says that people must be willing to learn what new things the magnetists have to teach them, and, with the idea of an animal magnetic material, perhaps something novel has been added to traditional knowledge of the phenomena. [H]

191. Martin, John.

Animal Magnetism, Examined: in a Letter to a Country Gentleman. London: Stockdale, 1790, 70 pp.

One of the earliest British works on animal magnetism. Martin believed magnetizers to be mere hustlers drumming up business with empty promises of cure. [H]

192. [Pearson, John.]

A Plain and Rational Account of the Nature and Effects of Animal Magnetism: in a Series of Letters. With Notes and Appendix by the Editor. London: W. and J. Stratford, 1790, 51 pp.

The author casts a skeptical eye on the purported effectiveness of animal magnetism in curing illness. [H]

193. A Practical Display of the Philosophical System called Animal Magnetism, in Which is Explained Different Modes of Treating Diseases . . .

London: n.p., 1790, 16 p.

This early British treatise reflects the views of Puységur, stating that the effects of animal magnetism can be produced through both the use of the hands and the exercise of the will. The author emphasizes the importance of a good will for effective treatment. [H]

194. Sauviac, Joseph Alexandre Betbezé Larue de.

Recherches physiques sur le magnétisme; insérées dans le Journal des Savans, en l’année 1790. N.p.: n.p., 1790, 26 pp.

An attempt to look at the questions of animal magnetism and animal electricity from a physiological point of view. The author tends to downplay the importance of the effects of animal magnetism, although he admits it does exist, and to emphasize the importance of animal electricity. [H]

195. Absonus, Valentine.

Animal Magnetism. A Ballad, with Explanatory Notes and Observations: Containing Several Curious Anecdotes of Animal Magnetisers, Ancient as well as Modern. London: n.p., 1791, 44 pp.

[H]

196. Eckhartshausen, Karl von.

Verschiedenes zum Unterricht und zur Unterhaltung für Liebhaber der Gaukeltasche, des Magnetismus, und anderer Seltenheiten. Gesammelt und herausgegeben von dem Hofrath von Eckhartshausen. Munich: Joseph Lindauer, 1791, (xvi) + xxxvi + 345 pp.

[H]

197. Marat, Jean Paul.

Les charlatans modernes; ou, Lettres sur le charlatanisme académique. (Paris): Marat, 1791, 40 pp.

Mesmer is included among Marat’s charlatans. [H]

198. Stearns, Samuel.

The Mystery of Animal Magnetism Revealed to the World, Containing Philosophical Reflections on the Publication of a Pamphlet Entitled, A True and Genuine Discovery of Animal Electricity and Magnetism: also, an Exhibition of the Advantages and Disadvantages that may Arise in Consequence of Said Publication. London: M. R. Parsons, 1791, (2) + 58 pp.

[H]

199. Voltelen, Floris Jacobus.

Florentii Jacobi Voltelen Oratio de magnetismo animali: publice habita Lugduni Batavorum die VIII. Februarii a. CDDCCLXXXXI. quum magistratum academicum solemniter deponeret. Lugduni Batavorum (?): n.p., 1791, (10) + 45 pp.

[H]

200. Wonders and Mysteries of Animal Magnetism Displayed, or the History, Art, Practice, and Progress of that Useful Science, from Its First Rise in the City of Paris, to the Present Time. With Several Curious Cases and New Anecdotes of the Principal Professors.

London: J. Sudbury, 1791, 35 pp.

[H]

201. Bell, John.

The General and Particular Principles of Animal Electricity and Magnetism, &c. in Which Are Found Dr. Bell’s Secrets and Practice, As Delivered to His Pupils in Paris, London, Dublin, Bristol, Glocester, Worcester, Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Shrewsbury, Chester, Liverpool, Manchester, &c. &c. Shewing How To Magnetise and Cure Different Diseases; to Produce Crises, as well as Somnambulism, or Sleepwalking; and in That State of Sleep to Make a Person Eat, Drink, Walk, Sing and Play Upon Any Instruments They Are Used To, &c. To Make Apparatus and Other Accessaries To Produce Magnetical Facts, Also To Magnetise Rivers, Rooms, Trees . . . (London): The Author, 1792, vi + (7)–80 pp.

The most influential of the early British works on animal magnetism. Bell was trained in animal magnetism at the Paris Society of Harmony and at the beginning of the book includes a reproduction of a certificate of fellowship signed by Bergasse, Kornman, and others. It is clear that Bell was also strongly influenced by the work of Puységur, for he devotes a great deal of space to the subject of magnetic sleep, something that would not have been touched on in Paris. Bell uses his own terminology to describe the phases of animal magnetism. He distinguishes between the “strong crisis,” which involves convulsions, and the “gentle crisis,” which involves sleep. Like Puységur, Bell speaks of a “sixth sense” by which the somnambulist may diagnose disease and predict its course. He also emphasizes the importance of the will in the process of magnetization and even mentions the ability to will an absent person into the magnetic state. Bell used this book as a sort of written manual to supplement lectures on the subject of animal magnetism that he delivered throughout Britain. [H]

202. Litta Biumi Resta, Carlo Matteo.

Riflessioni sul magnetismo animale-fatte ad oggetto di illuminare i suio cittadini aveudolo trovato salutare in molti mali. (Milan?): Constante Cordialita, 1792, 234 pp.

[H]

203. Sibly, Ebenezer.

A Key to Physic, and the Occult Sciences. (London): The Author, 1795, (4) + 395 + (1) pp.

A handbook for health practice that combines occult procedures with medical electricity and animal magnetism. The book contains some remarkable plates depicting these practices. [H]

204. Perkins, Benjamin Douglas.

The Influence of Metallic Tractors on the Human Body, in Removing Various Painful Inflamatory Diseases, etc., by which a New Field of Enquiry is Opened in the Modern Science of Galvanism or Animal Electricity. London: J. Johnson and Ogilvy and Son, 1796, xi + 99 + (1) pp.

Benjamin Perkins was the son of the American doctor Elisha Perkins (1741–1799) who developed a healing technique involving the use of metallic tractors. The approach in some way resembled that used by the practitioners of animal magnetism; partly because of that, it received a hostile reception from the American medical establishment. Benjamin took up the cause, promoting the tractors in the United States and England. He received a warmer reception in England than in America, and so he published most of his writings on “perkinism” in Great Britain. [H]

205. Perkins, Elisha.

Certificates of the Efficacy of Dr. Perkins’s Patent Metallic Instruments. New London, Connecticut: S. Green’s Press, 1796, 16 pp.

Elisha Perkins was an American physician who developed a healing technique involving the use of metallic tractors. The approach in some way resembled that used by the practitioners of animal magnetism. “Perkinism” received a hostile reception from the American medical establishment, who condemned this “stroking” technique as useless and therefore dangerous. Animal magnetism itself had made little headway in the United States at this time, having been condemned in France by Benjamin Franklin’s commission and spoken poorly of by Jefferson. Only George Washington, because of the request of his friend Lafayette, gave it any kind of a hearing through a brief correspondance with Mesmer. Perkins too seems to have gotten Washington’s ear, since he sold him a set of his tractors. These devices were made of dissimilar metals, gold and silver, and were approximately three inches in length. Held in the doctor’s hands, they were used to gently stroke the body in the direction of the heart. Although Mesmerism was known to the American medical world at the time when Perkins developed his tractors, it is not clear to what extent he was influenced by Mesmer’s teaching, for he says little about the theory of their operation. His son Benjamin was more vocal about theoretical issues (see his Influence of Metallic Tractors . . . , entry number 204). This collection of certificates simply testifies to the efficacy of the tractors. [H]

206. Perkins, Elisha.

Evidences of the Efficacy of Doctor Perkins’s Patent Metallic Instruments. New London, Connecticut: S. Green’s Press, 1797, 32 pp.

See Elisha Perkins, Certificates of the Efficacy . . . (entry number 205). [H]

207. Vaughan, John.

Observations of Animal Electricity. In Explanation of the Metallic Operation of Dr. Perkins. Wilmington: W. C. Smyth, 1797, 32 pp.

An attempt to explain the efficacy of the metallic tractors of Elisha Perkins (see the works of Elisha and Benjamin Perkins) in terms of animal electricity. [H]

208. De Mainauduc, John Benoit.

The Lectures of J. B. de Mainauduc, M. D. Part the First. London: Printed for the Executrix, 1798, xii + (4) + 230 pp.

De Mainauduc received his medical training and set up his medical practice in London. In 1782 he moved to Paris to become “Quarterly Physician to the King of France.” There he studied for a time with Charles D’Eslon. In 1785 he returned to London and soon began to teach a “Science” of healing without the use of conventional medical means. In the Lectures, he says that this Science of healing is not new, but has been practiced by physicians for two hundred fifty years. But, he insists, it had not been recognized for the science it is because it was “enveloped with ridiculous nostrums or machinery” (p. viii). So De Mainauduc claims for himself “new discoveries” about this Science, consisting of his particular philosophy and techniques. His “Science” is, in fact, a type of spiritual healing (based upon the action of the spirit, mind, and will) presented in the framework of a rather simplistic atomistic physiology: “Thus it appears that every human Being possesses the power of striking other forms with the particles which are flying off from his own body; or, to state it in its proper light, we must say, that it is the prerogative of Spirit in many, by vigorous exertions, to propel the atoms of its own body against and through the pores of any other form in nature” (p. 111). De Mainauduc writes about “invisible fingers” that can manipulate the interior of the patient’s body: “The Operator’s own emanations, when duly influenced, become for the Operator, invisible fingers, which penetrate the pores, and may be truly considered as the natural and only ingredients which are or can be adapted to the removal of nervous, or of any other affections of the body” (pp. 120–121). Making liberal use of quotations from the Bible, De Mainauduc paints his discovery of the principles of the new Science as God’s gift to medicine. He bemoans the false philosophies that have over the ages become associated with this healing power. Chief among those philosophies was that of Mesmer, who “pillaged the subject from Sir Robert Fludd, and found to a certainty the existence of the power; undisposed to attend to our Saviour’s information, he preferred loadstones and magnetic ideas to the service of the Great Author, and after performing several accidental cures, his magnetism and his errors shared the fate of his predecessors” (pp. 224–225). [H]

209. Perkins, Benjamin Douglas.

The Influence of Metallic Tractors on the Human Body, in Removing Various Painful Inflammatory Diseases . . . Lately Discovered by Dr. Perkins . . . and Demonstrated in a Series of Experiments and Observations, by Professors Meigs, Woodward, Rogers, &c., &c. by which the Importance of the Discovery is Fully Ascertained, and a New Field of Enquiry Opened in the Modern Science of Galvanism, or, Animal Electricity. . . . London: Printed for J. Johnson, and Ogilvy and Son., 1798, xi + 99 + (1) pp.

See earlier works by Elisha Perkins and his son (entries 204–206). [H]

210. Herholdt, Johan Daniel.

Experiments with the Metallic Tractors in Rheumatic and Gouty Affections, Inflammations, and Various Topical Diseases, as Pub. by Surgeons Herholdt and Rafn . . . tr. into German by Professor Tode . . . thence into the English Language by Mr. Charles Kampfmuller: also Reports of about One Hundred and Fifty Cases in England . . . By medical and Other Respectable Characters. Ed. by Benjamin Douglas Perkins. London: Printed by L. Hanfard, for J. Johnson, 1799, (1) + (vii)–xxiv + 355 + (3) pp.

The editor is the son of Elisha Perkins who invented the metallic tractors described here. (see entries 204–206). [H]

211. Mesmer, Franz Anton.

Mémoire de F. A. Mesmer, docteur en médecine, sur ses découvertes. Paris: Fuchs, 1799, xii + 110 pp. English: “Dissertation by F. A. Mesmer, Doctor of Medicine, on His Discoveries,” in Mesmerism. Translated and edited by George Bloch. Los Altos, California: William Kaufmann, 1980.

One of Mesmer’s most important works. Writing twenty years after his history-making Mémoire of 1779 (entry number 10), Mesmer complains that his discovery, animal magnetism, has had great difficulty in attaining acceptance in the medical world. He hopes that the present treatise will correct mistaken notions and clarify the relationship of animal magnetism to the principles of physics. He also undertakes to explain the phenomenon of somnambulism and its place in the practice of animal magnetism. Although Mesmer never mentions it, the reader is aware that the work of the Marquis de Puységur is the backdrop against which Mesmer’s comments on this subject are made. With Puységur’s discovery of “magnetic somnambulism,” Mesmer was confronted with a problem: how could he acknowledge the reality of this phenomenon without giving it too prominent a place in his system? One of the main goals of this Mémoire was to attempt to solve that problem. In his description of the physics of animal magnetism, Mesmer reasserts his mechanical view of what takes place. If there had been any question that Mesmer’s theory was occultist in orientation, that is clearly answered in the negative here. Everything is explained in terms of matter and motion. The magnetic fluid is composed of infinitesimally small particles that move in streams. Health and disease are the result of the free or blocked flow of those streams. In the process of explaining this system, Mesmer makes a point of distinguishing it from “animal electricity,” a distinction that a number of authors had failed to make. Taking up the subject of somnambulism, Mesmer states that it is a phenomenon known throughout history. He gives it his own particular interpretation, however, calling it “critical sleep” (“critical” referring to “crisis,” a special physical state of the body as it attempts to deal with illness). He says that all the phenomena connected with “critical sleep,” such as knowledge of things at a distance and the ability to diagnose disease (see the works of Puységur) are to be explained in terms of the actions of the magnetic fluid, and therefore in terms of a purely mechanical physical system. He insists that traditional occult interpretations of these things are mistaken and disclaims any connection with those of his followers who have gone in that direction. Mesmer admits that somnambulism or “critical sleep” is quite likely to occur during the application of animal magnetism, and he explains that fact in terms of the “workings of all the machine’s systems” (“machine” meaning the body). In this Mémoire, Mesmer accomplishes his chief aim: to expunge from the interpretation of his teaching any hint of occultist views. [H]

212. Perkins, Benjamin Douglas.

Reports of about One Hundred and Fifty Cases in England Demonstrating the Efficacy of the Metallic Practice in a Variety of Complaints Both upon the Human Body and on Horses. London: J. Johnson, 1799.

Another of the younger Perkins’s books on the metallic tractors of Elisha Perkins. [H]

213. Bailly, Jean Sylvain.

“Rapport secret sur le mesmérisme.” In Le conservateur. . .de N. François (de Neufchateau) 1:146–155.

The first public appearance of the secret report drawn up by the Franklin commission on animal magnetism in 1784 (Rapport secret présenté au ministre et signé par la commission précédente, entry number 32). It was meant for the king’s eyes only, due to the delicate nature of the subject matter. In it the commissioners express their concern about potential misuses of animal magnetism, particularly the possible sexual arousal of female subjects by male magnetizers. Although the report contains some false information (that it is always men who magnetize women), it does give an accurate picture of the procedures: the contact between the knees of the magnetizer and those of the patient; the placement of the hand on the stomach or abdominal area; the reaching of one hand behind the patient’s body; and the general physical proximity and attunement involved in the process of magnetization. The commission states that the patient does not simply regard the magnetizer as a physican; he is, after all, still a man. The report also points out that often the female subject experiences an ecstasy of sorts when in the magnetic crisis, a buildup of emotions which is followed by a languor and a kind of sleep of the senses. The emphasis of the commission is on not only the danger of overt sexual acts performed by the magnetizer, but also the fact that the process may well awaken sexual passions latent in the female patient which she will then seek to fulfill in fornication or adultery. [H]

214. Haygarth, John.

Of the Imagination, as a Cause and as a Cure of Disorders of the Body: Exemplified by Fictitious Tractors, and Epidemic Convulsions. Bath: R. Cruttwell, 1800, iii + 43 pp.

Haygarth, a physician of Bath, and a friend, William Falconer, undertook to test the efficacy of the metallic tractors of Elisha Perkins (see entry numbers 204–206) in treating ill patients. They used wooden tractors painted to look like the metallic ones and discovered that the wooden ones were just as effective as the metallic ones. The experiments are described in this book. Haygarth’s conclusion is that the real healing force at work is the imagination of the patient, and that this remarkable power of the imagination needs further serious study. [H]

215. Heineken, J.

Ideen und Beobachtungen den thierischen Magnetismus und dessen Anwendung betreffend. Bremen: Friedrich Wilmans, 1800, x + (2) + 231 + (2) pp.

[H]

216. Mesmer, Franz Anton.

Lettre de F. A. Mesmer, docteur en médecine, sur l’origine de la petite vérole et le moyen de la faire cesser, suivie d’une autre lettre du même adressé aux auteurs du Journal de Paris, contenant diverses opinions relatives au système de l’auteur sur le magnétisme animal. Paris: Impr. des Sciences et Arts, 1800, 17 pp.

[H]

217. Perkins, Benjamin Douglas.

The Efficacy of Perkins’ Patent Metallic Tractors, in Topical Diseases of the Human Body and Animals; Exemplified by 250 Cases from the First Literary Characters in Europe and America. To Which is Prefixed A Preliminary Discourse in Which the Fallacious Attempts of Dr Haygarth to Detract from the Merits of the Tractors, are Detected, and Fully Confuted. London, Bath and Edinburgh: J. Johnson, Cadell and Davies, etc., 1800, vi + 135 pp.

A description and defense of the use of the metallic tractors of Elisha Perkins (1741–1799) written by his son. [H]

218. Perkins, Benjamin Douglas.

Cases of Successful Practice with Perkins’s Patent Metallic Tractors: Communicated since Jan. 1800, the Date of the Former Publication, by Many Scientific Characters. To Which are Prefixed, Prefatory Remarks. . . . London: Cooke, 1801, xvi + 92 pp.

[H]

219. Wagener, Samuel Christoph.

Neue Gespenster kurze Erzählungen aus dem Reiche der Wahrheit. 2 vols. Berlin: Friedrich Mauer, 1801, (3) + lxiv + 303; (3) + lxxii + (8) + 288 pp.

A description of supernatural occurrences in the eighteenth century. The work is an important attempt to assemble facts related to paranormal events in an effort to explain them. [P]

220. Winter, George.

Animal Magnetism. History of its Origin, Progress and Present State; its Principles and Secrets Displayed, as Delivered by the Late Dr Demainauduc. To which is Added, Dissertations on the Dropsy; Spasms; Epileptic Fits . . . with Upwards of One Hundred Cures and Cases. Also Advice to Those who Visit the Sick . . . a Definition of Sympathy; Antipathy; The Effects of the Imagination on Pregnant Women; Nature; History; and on the Resurrection of the Body. Bristol: Routh, 1801, (vii) + 223 pp.

Winter did not believe in the efficacy of animal magnetism to cure disease; he had tried it himself with no success. He did believe that imagination could play a part in producing results. A section written by De Mainauduc is entitled: “Principles of the Science in Animal Magnetism.” [H]

221. Petetin, Jacques Henri Désiré.

Nouveau mécanisme de l’électricité fondé sur les lois de l’équilibre et du mouvement, démontré par des expériences qui renversent le système de l’électricité positive et négative et qui établissent ses rapports avec le mécanisme caché de l’aimant et l’heureuse influence du fluid électrique dans les affections nerveuses. Lyon: Bruyset ainé, iv, xxvii, 1802, 300 pp.

[H]

222. Wienholt, Arnold.

Heilkraft des thierischen Magnetismus nach eigenen Beobachtungen. 3 vols. Lemgo: Meyer, 1802–1806, (18) + 3–504; xvi + 637 + (1); (2) + 436 pp.

A massive collection of writings on animal magnetism by one of Germany’s earliest practitioners. Wienholt was a physician from Bremen who began his magnetic practice in 1786 when, along with a Dr. Olbers, he healed a nineteen-year-old girl of a severe nervous condition. Wienholt went on to found the Magnetische Magazin für Niederteutschland, one of the more important early German periodicals in the field, in 1787. His practice of animal magnetism lasted for more than fifteen years, and this master work spans that whole period. After outlining abrief history of animal magnetism in Germany and describing the details of his own magnetizing process, Wienholt unfolds a panorama of his healing career from 1787. Many of the cases he presents are nervous disorders, ranging from epilepsy to hysterical loss of voice. The third volume, posthumously published, contains a collection of seven lectures on the nature of somnambulism, and seven more lectures on the physics of the living body. The lectures on somnambulism were translated by J. C. Colquhoun (Seven Lectures on Somnambulism, Edinburgh: Adam and Charles Black, 1845; see entry number 226). [H]

223. Fiard, Jean Baptiste.

La France trompée par les magniciens, les démonolâtres et les magnétiseurs du dix-huitième siècle. Paris: Gregoire, 1803, iv + 200 pp.

A work claiming that the practitioners of animal magnetism were subject to demoniacal and occult influences. [H]

224. Perkinean Society.

Transactions of the Perkinean Society, Consisting of a Report on the Practice with the Metallic Tractors, at the Institution in Frith-Street, and Experiments Communicated by Several Correspondents. London: A. Topping. (4) + 51 + (2) pp.

Case histories of individuals treated by the metallic tractors of the American doctor Elisha Perkins (see entries 204–206). Perkins developed a unique theory of healing that to some degree resembled that of Mesmer, although Perkins’s ideas evolved independently. [H]

225. Petetin, Jacques Henri Désiré.

Electricité animal, prouvée par la découverte des phénomènes physiques et moraux de la catalepsie hystérique, et de ses variétés; et par les bons effets de l’électricité artificielle dans le traitment de ces maladies. Lyon: Bruyset et Buynand, 1805, xii + 156 pp.

In this work, Petetin supplements the observations made in his first studies of hysteria (Mémoire sur la découverte des phénomènes que présentent la catalepsie et le somnambulisme . . . , entry number 171) and describes his treatment of hysteria with electricity. There is a second edition, in two volumes, that appears in 1808. It contains, in addition to the present material, a very long note on Petetin’s life and writings, a letter written to Petetin in 1808, and a lecture delivered by Petetin in 1807. [H]

226. Wienholt, Arnold.

D. Arnold Wienholt’s psychologische Vorlesungen über den natürlichen Somnambulism. Aus den literarischen Nachlass des Verfassers besonders abgedruckt. Lemgo: Mener, 1805, (2) + 144 pp. English: Seven Lectures on Somnambulism. Translated by J. C. Colquhoun. Edinburgh: Adam and Charles Black, 1845.

Extracted from Wienholt’s Heilkraft des thierischen Magnetismus of 1802–1804 (see entry number 222). [H]

227. [Vélye, abbé de.]

Du fluid-universel, de son activité et de l’utilité de ses modifications par les substances animales dans le traitement des maladies. Aux étudiants qui suivent les cours de toutes les parties de la physique. Paris: Delance, 1806, xv + 218 + (1) pp.

After two chapters on electrical machines and galvanism, the author deals with the subject of magnetic somnambulism and its power to cure illnesses. He presents cases of his own in which this treatment has been successful. There seems to have been a much shorter version of this work published the same year. [H]

228. Puységur, Armand Marie Jacques de Chastenet, marquis de.

Du magnétisme animal, considéré dans ses rapports avec diverses branches de la physique générale. Paris: Desenne, 1807, ix + 478 pp.

Puységur’s most theoretically oriented work on animal magnetism. After stating how he believes one becomes convinced of the reality of animal magnetism, he discusses the “physics” of animal magnetism, placing it in the context of the known phenomena of heat, fire, electricity, light, mineral magnetism, etc. He then outlines a brief history of animal magnetism in France, from Mesmer’s time in Paris through his (Puységur’s) foundation of the Society of Harmony in Strasbourg, appending a section on the magnetic systems of the “spiritualists” of Lyon. Puységur then describes how to magnetize and states his own views on the nature of magnetic action and somnambulism, including a discussion of clairvoyance and the role of imagination. The final section of the book is a collection of letters written to Puységur by various people on the subject of animal magnetism. Among them is a most interesting letter from the brother of the Marquis, Maxime, who describes procedures to be used when many magnetizers are operating at one time under the leadership of a chief magnetizer who sets the tone for the whole group. He also mentions the necessity for a magnetizer to keep control of individuals in magnetic crisis through the use of his will. [H]

229. [Puységur, Armand Marie Jacques de Chastenet, marquis de.]

Procès verbal du traitement par l’actions magnétique d’une femme malade (par la rupture d’un vaisseau dans la poitrine) de près Soissons. N.p.: n.p., 1807, 39 pp.

[H]

230. Judel, ———.

Considérations sur l’origine, la cause et les effets de la fièvre, sur l’électricité médicale, et sur le magnétisme animal. Paris: Treuttel et Wurtz, 1808, 149 pp.

Judel devotes a part of this work to animal magnetism, which he sees as a useful medical tool. [H]

231. Jung-Stilling, Johann Heinrich.

Theorie der Geister-Kunde, in einer Natur-, Vernunft- und Bibelmäsigen Beantwortung der Frage: Was von Ahnungen, Geschichten und Geistererscheinungen geglaubt und nicht geglaubt werden müsse. Nürnberg: Raw, 1808, xxviii + 380 pp.

Born in Westphalia, Germany, Jung-Stilling was raised in a pious Christian home and dreamed of becoming a preacher. Instead he became a physician and eventually professor at the universities of Heidelburg and Marburg. The important Theorie attempts to unify the data of animal magnetism and somnambulism within a far reaching spiritualistic philosophy. The author takes up issues such as the state of the soul after death, visions and apparitions, presentiments and prophecy, and other spiritistic matters. He discusses the higher states of somnambulism which make the world of the spirits accessible to those still in the body and thereby anticipates a whole body of literature that would combine these various concerns some forty years later. Jung-Stilling was strongly influenced by Swedenborg but also conducted his own experiments with somnambulism. [H & P]

232. Jung-Stilling, Johann Heinrich.

Apologie der Theorie der Geisterkunde. Nürnberg: Raw, 1809, 77 pp.

A sequel to Jung-Stilling’s Theorie (entry number 231). Here he writes about the notion of Hades or Scheol. Otherwise, the work contains nothing basically new. [H & P]

233. Asklepieion: Allgemeines medicinish-chirurgisches Wochenblatt.

Vols. 1–2; 1811–1812.

This periodical was published in Berlin and edited by Karl Christian Wolfart (1778–1832). [H]

234. Hufeland, Friedrich.

Über Sympathie. Weimar: Landes-Industrie-Comptoirs, 1811, x + (2) + 228 pp.

An important treatise on the immediate connection or bond, called “sympathy,” existing between things in nature. Hufeland analyses the nature of “magnetic rapport” between magnetizer and magnetized in terms of this universal sympathy. He states that magnetizer and somnambulist are so closely bound in a sympathetic relationship that the two form “one individual” (p. 117), and that the soul of the magnetizer is to some extent also the soul of the somnambulist. Sympathy, Hufeland says, causes thoughts and feelings to be held in common by the two, and even muscular action is communicated to the somnambulist by the muscular movement of the magnetizer. [H]

235. Kluge, Carl Alexander Ferdinand.

Versuch einer Darstellung des animalischen Magnetismus, als Heilmittel. Berlin: C. Salfeld, 1811, (5) + iv–xiv + 612 + (2) pp.

One of the most researched and widely read early German works on animal magnetism. In some way Kluge’s book could be seen as a bibliographical essay on the subject, with numerous references to writings in the area and related fields. The assistant of Christoph Wilhelm Hufeland (entry number 260), Kluge carried out magnetic treatments on the patients of his mentor, but his book deals mainly with experiments and theories of other magnetizers. [H]

236. Poli, Giuseppe Saverio.

Breve saggio sulla calamita e sulle sue virtù medicinale. Palermo: Reale stamperia, 1811, vi + 73 pp.

A treatise on the medical use of magnets with favorable mention of animal magnetism. [H]

237. Puységur, Armand Marie Jacques de Chastenet, marquis de.

Recherches, expériences et observations physiologiques: sur l’homme dans l’état de somnambulisme naturel, et dans le somnambulisme provoqué par l’acte magnétique. Paris: J. Dentu and The Author, 1811, (10) + xii + (13)–430 + (1) pp.

A significant study of natural and magnetic somnambulism by the discoverer of the latter. Puységur believed that one of the main differences between natural and artificial somnambulism was in the matter of “rapport.” He states that with magnetic somnambulism, the somnambulist is in “rapport” (or a state of special connection) with the magnetizer. But with natural somnambulism, the somnambulist is in “rapport” with no one. The other difference between the two conditions, Puységur says, is in the way they are brought about. Ordinarily natural somnambulism follows upon sleep. Artificial somnambulism, on the other hand, is produced through the application of the techniques of animal magnetism. This book also examines the faculties exhibited by individuals in the somnambulistic state, providing many case histories as illustrations. Puységur concludes with a look at the dangers that must be guarded against in the use of magnetic somnambulism. [H]

238. Mesmer, Franz Anton.

Allgemeine Erläuterungen über den Magnetismus und den Somnambulismus. Als vorläufige Einleitung in das Natursystem. Aus dem Askläpieion abgedruckt. Halle and Berlin: Hallischen Waisenhauses, 1812, 78 pp.

A compilation of articles that appeared in the Askläpieion in 1812. Here Mesmer makes his second attempt to tackle the issue of the nature of somnambulism and its relationship to animal magnetism, which he had first developed in the Mémoire of 1799 (see entry number 211). Again, his intention is to remove any superstitious or religious elements in the explanation of somnambulism and to explain it in terms of his mechanistic theory of animal-magnetic fluid. He first gives a physical explanation for the nature of animal magnetism itself, describing it as an “invisible fire” and distinguishing it from “animal electricity,” a subject of great interest at the time. Moving on to somnambulism, he refers to it in the same terms as he had in the Mémoire, that is as “critical sleep,” pointing out that often the healing crisis of animal magnetism takes place in connection with sleep and in that state the unusual phenomena associated with somnambulism may develop. He states that these phenomena have been recognized in all ages. They include: foreseeing an illness and predicting its course; prescribing effective medicines for a disease without the benefit of medical knowledge; seeing and sensing distant objects; receiving impressions from the will of another; and other phenomena. Mesmer explains how these things are possible with a purely mechanical theory of physiology and the action of the magnetic fluid over a distance. From this he further elaborates his notion of an “inner sense” which leads to knowledge of things at a distance and an instinct about health. He also explains “rapport” in the same terms. [H]

239. Montegre, Antoine François Jenin de.

Du magnétisme animal et de ses partisans; ou, Recueil de pièces importantes sur cet objet, précédé des observations récemment publiées. Paris: D. Colas, 1812, (4) + 139 pp.

An important collection of articles on animal magnetism accompanied by the official reports of the two French commissions of 1784, including the secret report concerning potential moral abuses of animal magnetism. The work also contains a letter highly critical of Puységur’s views of animal magnetism. [H]

240. Puységur, Armand Marie Jacques de Chastenet, marquis de.

Continuation du traitement magnétique du jeune Hébert (mois de Septembre). Paris: Dentu, 1812, (2) + xxvi + 27–107 + (1) pp.

See Puységur’s Les fous, les insensés . . . (entry number 241). [H]

241. Puységur, Armand Marie Jacques de Chastenet, marquis de.

Les fous, les insensés, les maniaques et les frénétiques ne seraient-ils que des somnambules désordonnés? Paris: J. G. Dentu, 1812, (4) + vii + (8)–91 pp.

The publication history of this and subsequent related works deserves a special note. This first description of Puységur’s treatment of Alexandre Hébert was followed by the publication in the same year of Continuation du traitement magnétique du jeune Hébert . . . (entry number 240). Then in 1813 there appeared Appel aux savans observateurs du dix-neuvième siècle, de la décisions portée par leurs prédécesseurs contre le magnétisme animal, et fin du traitement du jeune Hébert (entry number 245). Later in 1813 this latter work was republished in one volume with Les fous . . . and Continuation du traitement magnétique . . . (see Appel aux savans observateurs . . . , 1813). The reason for this somewhat confusing set of related publications is that together they constitute a description of the ongoing treatment of Alexandre Hébert that concluded in 1813. Les fous . . . and the subsequent writings are little known but extremely significant for the history of modern psychotherapy. In his description of the treatment of Alexandre Hébert, Puységur shows that he was in the process of evolving a magnetic psychotherapy that embodied insights that were ahead of his time. Animal magnetism had from its beginnings made use of a kind of “empathy” between magnetizer and patient. Puységur, with his concept of “intimate rapport” (Suite de mémoires . . ., 1785) had taken that notion a step further. With Les fous . . ., he shows an awareness of the healing dynamic between magnetizer and patient that is very close to the modern concepts of transference and countertransference. Alexandre Hébert was a boy of twelve and a half who suffered from paroxysms of rage in which he was a danger for both himself and those around him. He experienced severe headaches and would fall into fits of weeping and moaning while hitting his head against the wall, sometimes even attempting to throw himself from windows. Puységur undertook to treat his condition by using animal magnetism. The boy was a good subject, immediately falling into states of somnambulism. Eventually, Puységur took the boy into his own home and kept him by his side for months. The magnetic treatment became a veritable psychotherapy, involving long conversations, revelations of secrets in the state of magnetic somnambulism, and even the analysis of dreams. Alexandre, who had been troubled from age four, eventually underwent a relatively complete cure, with only certain memory problems remaining. Through this experience, and an earlier one with an artillery soldier, Puységur developed a theory of mental disturbances. He came to believe that “most insanity is nothing but disordered somnambulism” (Les fous . . . , p. 54). He held that the disturbed person was in a state of disorder precisely because he or she was caught in a magnetic rapport with someone no longer present (Alexandre, for instance, maintained a hidden rapport with his mother). Puységur believed that the cure was to replace this disturbing rapport by a healthy rapport with the magnetizer. This “transference” oriented theory of psychotherapy seems to be unique for the time. [H]

242. Boin, ———.

Coup d’oeil sur le magnétisme et examen d’un écrit qui a paru sous ce titre: Lettre sur le magnétisme à M. . . . à Paris par M. Morisson de Bourges. Bourges: n.p., 1813, 29 pp.

A note on animal magnetism written in the form of a critique of a letter by Morisson (see entry number 244). [H]

243. Deleuze, Joseph Philippe François.

Histoire critique du magnétisme animal. 2 vols. Paris: Mame, 1813, (4) + 298; (4) + 340 pp.

Deleuze is a central figure in the history of animal magnetism. After serving as a lieutenant in the French infantry, he decided to devote himself to the study of the natural sciences, eventually becoming assistant naturalist of the Garden of Plants in Paris and secretary to the association of the Museum of Natural History. Deleuze was highly respected by his contemporaries as a great scholar with a balanced approach to scientific issues. In 1785 Deleuze heard about the work of Puységur, but found it hard to believe that he had been able to do what was claimed. However, when a respected friend of Deleuze went to see Mesmer and was then able to induce somnambulism, Deleuze decided to visit his friend and find out for himself. He was impressed with the demonstration and began to pursue his own study of animal magnetism. He was influenced most strongly by the ideas of Puységur, and it is clear from reading Deleuze’s writings that he was like Puységur in temperament and attitude towards the people he worked with. The Histoire is Deleuze’s first work on animal magnetism and it is one of the most important ever written on the subject. In the process of depicting the history, Deleuze also conveys a great deal of information about the theory and practice. In his presentation, he pays a great deal of attention to detail and strives to be objectively fair. Although a partisan of animal magnetism, Deleuze does not close his eyes to legitimate criticism. The Histoire is about as balanced a treatment as one could find from a man who was engaged in a daily practice of that art. [H]

244. Morisson, ———.

Lettre sur le magnétisme animal adressée à M. . . .à Paris. Bourges: n.p., 1813, 13 pp.

[H]

245. Puységur, Armand Marie Jacques de Chastenet, marquis de.

Appel aux savans observateurs du dix-neuvième siècle, de la décision portée par leurs prédécesseurs contre le magnétisme animal, et fin du traitement du jeune Hébert. Paris: Dentu, 11 + 127 pp.

This work was republished in the same year in one volume with Continuation du journal du traitement du jeune Hébert (September, October, and November). Paris: Dentu, (2) + 11 + (1) + vii + (1) + (8)–91 + (1) + xxvi + (27)–109 + (1) + 127 pp. (see entry number 241.) [H]

246. Strombeck, Friedrich Karl von.

Geschichte eines allein durch die Natur hervorgebrachten animalischen Magnetismus und der durch denselben bewirkten Genesung; von dem Augenzeugen dieses Phänomens. Braunschweig: F. Vieweg, 1813, xxxii + 216 p.

Strombeck writes about a seventeen-year-old girl whose attacks of hysterical trance were cured through the use of magnetic sleep. The girl was a member of Strombeck’s household and he spent a great deal of time applying animal magnetic treatments and writing down the resulting conversations with her while she was magnetized. This book is an important contribution to the history of psychotherapy. [H]

247. [Vélye, abbé de.]

Somnambulisme ou supplément aux journaux dans lesquels il a été question de ces phénomènes physiologiques. Paris: Brébault, (1813), 84 pp.

[H]

248. Annales du magnétisme animal.

Nos. 1–48: 1814–1816.

Continued as: Bibliothèque du magnétisme animal, vols. 1–8, 1817–1819 (entry number 272). This in turn was continued as: Archives du magnétisme animal, vols. 1–8, 1820–1823 (entry number 297). [H]

249. Mais, Charles.

The Surprising Case of Rachel Baker, Who Prays and Preaches in her Sleep: with Specimens of her Extraordinary Performances Taken Down Accurately in Short Hand at the Time; and Showing the Unparalleled Powers She Possesses to Pray, Exhort, and Answer Questions, During Her Unconscious State. The Whole Authenticated by the Most Respectable Testimony of Living Witnesses. New York: S. Marks, 1814, 34 pp.

An account of a “sleep-talker,” Rachel Baker, who did just what the title says. She is depicted as a “hale country lass of nineteen,” quite taciturn, who speaks with a heavy southern drawl. But when asleep she would deliver exhortations and prayers with a “clear, harmonious voice.” The book describes her condition and gives an example of her preaching. [H]

250. Mesmer, Franz Anton.

Mesmerismus. Oder System der Wechselwirkungen, Theorie und Anwendung des thierischen Magnetismus als die allgemeine Heilkunde zur Erhaltung des Menschen. Herausgegeben von Dr. Karl Christian Wolfart. Berlin: Nikola, 1814, lxxiv + 356 pp.

Mesmer’s final work on animal magnetism, written with the assistance of Karl Christian Wolfart, who was sent to see Mesmer by the Berlin Academy of Science. Strangely, the original was written in French by Mesmer, and then translated into German, Mesmer’s native tongue, by Wolfart. According to Tischner (Franz Anton Mesmer, p. 101), Wolfart’s translation was, unfortunately, often stiff and bungling. Wolfart’s carelessness extended even to his giving Mesmer’s name incorrectly as “Friedrich” Anton Mesmer. This error has somehow been perpetuated by many modern libraries. Mesmerismus presents Mesmer’s overall view of animal magnetism and its implications for human life. It is divided into two parts: “Physik” and “Moral.” The first part discusses the physical nature of animal magnetism and its relationship to such phenomena as fire and electricity. In his explanations, Mesmer is consistent with the mechanistic approach he held from the beginning. “There is one uncreated primary essence—God. In the universe there are two primary essences—matter and motion. All possibilities unfold from the action of motion upon matter” (p. 33). Mesmer also takes up the issue of somnambulism and the “inner sense,” repeating much that can be found in his Erläuterungen of 1812 (entry number 238). The second part examines the implications of animal magnetism for the moral life. Based on the central notion of universal magnetic harmony, much expounded by Bergasse, Mesmer draws conclusions about the true nature of morality, freedom, social life and religious worship. [H]

251. Puységur, Armand Marie Jacques de Chastenet, marquis de.

Les vérités cheminent, tot ou tard elles arrivent. Paris: Dentu, 1814, (2) + 14 pp.

[H]

252. Stieglitz, Johann.

Über den thierischen Magnetismus. Hannover: Hahn, 1814, xvi + 671 pp.

Stieglitz’s approach to animal magnetism was that of a skeptic. He did not go along with the common theory of animal magnetism, and he was slow to accept its genuineness. However, he took this position not as one who had experimented in the field, but as a critic of the literature. This book is his major work in the field of animal magnetism. While revealing his skepticism, it also shows that he was not entirely closed to the data. He did believe that Mesmer had discovered an important natural force, but he thought that the nature of the phenomena of animal magnetism could not yet be decided. [H]

253. Bruining, Gerbrand.

Schediasma, de Mesmerismo ante Mesmerum. Groeningen: Van Boekeren, 1815, 88 pp.

The author takes up the question of whether animal magnetism was known before Mesmer, discussing writings of the Greeks, Romans, and Egyptians. [H]

254. Devotional Somnium; or A Collection of Prayers and Exhortations, Uttered by Miss Rachel Baker, in the City of New York, in the Winter of 1815, During her Abstracted and Unconscious State; To Which Pious and Unprecedented Exercises is Prefixed, An Account of Her Life, with the Manner in Which She Became Powerful in Praise of God and Addresses to Man; Together with a View of That Faculty of the Human Mind which is Intermediate between Sleeping and Waking. The Facts, Attested by the Most Respectable Divines, Physicians, and Literary Gentlemen; and the Discourses, Correctly Noted by Clerical Stenographers. By Several Medical Gentlemen.

New York: S. Marks, 1815, (1) + 298 pp.

This unusual account is significant for a number of reasons. Although not the earliest (see Charles Mais, entry number 249), it is the most detailed account available of Rachel Baker, the “sleeping preacher.” She was nineteen years old when the book was written and was becoming fairly well known to the public, having recently been brought to New York for observation. The young woman had gone through a series of stages before the preaching phase began. In 1811 she had become extremely depressed and disturbed because she believed herself to be the world’s greatest sinner. Then in January of 1812 she went through a night of terror followed by a feeling of great peace. From then she began to give sermons about God, his love, and the evil of sin. Awake she remembered nothing of these talks. In her ordinary state she was not considered to be a good thinker or “sensible.” But while preaching in her sleep, she struck those who heard her as extremely cultivated and wise, speaking of religious matters with great passion and conviction. The contrast between the young woman’s waking state and somnambulistic states is very similar to that reported of Victor Race by Puységur (1784). In addition to presenting a vivid account of Rachel Baker and her phenomena, the book has a number of small treatises by various authors on sleep walking and related matters. Particularly noteworthy is one by Samuel L. Mitchill on “somnium” or “that condition of the human faculties which is intermediate between sleeping and waking.” The book also contains a description of an apparent case of multiple personality, the Rev. Dr. Tennent, which is one of the earliest ever published. [H]

255. [Fustier, abbé.]

Le mystère des magnétiseurs et des somnambules, dévoilé aux âmes droites et vertueuses. Par un homme du monde. Paris: Legrand, 1815, 55 pp.

An attack on animal magnetism by a theologian. [H]

256. Wolfart, Karl Christian.

Erläuterungen zum Mesmerismus. Berlin: Nikola, 1815, xvi + 296 pp.

Wolfart, Professor at the University of Berlin, had assisted Mesmer in the production of Mesmer’s Mesmerismus . . . (entry number 250). Dedicated to Mesmer (still living when the book was published), Erläuterungen zum Mesmerismus was meant to serve as a running commentary on Mesmerismus. . . . [H]

257. Arndt, W.

Beytrage zu den durch animalischen Magnetismus zeither bewirkten Erscheinungen. Aus eigner Erfahrung. Breslau and Leipzig: C. Cnobloch, 1816, vi + 430 pp.

[H]

258. Eschenmayer, Carl Adolph von.

Versuch die scheinbare Magie des thierischen Magnetismus aus physiologischen und psychischen Gesetzen zu erklären. Stuttgart and Tübingen: J. G. Cotta, 1816, (2) + 180 pp.

Eschenmayer was a German physician who was particularly interested in philosophy and mysticism. He began to investigate animal magnetism shortly after 1800 and became co-editor of Archiv für den thierischen Magnetismus (entry number 269) with Kieser, Nasse, and Nees von Esenbeck. He eventually taught at the University of Tübingen, remaining in that post until 1836, when he returned to his medical practice. Influenced by the nature-philosophy of Schelling, Eschenmayer had a special interest in the ancient occult traditions. Here, as well as in later works, he seeks out the parallels between those traditions and the contemporary phenomena of animal magnetism. [H & P]

259. [Hénin de Cuvillers, Etienne Félix, baron d’.]

Réponse aux articles du Journal des Débats, contre le magnétisme animal. Paris: Dentu, 1816, 24 pp.

The editor of the Archives du magnétisme here defends the genuineness of animal magnetism. [H]

260. Hufeland, Christoph Wilhelm.

Auszug und Anzeig der Schrift des Hernn Leibmedikus Stieglitz über den thierischen Magnetismus, nebst Zusätzen. Berlin: Realschulbuchhandlung, 1816, 96 pp.

Christoph Hufeland (not to be confused with Friedrich Hufeland) was a German physician, professor of pathology and therapeutics at Berlin University, and prolific writer on scientific subjects. At first, he considered Mesmer a charlatan and his theory unscientific. He then chaired a commission appointed by Berlin University in 1812 to examine the doctrine of animal magnetism. He personally approved a trip by a member of the commission, Karl Christian Wolfart, to visit Mesmer to inquire at first hand about his thinking on animal magnetism. This visit led to quite a different outcome from that anticipated by Hufeland (see entry numbers 250 and 256). The commission eventually gave a positive judgment on the reality of animal magnetism and its power to heal. Hufeland concurred in this judgment, although he remained quite critical of certain aspects of the theory of animal magnetism. In Auszug und Anzeig . . . Hufeland expresses both his acceptance and his criticism. He also questions ideas held by Stieglitz (see entry number 252) concerning the physical agent involved in animal magnetism, and goes on to propose his own theory of the interaction between magnetizer and patient. [H]

261. Magnetiser’s Magazine and Annals of Animal Magnetism.

One volume only, 1816.

Published in London, the magazine was edited by F. Corbaux (1769?–1843). The periodical was of short duration and consisted in 224 pages of translation of Joseph Deleuze’s Histoire critique du magnétisme animal. [H]

262. Mitchill, Samuel Latham.

“A double consciousness, or a duality of person in the same individual.” Medical Repository 3:185–186.

The first published account of the Mary Reynolds case, one of the earliest and best known instances of multiple personality. [H]

263. Montegre, Antoine François Jenin de.

Note sur le magnétisme animal et sur les dangers que font courir les magnétiseurs à leurs patients. Paris: Faine, 1816, 8 pp.

[H]

264. Parrot, J. F.

Coup d’oeil sur le magnétisme. Saint Petersburg: n.p., 1816, 65 pp.

An attempt by a physicist to reconcile the theory of animal magnetic fluid with contemporary physics. [H]

265. Suremain de Missery, Antoine.

Examen de l’ouvrage qui a pour titre: “Le mystère des magnétiseurs et des somnambules dévoilé aux droites âmes et virtueuses par un homme du monde.” Paris: J. G. Dentu, 1816, iv + 56 pp.

Criticism of a book by the Abbé Fustier on animal magnetism (Le mystère des magnétiseurs . . . , entry number 255). [H]

266. Vernet, Jules.

La magnétismomanie, Comédie folie en un acte, mêlée de couplets. Paris: Fages, 1816, 26 pp.

[H]

267. Weber, Joseph.

Der tierische Magnetismus, oder das Geheimnis des menschlichen Lebens aus dynamisch-psychischen Kräften verständlich gemacht. Landshut: Weber, 1816.

[H]

268. Wolfart, Karl Christian.

Der Magnetismus gegen die Stieglitz-Hufelandische Schrift über den thierischen Magnetismus in seinem wahren Werth behauptet. Berlin: Nikola, 1816, viii + 9–162 + (5) pp.

Wolfart, one of Mesmer’s strongest supporters from Berlin University, here presents his view of the controversy taking place between Johann Stieglitz (see entry number 252) and Christoph Hufeland (see entry number 260). This work was written after Mesmer’s death, and Wolfart now felt free to speak on the issues involved. He uses the occasion of the controversy to present his own views on the nature of animal magnetism and its theoretical implications. [H]

269. Archiv für den thierischen Magnetismus.

Vols. 1–12: 1817–1824.

This journal was continued as: Sphinx: Neues Archiv für den thierischen Magnetismus und das Nachtleben überhaupt. One vol. only, 1825–1826. Published in Leipzig, the editor was C. A. von Eschenmayer. [H]

270. Baader, Franz von.

Über die Extase oder das Verzucktseyn der magnetischen Schlafredner. Leipzig: Reclam (parts 1 & 2), 1817; Nürmberg: Monath & Kussler (part 3), 1818.

[H]

271. Bapst, F. G., and Azais, Pierre H.

Explication et emploi du magnétisme. Paris: n.p., 1817, 63 pp.

[H]

272. Bibliothèque du magnétisme animal, par MM. les membres de la Société du magnétisme.

See entry number 248. [H]

273. Coll, ———.

Traitement magnétique suivi d’une guérison remarquable opérée par M. Coll, archiprêtre du canton de Dangé, près Chatellerault, département de la Vienne. N.p.: n.p., 1817, 94 pp.

[H]

274. Deleuze, Joseph Philippe François.

Réponse aux objections contre le magnétisme. Paris: J. G. Dentu, 1817, 51 pp.

Deleuze answers criticisms leveled against the practitioners of animal magnetism, particularly those criticisms concerning the morality of what happens between magnetizer and magnetized. [H]

275. Hervier, Charles.

Théorie du mesmérisme, par un ancien ami du Mesmer, où l’on explique aux dames ses principes naturels, pour le salut de leurs familles; et aux sages de tous les pays, ses causes et ses effets, comme un bienfait de la nature qu’ils sont invités à répandre avec les précautions convenable, et d’après lesquelles plusieurs rois de l’Europe en ont encouragé l’usage dans leurs états. Paris: Agasse, 1817, 148 pp.

Hervier, an early disciple of Mesmer, had been cured of a serious illness by animal magnetism. He strongly supported Mesmer in the early years in Paris (see Lettre sur la découverte du magnétisme animal . . . , entry number 71. This much later treatise gives his overall view of the theory of animal magnetism. [H]

276. Klinger, Johann August.

De magnetismo animali. Würzburg: F. E. Nitribitt, 1817, 69 pp.

[H]

277. Oppert, C.

Observations relatives à la lettre de M. Friedlander, sur l’état actuel du magnétisme en Allemagne. Paris: J. G. Dentu, 1817, (2) + 19 pp.

[H]

278. Pfaff, C. H.

Über und gegen den thierischen Magnetismus und die jetzt vorherrschende Tendenz auf dem Gebiete desselben. Hamburg: Perthes & Besser, 1817, xxii + (2) + 184 pp.

Pfaff, answering his own question about why anyone should write yet another book on animal magnetism, says he is writing this one because of the current lack of critical questioning about animal magnetism and its phenomena. He had first been introduced to animal magnetism by Gmelin in 1789 and he had been astounded by what he witnessed. He hoped that animal magnetism contained the core of a new and comprehensive theory of natural science. He states, however, that his hopes were dashed by subsequent experiences with somnambulists who turned out to be carrying out “juggling acts” for the benefit of their magnetizers and friends. This work is the result of Pfaff’s critical attitude towards the subject. Pfaff was aware of the problem of suggestion and the tendency of the somnambulist to fulfill the subtle expectations of the magnetizer. He skeptically views the experiences of Gmelin, Fischer, F. Hufeland, and others. [H]

279. Roullier, Auguste.

Exposition physiologique des phénomènes du magnétisme animal et du somnambulisme: contenant des observations pratiques sur les avantages et l’emploi de l’un et de l’autre dans le traitement des maladies aiguës et chroniques. Paris: J. G. Dentu, 1817, (4) + xiv + 234 + (2) pp.

[H]

280. Weber, Joseph.

Über Naturerklärung überhaupt und über die Erklärung der thierisch-magnetischen Erscheinungen aus dynamisch-psychischen Kräften inbesondere. Ein ergänzender Beitrag zum Archiv den thierischen Magnetismus. Landshut: Weber, 1817, 96 pp.

[H]

281. [Wendel-Wurtz, abbé.]

Superstitions et prestiges des philosophes, ou les demonolatres du siècle des lumières par l’Auteur des Précurseurs de l’Ante-Christ. Lyon: Rusand, 1817, viii + 230 + (2) pp.

[H]

282. [Bergasse, Nicolas.]

Dialogue entre un magnétiseur qui cherche les moyens de propager le magnétisme et un incrédule qui croit l’avoir trouvé. Paris: n.p., 1818, 14 pp.

A work in favor of animal magnetism attributed to Bergasse. [H]

283. Blatter für höhere Wahrheit: aus altern und neuern Handschrift und seltenen Buchern; mit besonderer Rücksicht auf Magnetismus.

Vols. 1–8; 1818–1827. Neue Folge: Vols. 9–11, 1830–1832.

[H & P]

284. Brandis, J. D.

Über psychische Heilmittel und Magnetismus. Copenhagen: Gyldendal, 1818, (2) + ii + 172 + (1) pp.

Brandis, a Copenhagen physician, wrote the first part of this work as a series of journal articles. By way of introduction, he describes his first exposure to animal magnetism in 1785 when the famous Johann Kasper Lavater (1741–1801), a correspondent of Puységur, came to Copenhagen. Brandis had been studying the British “stroking doctor,” Greatrakes, to find what healing hints might be contained in his technique. However, Lavater taught Brandis’s friend, Lichtenberg, to magnetize, and Brandis found his attention diverted from Greatrakes to animal magnetism. In this work Brandis describes his own experiences in treating illnesses through “psychic” and “magnetic” means. He discusses the healing power of the will, the place of sleep and somnambulism in healing and the nature of magnetic healing. [H]

285. [Chardel, Casimir Marie Marcellin Pierre Célestin.]

Mémoire sur le magnétisme animal, présenté à l’Académie de Berlin, en 1818. Paris: Bandoin frères, 1818, ii + 49 pp.

[H]

286. [Dalloz, A. L. J.]

Discours sur les principes généraux de la théorie végétative et spirituelle de la nature, faisant connaître le premier moteur de la circulation du sang, le principe du magnétisme animal et celui du sommeil magnétique, dit somnambulisme. Paris: The Author, 1818, 308 pp.

A study that is more philosophical than experimental. [H]

287. Ebhardt, G. F.

Theologische und philosophische raisonnements in Bezug auf den animalischen Magnetismus nebst einer Beleuchtung über Realität und Irrealität. Oder:Blicke auf Gott, Natur und den Menschen. Leipzig: Kollmann, 1818, 119 pp.

[H]

288. Journal de la Société du magnétisme animal à Paris.

One issue only, 1818.

This periodical appeared when the Bibliothèque du magnétisme animal (entry number 272) temporarily ceased publication. Since the Bibliothèque eventually continued, only one issue of the present journal appeared. [H]

289. [Sarrazin de Montferrier, Alexandre André Victor, pseudonym: A. de Lausanne.]

Eléments du magnétisme animal, ou Exposition succinte des procédés, des phénomènes et de l’emploi du magnétisme. Paris: Dentu, 1818, 56 pp.

Sarrazin de Montferrier, who wrote under the pseudonym de Lausanne, was editor of the Annales du magnétisme animal. [H]

290. Virey, Julien Joseph.

Examen impartial de la médecine magnétique, de sa doctrine, de ses procédés et de ses cures. Paris: Panckouke, 1818, 93 pp.

An important abstract from the Dictionnaire des sciences médicales (Vol. 29, pp. 463–558, 1818) by a member of the Faculty of Medicine of Paris. This inquiry into animal magnetism, although very critical, recognizes the reality of some of the effects attributed to that phenomenon. But rather than accepting the existence of a physical agent, magnetic fluid, that produces those effects, Virey believes that “affections” or psychological factors are sufficient explanation. [H]

291. Zeitschrift für psychische Aerzte.

Vols. 1–2; 1818–1819.

This journal was continued as: Zeitschrift für psychische Aerzte, mit besonderer Berücksichtigung des Magnetismus, Vols. 3–5: 1820–1822. Published in Leipzig, it was edited by Christian Friedrich Nasse (1778–1851). [H]

292. Deleuze, Joseph Philippe François.

Défense du magnétisme animal contre les attaques dont il est l’objet dans le dictionnaire des sciences médicales. Paris: Berlin-Leprieur, 1819, (4) + 270 pp.

This work was written by Deleuze in response to the article on animal magnetism that appeared in the 1818 volume of the Dictionnaire des sciences médicales (see Virey, Examen impartial . . . , entry number 290). Author of the Histoire critique du magnétisme animal (entry number 243) and one of animal magnetism’s stoutest defenders, Deleuze here attempts to answer Virey’s criticisms paragraph by paragraph. Virey’s article and Deleuze’s response constitute one of the most intelligent and enlightening dialogues on animal magnetism to be found in the early nineteenth century. [H]

293. Ennemoser, Joseph.

Der Magnetismus nach der allseitiger Beziehung seines Wesens, geschichtlichen Entwickelung von allen Zeiten und bei allen Völkern wissenschaftlich dargestellt. Leipzig: F. A. Brockhaus, 1819, xxiv + 781 + (3) pp.

[H]

294. Faria, José Custodio de, abbé.

De la cause du sommeil lucide, ou étude de la nature de l’homme. Tome premier. Paris: Mme. Horiac, 1819, (6) + 463 + (1) pp.

This book by the Abbé Faria is one of the most important in the history of animal magnetism. Faria anticipated the views of Alexandre Bertrand by some years, contending that the true cause of the phenomena of animal magnetism was psychological. He believed that, contrary to Mesmer’s teaching, there is no magnetic fluid, and that, contrary to Puységur’s teaching, the power of the will of the magnetizer is not involved. In other words, Faria states that there is no external agent that produces the effects. Rather, the magnetizer makes use of suggestion to produce a state of “lucid sleep,” as Faria calls artificial somnambulism. He says that the extraordinary powers of lucid sleep are always present in human beings, but normally unavailable. Because the sleeper does not recognize them as natural abilities, they are attributed to an external agent. Faria also states that the healing powers of “lucid sleep” are due to the very powerful effects of suggestions coming from the operator. This edition of the book is very rare. A new edition was published in 1906 (Paris: Henri Jouvet) and is important because it contains comments on Faria’s doctrine by Brown-Sequard, Liébeault, Gilles de la Tourette, Pitres, Crocq, Vires, and Bernheim. Although the title suggests a volume to follow, none was ever published. [H]

295. Lombard, A.

Les dangers du magnétisme animal et l’importance d’en arrêter la propagation vulgaire. Paris: Dentu and Bailleul, 1819, vi + (7)–148 pp.

Lombard sees little good in the practice of animal magnetism and much danger. The book is a criticism of those who have come to accept animal magnetism as a reality and a beneficial medical technique (such as Deleuze), and it is a warning to those who may receive magnetic treatment. Not the least among the many dangers Lombard sees in animal magnetism is the threat to “virtue” of young women who submit to the ministrations of magnetizers. [H]

296. [Sarrazin de Montferrier, Alexandre André Victor, pseudonym: A. de Lausanne.]

Des principes et des procédés du magnétisme animal, et de leurs rapports avec les lois de la physique et de la physiologie. 2 vols. Paris: J. G. Dentu, (4) + xli + (1) + 241; (4) + 314 + (1) pp.

A significant treatment of the theory and practice of animal magnetism by a man who adhered closely to Mesmer’s approach and said little about somnambulism. The first volume describes in detail the techniques to be used. It contains an unusual and important section on the sensations experienced by the magnetizer when treating a patient and how those sensations may be interpreted as indications of procedures to be followed in the treatment. Montferrier claims that awareness of the utility of these subjective sensations goes all the way back to Mesmer, although this is the first detailed treatment of the subject in writing. The second volume begins with a theoretical and historical study of animal magnetism and ends with instructions about treating specific illnesses. De Lausanne, the author to whom this work is ascribed, is the pseudonym of Sarrazin de Montferrier, a mathematician and publicist who edited the first volumes of the Annales du magnétisme animal. [H]

297. Archives du magnétisme animal.

See Annales du magnétisme animal (entry number 248). [H]

298. Hénin de Cuvillers, Etienne Félix, baron d’.

Le magnétisme éclairé, ou introduction aux archives du magnétisme animal. Paris: Barrois, 1820, 252 pp.

An outspoken supporter of animal magnetism with his own peculiar views on the subject, Hénin de Cuvillers was as much criticized by the Society of Magnetism of Paris, of which he was a member, as by those who opposed animal magnetism. This was because, in his philosophical speculations and attempts to find historical antecedents to animal magnetism in the writings of the ancients, he sometimes seemed to lose touch with the everyday application of that art. Hénin de Cuvillers founded the periodical Archives du magnétisme animal (see entry number 248) as the vehicle for his unique views. This book is made up of selections from that journal. [H]

299. Nees von Esenbeck, Christian Gottfried.

Entwicklungsgeschichte des magnetischen Schlafs und Traums. Bonn: Adolph Marcus, 1820, (8) + 159 + (2) pp.

A physician, botanist and natural philosopher, Nees von Esenbeck delivered these lectures in the summer of 1818 when he was professor of natural science and director of the botanic gardens in Erlangen. In this study of sleep, dreams and magnetic somnambulism, he reiterates Mesmer’s notion of an inner sense which is capable of receiving information not available to the five senses. According to Nees von Esenbeck, this accounts for the paranormal abilities often displayed by magnetic somnambulists. [H]

300. Neues Archiv für den thierischen Magnetismus und das Nachtleben überhaupt.

N.p.: n.p., 1820?

See Archiv für den thierischen Magnetismus (entry number 269). [H]

301. Deleuze, Joseph Philippe François.

Observations adressées aux médecins qui désireraient établir un traitement magnétique. Paris: Belin Le Prieur, 1821, 20 pp.

An appeal by Deleuze to the medical profession for the acceptance of animal magnetism as a healing resource. [H]

302. Du Potet de Sennevoy, Jules Denis.

Exposé des expériences sur le magnétisme animal faites à l’Hôtel Dieu de Paris pendant les mois d’octobre, novembre et décembre 1820. Paris: Béchet, 1821, 78 pp.

Du Potet was one of the most important and influential investigators of animal magnetism in nineteenth-century France. He had early proved himself to be an extremely effective magnetizer, and when Dr. Husson, who worked at the Hospital of the Hôtel-Dieu de Paris, was looking for someone to help him with experiments in magnetic somnambulism, Du Potet was chosen. This book is an account of those experiments. It is one of the more significant books in the field, since it marks the beginning of a series of events that led to the establishment of a new French commission to investigate animal magnetism, which eventually produced a positive report. Not only a good magnetizer, Du Potet was also an excellent lecturer and writer. His lecture demonstration in London caught John Elliotson’s attention and initiated his interest in animal magnetism. He had a somewhat mystical view of animal magnetism, but his many books were for the most part very practical. Du Potet was the editor-founder of the important Journal de magnétisme (entry number 518). Exposé des expériences went through a number of editions, the fourth being included as a part of a work written by Du Potet in 1846 called Manuel de l’étudiant magnétiseur (entry number 534). [H]

303. Dupau, Jean Amédée.

“Analyse raisonée de l’ouvrage intitulé: Le magnétisme éclairé, ou Introduction aux Archives du magnétisme animal.” Revue médical historique et philosophique 2 (1821): 20–69.

An important review of Le magnétisme éclairé by Hénin de Cuvillers (see entry number 298). [H]

304. [Hannapier, C. R.]

Tératoscopie du fluide vital de la mensambulance, ou démonstration physiologique et psychologique de la possibilité d’une infinité de prodiges réputés fabuleux, ou attribués par l’ignorance des philosophes et par la superstition des ignorants à des causes fausses et imaginaires. Paris: Dentu, 1821, 392 pp.

Discusses somnambulism (“mensambulance”) as a natural phenomenon that can explain many things considered to be supernatural. [H]

305. Hénin de Cuvillers, Etienne Félix, baron d’.

La moral chrétienne vengée, ou réflexions sur les crimes commis sous les prétextes spécieux de la gloire de Dieu et des intérêts de la religion et observations historiques et philosophiques sur les faux miracles opérés par le magnétisme animal. Paris: Barrois, 1821, 319 pp.

Another massive work by Hénin de Cuvillers on the subject of the historical antecedents of animal magnetism. In this work he describes the truth mixed with error in such practices as the “healing touch,” the wearing of talismans, and the practices of magic, emphasizing the ways in which religions have misused the power inherent in their healing practices. [H]

306. Hénin de Cuvillers, Etienne Félix, baron d’.

Le magnétisme animal retrouvé dans l’antiquité ou dissertation historique, étymologique et mythologique sur Esculape, Hippocrate et Galien, sur Apis, Sérapis ou Osiris et sur Isis suivie de recherches sur l’alchimie. Paris: Barrois, 1821, 432 pp.

Like the author’s Le magnétisme éclairé (entry number 298), this book is made up of selections from his Archives du magnétisme animal. The second edition apparently had the title: Le magnétisme animal fantaziéxoussique retrouvé dans l’antiquité. . . . [H]

307. [Panin, ———.]

Abrégé de la pratique du magnétisme animal au dix-huitième et dix-neuvième siècles, ou Tableau alphabétique des principales cures opérées depuis Mesmer jusqu à nos jours. Geneva and Paris: 1821, 225 pp.

[H]

308. Passavant, Johann Carl.

Untersuchungen über den Lebensmagnetismus und das Hellsehen. Frankfurt: H. L. Bronner, 1821, xii + 430 + (1) pp.

Passavant writes about the “magic power” of the human spirit and its relevance to healing and medicine. He views it as both natural and religious. He deals with somnambulism resulting from magnetizing and describes the phenomena of sympathy (rapport) and clairvoyance. He also examines natural somnambulism and clairvoyance; clairvoyance in dreams, in sickness, near death, in contemplation; and prophetic clairvoyance. [H & P]

309. Hénin de Cuvillers, Etienne Félix, baron d’.

Exposition critique du système et de la doctrine mystique des magnétistes. Paris: Barrois, Belin le Prieur, Treuttel et Wurtz, and Delaunay, 1822, x + (11)–424 pp.

One of a number of books by Hénin de Cuvillers consisting of selections from his Archives du magnétisme animal (see entry number 248). This work concentrates on certain mystical aspects of the doctrine of animal magnetism considered by the author to be embodied in the writings of many religious and spiritual writers over the centuries. The last forty pages of the book give a concise summary of the views of the author on animal magnetism and its history since Mesmer. [H]

310. Kieser, Dietrich Georg.

System des Tellurismus oder thierischen Magnetismus. Ein Handbuch für Naturforscher und Aerzte. 2 vols. Leipzig: F. L. Herbig, (2) + xxx + (1) + 478; (2) + 602 + (3) pp.

A physician, Privy Councillor, and professor at Jena, Kieser was a strong supporter of animal magnetism and heavily involved in investigating the clairvoyant qualities of magnetic somnambulists. He called the essential agent of animal magnetism “telluric power,” associating animal magnetism with a generalized magnetic force. In this lengthy and important work, he describes mineral, vegetable, and animal magnetism, attempting to provide a foundation in physics for animal magnetic phenomena. Kieser says that sleep is a general expression of magnetic life and that somnambulism is a natural product of the application of animal magnetic techniques. In describing magnetic healing, he places some emphasis on the power of belief as supplementary to the healing power of animal magnetism itself. The second volume contains a history of animal magnetism and a good bibliography. [H]

311. Lillbopp, C. P. E.

Die Wunder des Christentums und deren Verhältnis zum tierischen Magnetismus, mit Berücksichtigung der neuesten Wunderheilungen nach römisch-Kathol. Principien. Mainz: Muller, 1822.

[H]

312. Wesermann, H. M.

Der Magnetismus und die allgemeine Weltsprache. Creveld and Cologne: Johann Heinrich Runcke (Creveld) and Johann Peter Bachern (Cologne), 1822, vii + 271 + (1) pp.

This work was intended as an introduction to the theory and practice of animal magnetism. Information and cases are drawn from a variety of sources. [H]

313. Bertrand, Alexandre.

Traité du somnambulisme, et des différentes modifications qu’il presente. Paris: J. G. Dentu, 1823, (4) + iv + 321 pp.

In his rather short life, the physician Bertrand wrote two important books on animal magnetism. The first of the two is one of the most thorough works on somnambulism written to that date. Here Bertrand discusses the nature of somnambulism from his own experiments and those of others. He describes the phenomena associated with artificial somnambulism, both the more ordinary phenomena and those which seem extraordinary or paranormal. Among other things, Bertrand describes somnambulists’ visions of magnetic fluid emanating from the fingers of the magnetizer, a phenomenon first noted by Tardy de Montravel (Essai. . ., entry number 152). In his second book (Du magnétisme animal en France . . . , entry number 324), Bertrand will change his mind about the magnetic fluid, denying that it has any objective existence. This book also has a section on somnambulistic ecstasy. [H]

314. [Dalloz, A. L. J.]

Entretiens sur le magnétisme animal et le sommeil magnétique dit somnambulisme, dévoilant cette double doctrine et pouvant servir à en porter un jugement raisonné. Paris: Deschamps, 1823, (4) + iii + 359 + (1) pp.

[H & P]

315. Oegger, V. G. E.

Traité philosophique sur la nature de l’âme et des facultés, où l’on examine le rapport qu’ont avec la morale, le magnétisme de M. Mesmer et le système de Gall. Paris: Eberhart, 1823, ii + 184 pp.

[H & P]

316. Ennemoser, Joseph.

Historisch-psychologische Untersuchungen über den Ursprung und das Wesen der menschlichen Seele überhaupt, und über die beseelung des Kindes insbesondere. Bonn: Buschler, 1824, (1) + 129 + (1) pp.

[P]

317. Kerner, Justinus Andreas Christian.

Geschichte zweyer Somnambulen. Nebst einigen andern Denkwürdigkeiten aus dem Gebiete der magischen Heilkunde und der Psychologie. Karlsruhe: G. Braun, x + 452 + (1) pp.

Justinus Kerner, a physician and poet of some note, developed a strong interest in animal magnetism and particularly the clairvoyant and ecstatic phenomena associated with it. This is his first work in the area and deals with his magnetic treatment of two young women, the first treatment starting in 1816 and the second in 1822. Kerner believed the somnambulistic pronouncements of these women to be valuable sources of information about the soul and the spiritual life. [H & P]

318. [Puységur, Armand Marie Jacques de Chastenet, marquis de.]

Journal du traitement magnétique d’un jeune soldat, cavalier dans le régiment des lanciers de la garde royale, attaqué d’un mal à la cheville du pied, dégénéré en ulcère-fistuleux. N.p.: n.p., (1824), 76 pp.

[H]

319. Robert, ———.

Recherches et considérations critiques sur le magnétisme animal avec un programme relatif au somnambulisme aritificiel ou magnétique traduit du latin du docteur Metzger accompangné de notes et suivi de réflexions morales ou pensées détachées applicables au sujet. Paris: Baillière and Dentu, 1824, 396 pp.

[H]

320. Deleuze, Joseph Philippe François.

Instruction pratique sur le magnétisme animal, suivie d’un lettre écrite à l’auteur par un médecin étranger. Paris: Dentu, 1825, (4) + 468 + (4) pp. English: Practical Instruction in Animal Magnetism. Translated by Thomas C. Hartshorn. Providence: B. Cranston & Co., 1837.

One of the most popular manuals for the practice of animal magnetism ever written. It went through at least four editions in thirty years in France and was translated into a number of foreign languages. Deleuze’s instructions are clear and balanced in tone. He emphasizes that animal magnetism is intended to be a source of benefit, a healing power for those in distress. It is not, in his opinion, a good idea to try placing the individual being magnetized into a state of somnambulism simply to be able to satisfy one’s curiosity about that phenomenon. The tone of the manual is reminiscent of that of Puységur, Deleuze’s inspiration. The good will of the magnetizer is of paramount importance to the outcome of the treatment. Deleuze accepts the existence of a magnetic fluid and describes how objects may be employed as receptacles for that fluid and used later in the healing process. The letter referred to takes up 36 pages of the text and is from the German physician Koreff. [H]

321. Foissac, Pierre.

Mémoire sur le magnétisme animal adressé à MM. les membres de l’Académie des sciences et de l’Académie de médecine. Paris: Didot le jeune, 1825, 10 pp.

In an appeal to the Academies of Science and of Medicine in Paris, Foissac calls for an investigation into the genuineness of the phenomena of animal magnetism, about which so much controversy was then raging. Foissac’s proposal was debated by the Academy of Medicine and an investigatory commission was established in 1826. [H & P]

322. Rostan, Louis.

Du magnétisme animal. Paris: Rignoux, 1825 (2) + 49 pp.

Rostan, physician at the Hospice de la vieillesse, wrote this article for the 1824 issue of the Dictionnaire de médecine. In this work Rostan is mainly concerned with the genuineness of the phenomena of magnetic somnambulism. He says that since there is so much controversy about the subject, he can only state the conclusions he has arrived at from his own experience, without claiming to have the last word on the matter. He concedes that animal magnetism does produce a “modification of the nervous system,” and that this modification can bring about salutary effects on the health of the magnetic subject. But Rostan has serious doubts about the reality of the allegedly paranormal magnetic phenomena, such as clairvoyance. He points out that since the will of the magnetizer is necessarily involved in producing the magnetic state, there is a great deal of room for error in observing such phenomena, since the wish can deceive one about the fact. [H]

323. Sphinx: Neues Archiv für den thierischen Magnetismus und das Nachtleben überhaupt.

N.p.: n.p., 1825.

See Archiv für den thierischen Magnetismus (entry number 269). [H]

324. Bertrand, Alexandre Jacques François.

Du magnétisme animal en France, et des jugements qu’en ont portés les sociétés savantes, avec le texte des divers rapports faits en 1784 par les commissaires de l’Académie des sciences, de la Faculté et de la Société royale de médecine, et une analyse des dernières séances de l’Académie royale de médecine et du rapport de M. Husso; suivi de considérations sur l’apparition de l’extase, dans les traitements magnétiques. Paris: J. B. Baillière, 1826, (4) + 539 pp.

Du magnétisme animal is one of the most important works on the history and theory of animal magnetism, and Bertrand’s second book on the subject. Between the writing of his first book (Traité du somnambulisme, entry number 313) and this one, Bertrand changes his mind about the true nature of animal magnetism and magnetic somnambulism. He no longer accepts the existence of a universal magnetic fluid as the agent that produces the phenomena associated with animal magnetism, even though he maintains the genuineness of the phenomena themselves. Bertrand believes that evidence often cited in favor of the existence of the fluid (e.g., claims of somnambulists to be able to see the fluid emanating from the fingertips of the magnetizer) is largely based on preconceived ideas that affect the imaginations and expectations of both magnetizer and magnetic subject. With this acknowledgement of the importance of suggestion, Bertrand anticipates the ideas of Braid about the true nature of animal magnetic phenomena. Most of the book is devoted to the history of animal magnetism and is one of the best sources for that subject up to the time of its publication. It includes the reports of the French commissions of 1784 (including the secret report) and also a report of the Academy of Medicine written by Husson and delivered in 1825. The second part of the book takes up the subject of ecstasy and its relationship to somnambulism. This part has a very valuable discussion of the history of ecstatic phenomena over the ages. [H]

325. [Chardel, Casimir Marie Marcellin Pierre Célestin.]

Esquisse de la nature humaine expliquée par le magnétisme animal précédée d’un aperçu du système général de l’univers, et contenant l’explication du somnambulisme magnétique et de tous les phénomènes du magnétisme animal. Paris: Dentu et Delaunay, 1826, 368 pp.

A very ambitious work intended as an analysis of human nature in the context of an understanding of the whole of nature. The last section is devoted to animal magnetism and the light it sheds on the problem. Chardel mentions an unusual case of somnambulism that continued over a period of months. [H]

326. Deleuze, Joseph Philippe François.

Lettre à messieurs les membres de l’académie de médecine, sur la marche qui convient de suivre pour fixer l’opinion publique relativement à la réalité du magnétisme animal, aux avantages qu’on peut en retirer, et aux dangers qu’il présente lorsqu’on en fait une application inconsidérée. Paris: Béchet jeune, 1826, 36 pp.

A letter to the French Academy of Medicine with suggestions about how to make known to the public in a balanced way the facts connected with the practice of animal magnetism. [H]

327. Dissertation sur la médecine et le magnétisme, triomphe du somnambulisme.

Paris: Doyen, 1826, 80 pp.

[H]

328. Dupau, Jean Amédée.

Lettres physiologiques et morales sur le magnétisme animal, contenant l’exposé critique des expériences les plus récentes, et une nouvelle théorie sur ses causes, ses phénomènes et ses applications à la médecine; adressées à M. le Professeur Alibert. Paris: Gabon et al., 1826, xii + (2) + 248 pp.

Dupau writes of his belief that animal magnetism has not been proven to be anything more than the work of imagination. He agrees that real effects take place, but is not convinced that they are the result of a magnetic fluid. Dupau also criticizes the statements of certain writers who have witnessed the “higher phenomena” of somnambulism, saying that their observations may have been faulty. [H]

329. Foissac, Pierre.

Second mémoire sur le magnétisme animal. Observations particulières sur une somnambule présentée à la commission nommée par l’Académie royale de médecine pour l’examen du magnétisme animal. Paris: n.p., 1826, 37 pp.

Foissac’s first Mémoire (entry number 321) had led to the establishment of the Commission of the Royal Academy of Medicine to investigate animal magnetism. This second Mémoire supports the use of animal magnetism as a supplement to conventional medical procedures. [H]

330. L’Hermes, Journal du magnétisme animal. Publié par une Société de Médecins.

Vols. 1–4; 1826–1827.

An important journal on animal magnetism that included among its contributors Deleuze, Foissac and Judel. [H]

331. [Mialle, Simon.]

Exposé par ordre alphabétique des cures opérées en France par le magnétisme animal, depuis Mesmer jusqu’à nos jours (1774–1826), ouvrage où l’on a réuni les attestations de plus de 200 médecins, tant magnétiseurs que témoins, ou guéris par le magnétisme. Suivi d’un catalogue complet des ouvrages français qui ont été publiés pour, sur ou contre le magnétisme. 2 vols. Paris: J. G. Dentu, 1826, (4) + xli + (3) + 612; (4) + 543 + (1) pp.

Mialle, a strong supporter of animal magnetism and a good scholar, describes the cures accomplished by animal magnetism from 1774 to 1826. He reports these in an order which is alphabetical by disease, starting with “abcès.” Listing the person treated, the magnetizer, the procedures used, the results, and the source of his information, Mialle also has a lengthy bibliography at the end and a useful index. The work is dedicated to the memory of the Marquis de Puységur. [H]

332. [Chardel, Casimir Marie Marcellin Pierre Célestin.]

Observations de l’auteur de l’Esquisse de la nature humaine sur l’article magnétisme animal, inséré dans le 13e volume du dictionnaire de médecine par le Dr Rostan. Paris: n.p., 1827, 12 pp.

Chardel’s comments on Rostan’s famous essay on animal magnetism (see entry number 322). [H]

333. [Crampon, ———.]

Le magnétisme animal à l’usage des gens du monde suivi de quelques lettres en opposition à ce mode de guérison. Le Havre: Chapelle, 1827, 79 pp.

The author was criticized by a local paper about certain cures he performed through animal magnetism. This is his response to that criticism. [H]

334. Le propagateur du magnétisme animal. Journal destiné à la publication des faits et des expériences, etc., de l’histoire du magnétisme etc., de la critique des ouvrages etc. etc., par une Société de médecins.

Vols. 1–2; 1827–1828.

Edited by Jules Du Potet and Pierre Jean Chapelain and published in Paris. [H]

335. Lordat, Jacques.

Réponse à la lettre de M. le Docteur Cazaintre sur un cas de transposition des sens. Montpellier: n.p., 1827, 30 pp.

A treatise confirming the reality of the transposition of the senses to different parts of the body of a magnetized subject. The author was a professor of medicine at Montpellier. [H]

336. Deleuze, Joseph Phillipe François.

De l’état actuel du magnétisme. . . . (Paris): n.p., 1828, 24 pp.

[H]

337. Marne, M. . . . de la.

Étude raisonnée du magnétisme animal et preuves de l’intervention des puissances infernales dans les phénomènes du somnambulisme magnétique. Paris and Lyon: Gaume, Rusand (Paris) and Rusand (Lyon), 1828, 36 pp.

Presents a viewpoint earlier expressed by Fiard (entry number 223) and others: that animal magnetism and the phenomena of magnetic somnambulism are real, but the work of the devil. [H & P]

338. Sue, G. A. T.

Discours sur le magnétisme animal, lu à la séance publique de la Société royale de médecine de Marseille tenue le 11 novembre 1827. Marseilles: Achard, 1828, 24 pp.

[H]

339. Chevenix, R.

“On Mesmerism, Improperly Denominated Animal Magnetism.” London Medical and Physical Journal, March, June, August, October, 1829.

Chevenix had been trained in animal magnetism in Paris and in 1829 brought it to England. Although animal magnetism had been introduced in the 1790’s it had not established itself as a respectable undertaking. However, when Chevenix made some demonstrations in 1829, the physician John Elliotson saw them and was impressed. This marked a new era for animal magnetism in Britain and these articles describe Chevenix’s approach to the subject. [H]

340. Du Commun, Joseph.

Three Lectures on Animal Magnetism, as Delivered in New York, at the Hall of Science, on the 26th of July, 2d and 9th of August. New York: Berard & Mondon, 1829, 78 pp.

The earliest treatise on animal magnetism published in the United States. Du Commun, a contributor to Annales du magnétisme animal, practiced animal magnetism in Paris before coming to the United States and teaching French at the West Point Military Academy. These lectures are a well-constructed, popular-style introduction to animal magnetism. The first lecture covers the history of animal magnetism, the second deals with its applications and effects, while the third lecture discusses theory. Du Commun was acquainted with King Charles X, France’s reigning monarch at the time of these lectures. In 1814 he presented Charles with the first three volumes of the Annales du magnétisme animal (entry number 248), which the king received approvingly. Charles X (previously known as the Comte d’Artois, to whom Charles D’Eslon had been personal physician) had, in 1826, appointed a commission drawn from the Royal Academy of Medicine to investigate the genuineness of the phenomena of animal magnetism. In these lectures, Du Commun states his belief that, since the king is favorable to animal magnetism, it would soon be accepted with the respect that was its due. [H]

341. Kerner, Justinus Andreas Christian.

Die Seherin von Prevorst; Eröffnungen über das innere Leben des Menschen und über das Hereinragen einer Geisterwelt in die unsere. 2 vols. Stuttgart and Tübingen: J. G. Cotta, 1829. English: Seeress of Prevorst. Being Revelations Concerning the Inner-Life of Man, and the Inter-Diffusion of a World of Spirits in the One We Inhabit. Translated by Catherine Crowe. London: J. C. Moore, 1845.

Justinus Kerner, physician and poet, had become acquainted with animal magnetism through Eberhard Gmelin (1751–1808) and soon developed a keen interest in the apparent clairvoyant and visionary powers of somnambulists. In 1826 a young woman, Friederike Hauffe, was brought to Kerner in a state of severe depression. She was also in bad physical shape, and Kerner undertook her physical and psychological treatment. This book is an account of that undertaking. Early in his treatment of Friederike Hauffe, Kerner decided to use animal magnetism. The woman was a good subject and easily became somnambulistic. In her trance states, she had visions, premonitions, and clairvoyant experiences. Kerner believed in the genuineness of these phenomena, recording them with great care in this account. [H & P]

342. [Villenave, Mathieu Guillaume Thérèse de.]

La vérité du magnétisme prouvée par les faits; extraits des notes et des papiers de Mme Alina D’Eldir, née dans l’Hindoustan, par un ami de la vérité; suivie d’une notice inédite sur Mesmer, qui avait été composée et mise en page pour la “Biographie Universelle.” Paris: n.p., 1829, 103 pp.

[H]

343. Eschenmayer, Carl Adolph von.

Mysterien des innern Lebens; erläutert aus der Geschichte der Seherin von Prevorst, mit Berücksichtigung der bisher erschienenen Kritiken. Tübingen: Guttenberg, 1830, xviii + 176 pp.

Eschenmayer was a physician, philosophy professor, and co-editor of Archiv für den thierischen Magnetismus (entry number 269). Following in the vein of Jung-Stilling, Eschenmayer was interested in the occult and mystical implications of animal magnetism. Eschenmayer was a friend of Justinus Kerner (1786–1862), and this book contains comments and reflections on Kerner’s famous “Seeress of Prevorst.” [H & P]

344. Horst, Georg Conrad.

Deuteroskoppie, oder merkwürdige psychische und physiologische Erscheinungen und Probleme aus dem Gebiete der Pneumatologie. Für Religionsphilosophen, Psychologen und denkende Aerzte. Eine nothige Beilage zur Dämono-magie, wie zur Zauber-Bibliothek. 2 vols. Frankfurt: Wilmans, 1830, 256; 264 pp.

Well known in its day, a thorough study of the phenomenon of “second sight.” [P]

345. Macnish, Robert.

The Philosophy of Sleep. Glasgow: W. R. M’Phun, 1830, xi + 268 pp.

Macnish’s well-known treatise on sleep has sections on sleepwalking, sleep-talking and trance with comparisons to magnetic sleep. He also refers to the Mary Reynolds case of dual or alternating personality, but not by name. This omission led to confusion among some later writers who mention Mary Reynolds and “the lady of Macnish” as two separate cases of multiple personality. [H]

346. Newnham, William.

Essay on Superstition; Being an Inquiry into the Effects of Physical Influence on the Mind, in the Production of Dreams, Visions, Ghosts, and Other Supernatural Appearances. London: J. Hatchard and Son, 1830, xvi + 430 + (2) pp.

A little-known work of real significance for the history of both animal magnetism and of physical research. Newnham wrote the book under the patronage of the Bishop of Winchester and it was clearly an attempt to use physiological and psychological terms to explain supernatural or supernormal phenomena which embarrass the Church. Newnham does not deny the possible existence of supernormal phenomena, but he believes that since there are natural explanations for so many instances, one would have to be open to the idea that natural explanations apply to all. Newnham’s chapters on sleep, dreams and somnambulism include an appreciative discussion of animal magnetism. This appeared seven years before Elliotson’s invitation to Du Potet to do medical experiments with animal magnetism at London’s University Hospital and started a strong wave of interest in the subject throughout England. [H & P]

347. Le visionnaire, ou la victime imaginaire du magnétisme. Histoire véritable, contenant la description d’une monomanie sans exemple et dans laquelle sont consignés les lettres autographes, ainsi que les réflexions, traits de démence et récits du monomane; le tout précédé d’une esquisse sur sa vie et ses actions jusqu’à ce jour.

Stuttgart: Charles Hoffmann, 1830, 152 pp.

[H]

348. Blatter aus Prevorst. Originalen und Lebenfruchte für Freunde des innern Lebens.

Vols. 1–12; 1831–1839.

Continued as: Magikon: Archiv für Biobachtungen aus dem Gebiete der Geisterkunde und des magnetischen und magischen Lebens. Nebst andern Zugeben für Freunde des Innern. Vols. 1–5; 1840–1853. Published at Stuttgart and originally edited by Justinus Kerner (1786–1862) and A. C. A. von Eschenmayer (1768–1852), this periodical published articles giving information about developments in the areas of the occult and animal magnetism. It contains stories and descriptions of cases of magnetic cures, hauntings, and mysterious phenomena in general. [H & P]

349. Chardel, Casimir Marie Marcellin Pierre Célestin.

Essai de psychologie physiologique. Paris: Encyclopédie Portative, 1831, xxiv + 372 pp.

A detailed study of the nature of animal magnetism and its phenomena. In this work Chardel makes a serious attempt to incorporate animal magnetism into an elaborate philosophical and religious system. He believes in the reality of the magnetic fluid, although he recognizes the powerful influence the imagination can have over the body. Discussing questions related to apparitions and the spiritual life in general, he suggests that both magnetic cures and ecstatic spiritual communication are valid human experiences that reveal the two sides of human nature: the material and the spiritual. [H]

350. Husson, Henri Marie.

Rapport sur les expériences magnétiques faites par la commission de l’Académie royale de médecine, lu dans les séances des 21 et 28 Juin, par M. Husson, rapporteur. (Paris): n.p., 1831, 96 pp.

The report of the findings of the commission set up by the Royal Academy of Medicine of Paris to look into animal magnetism. Husson was the reporter of the commission and so the report bears his name. The report was favorable to animal magnetism, describing experiences of healing through animal magnetism and instances of paranormal phenomena connected with somnambulism. The report was published in its entirety in the book by Foissac: Rapports et discussions de l’Académie royale de médecine (entry number 355). [H]

351. Kieser, Dietrich Georg.

Über die eigentümliche Seelenstörung der sogenannten “Seherin von Prevorst.” Berlin: Vereins Buchhandlung, 1831, (3) + 52 pp.

[H & P]

352. Brierre de Boismont, Alexandre Jacques François.

Des hallucinations ou histoire raisonnée des apparitions, des visions, des songes, de l’extase, des rêves, du magnétisme et du somnambulisme. Paris: G. Baillière, 1832, xv + 719 pp.

A remarkably comprehensive and particularly valuable study of hallucinations. The author provides a vast panorama of instances of hallucination of all kinds over the ages, such as those associated with various types of insanity, those experienced by hysterics, the hallucinations of nightmares and dreams, hallucinations experienced in the state of ecstasy or somnambulism produced by animal magnetism, those connected with fever, etc. Brierre de Boismont believes there are two types of causes of hallucinations: the moral (or psychological) and the physical. He also describes the way hallucinations begin, how they are diagnosed and how they may be treated. [H & P]

353. Fillassier, Alfred.

Quelques faits et considérations pour servir à l’histoire du magnétisme animal. Thèse No. 243. Paris: Didot, 1832, 91 pp.

A medical thesis written on animal magnetism. It focusses on the phenomenon of the “transposition of the senses” first noted by Tardy de Montravel and Petetin. This refers to an apparent change of location of the sense of hearing, for example, from the ears to the stomach, that occurred while the subject was in a somnambulistic state. [H]

354. Colquhoun, John Campbell, ed.

Report of the Experiments on Animal Magnetism, Made by a Committee of the Medical Section of the French Royal Academy of Sciences: Read at the Meetings of the 21st and 28th of June, 1831, Translated and Now for the First Time Published; with an Historical and Explanatory Introduction, and an Appendix. Edinburgh: Robert Cadell, 1833, xii + 252 pp.

An English translation of the favorable report on animal magnetism made by the French Royal Academy of Medicine (see Husson, Rapport sur les expériences magnétiques . . . , entry number 350). The translation is preceded by a long introduction by Colquhoun, who was one of animal magnetism’s staunchest supporters in England. This book constitutes, in fact, the first edition of what Colquhoun would later call Isis Revelata (entry number 372). Colquhoun states in the title that the report is “now for the first time published” because the original French edition by Husson was very rare and never broadly distributed publicly. [H]

355. Foissac, Pierre.

Rapports et discussions de l’académie royale de médecine sur le magnétisme animal, recueillis par un sténographe, et publiés, avec des notes explicatives. Paris: J. B. Baillière, 1833, 561 pp.

It reports the studies and discussions carried out by the commission appointed by the academies of science and medicine of Paris to investigate animal magnetism and originally set up at the suggestion of Foissac who wrote a mémoire on the matter in 1825 (entry number 321). The conclusions of the commission, stated here, are very favorable to animal magnetism, pointing out its usefulness as well as its limitations. [H]

356. [Kerner, Justinus.]

Über das Besessenseyn oder das Daseyn und den Einfluss des boesen Geisterreichs in der alten Zeit. Mit Berücksichtungen dämonischen Besitzungen der neuen Zeit. Heilbronn: Drechsler, 1833, 116 pp.

[H & P]

357. Beiden, Lemuel W.

An Account of Jane C. Rider, the Springfield Somnambulist: the Substance of which was Delivered as a Lecture Before the Springfield Lyceum, Jan. 22, 1834. Springfield, Massachusetts: G. and C. Merriam, 1834, viii + (9)–134 + (1) pp.

This appears to be one of the earliest full-length accounts of a case of spontaneous somnambulism accompanied by clairvoyance and double memory to be published in the United States. The phenomena reported are identical to those that were at the time manifesting in magnetic somnambulism, but the author was unwilling to ascribe Jane Rider’s feats to that source. [H & P]

358. Deleuze, Joseph Philippe François.

Mémoire sur la faculté de prévision: suivi des notes et pièces justificatives recueillis par M. Mialle. Paris: Crochard, 1834, 160 pp.

Deleuze looks into the ancient history of “prevision” (foreseeing the future) and also takes note of contemporary instances. Believing that prevision is not to be explained in terms of some supernatural power, he suggests that it is the result of an instinctive collation of information available to the subject. [H & P]

359. Du Potet de Sennevoy, Jules Denis.

Cours de magnétisme animal. Paris: The Author, 1834, 456 pp.

The second edition of this book is called Cours de magnétisme en 7 leçons, augm. d’un rapport sur les expériences magnétiques faites par la commission de l’Académie de médecine en 1831. The third edition is titled Traité complet de magnétisme animal. Each new edition was heavily revised and augmented, the third ending up with 626 pages. In its final form it has twelve lessons and it deals with the history of animal magnetism, discussing certain theoretical and practical aspects in that context. In the process Du Potet manages to mention the opinions of many of the chief French investigators of animal magnetism, and a few from outside France. In the tenth lesson, he takes up the subject of magnetic somnambulism and communication with spirits. In the eleventh he deals with hallucinations and apparitions. The final lesson is concerned with the surgical use of animal magnetism, including the less-known operations performed at Cherbourg. [H & P]

360. Jozwik, Albert.

Dissertation sur le magnétisme animal, thèse soutenue à la Faculté de Paris le 13 août 1834. Paris: Didot, 1834, 12 pp.

One of a number of medical theses on animal magnetism submitted in the mid-nineteenth century. [H]

361. Kerner, Justinus Andreas Christian.

Geschichten Besessener neurerer Zeit. Beobachtungen aus dem Gebiete kakodämonisch-magnetischer Erscheinungen. Nebst Reflexionen von C. A. Eschenmayer über Bessessenseyn und Zauber. Stuttgart: Wachendorf, 1834, vii + 195 pp.

An account of apparent possession of a peasant girl who passed on communications from the possessing entity who appeared to her in a monklike costume. The entity told a sordid story of immoral sex and murder alleged to have taken place in the house now occupied by the girl and her family. Kerner relates how, at the urging of the apparition, the house was torn down, ancient bones of adults and children were found, and the possession was brought to an end. [P]

362. Leonard, ———.

Magnétisme, son histoire, sa théorie, son application au traitement des maladies, mémoire envoyé à l’Académie de Berlin. Paris: Duvignau, 1834, 76 pp.

An essay written in response to a request for papers by the Academy of Berlin. The subject is animal magnetism, its history and its practical use. [H]

363. Maine de Biran, Marie François Pierre Gonthier de Biran dit.

Nouvelles considérations sur le sommeil, les songes et le somnambulisme; mémoire posthume de M. Maine de Biran, lu à l’Académie des sciences morales et politiques, le 31 mai, 1834, par M. V. Cousin. N.p.: n.p., (1834), 77 pp.

A study of sleep and somnambulism written by a well-known philosopher, and published posthumously. The author discusses the state of the body during sleep, the suspension of will and the persistence of other faculties. He examines the various types of dreams and investigates somnambulism, which he considers to be a special kind of dream. [H]

364. Simon, Claude Gabriel.

Mémoire sur le magnétisme animal et sur son application au traitement des maladies mentales, lu au Congrès scientifique de Poitiers, le 11 septembre 1834. Paris: Guiraudet et Jouaust, 1834, 19 pp.

[H]

365. Berna, Didier Jules.

Expériences et considérations à l’appui du magnétisme animal, thèse présentée et soutenue à la faculté de Paris. Paris: n.p., 1835, 40 pp.

In this treatise presented to the Paris Faculty of Medicine, Berna proposes to demonstrate the reality of the psychic phenomena of animal magnetism. His proposal was accepted by the Royal Academy of Medicine, which allowed Berna to use his own subjects for the experiments. [H]

366. Les dangers du magnétisme animal.

Paris: Leclerc et Delossy, 1835, 23 pp.

The author sees animal magnetism as dangerous from both moral and physical points of view. [H]

367. Du Potet de Sennevoy, Jules Denis.

Discours sur le magnétisme animal prononcé le 13 février 1835 à l’Athénée central. (Paris): Mme de Lacombe, (1835), 32 pp.

Du Potet speaks in favor of the use of animal magnetism as a medical tool and points out the flaws of conventional medicine. [H]

368. Fechner, Gustav Theodor.

Das Buchlein vom Leben nach dem Tode. Leipzig: Insel-Verlag, (1835?), 59 pp.

[P]

369. Hammard, Charles Pierre Guillaume.

Expérience sur le magnétisme animal, thèse présentée et soutenue à la Faculté de médecine de Paris. Paris: n.p., 1835, 18 pp.

[H]

370. Lee, Edwin.

Animal Magnetism and Homeopathy; Being the Appendix to Observations on the Principal Medical Institutions and Practice of France, Italy, and Germany. London: Churchill, 1835, 40 pp.

[H]

371. Magnet.

One vol. only; 1835.

Published in Hanover, New Hampshire. Possibly the earliest American periodical devoted to animal magnetism. [H]

372. Colquhoun, John Campbell.

Isis Revelata; an Inquiry into the Origin, Progress & Present State of Animal Magnetism. 2 vols. Edinburgh: Maclachlan & Stewart, 1836, lii + 395; xii + 416 pp.

A revised and much enlarged version of the Report of the Experiments on Animal Magnetism . . . with an Historical and Explanatory Introduction and an Appendix published by Colquhoun in 1833 (entry number 354). The introduction of that small book was expanded into this major two-volume work on the history and meaning of animal magnetism. Isis Revelata was the only treatise written in English which attempted to give a far-reaching exposition of the historical and philosophical context of animal magnetism. As such it furnished a strong impetus to the establishment in England of animal magnetism as a subject worthy of serious consideration. It predated Elliotson’s introduction of animal magnetism as an anaesthetic into England (see Elliotson, entry number 474) and it prepared the way for the magnetic experiments of later British mesmerists such as Townshend, Mayo, Gregory and Haddock. [H]

373. Du Potet de Sennevoy, Jules Denis.

L’Université de Montpellier et le magnétisme animal, ou une vérité nouvelle en présence de vieilles erreurs. Béziers: Carrière, 1836, 71 pp.

Description of Du Potet’s encounter with the University of Montpellier and a talk he gave in Montpellier to a scientific congress. [H]

374. Husson, Henri Marie.

Report on the Magnetica! Experiments Made by the Commission of the Royal Academy of Medicine, of Paris, Read in the Meetings of June 21 and 28, 1831. by Mr. Husson, the Reporter, Translated from the French, and Preceded with an Introduction, by Charles Poyen St. Sauveur. Boston: D. K. Hitchcock, 1836, lxxi + (1) + 73–172 pp.

An English translation of the favorable French report on animal magnetism produced in 1831 by Husson (see entry number 350). The translator is Charles Poyen, a key figure in the early popularization of animal magnetism into the United States. His long introduction is an important document in itself, and so this item is listed separately from the French entry of the Report. [H]

375. Kerner, Justinus Andreas Christian.

Eine Erscheinung aus dem nachtgebiete der Natur, durch eine Reihe von Zeugen gerichtlich bestätigt und den Naturforschern zum Bedenken mitgetheilt. Stuttgart and Tübingen: J. G. Cotta, 1836, xlvi + 310 pp.

[P]

376. Kerner, Justinus Andreas Christian.

Nachricht von dem Vorkommen des Besessenseyns eines dämonisch-magnetischen Leidens und seiner schon im Alterthum bekannten Heilung durch magisch-magnetisches Einwirken, in einem Sendschreiben an den Herrn Obermedicinalrath Dr. Schelling in Stuttgart. Stuttgart and Augsburg: J. G. Cotta, 1836, (4) + 70 pp.

Kerner describes his method of treatment of apparent possession through a combination of religious, occult, and animal-magnetic techniques. [H & P]

377. Ricard, Jean Joseph Adolph.

Doctrine du magnétisme humain et du somnambulisme. Marseille: Vial, 1836, vi + 156 pp.

Ricard was editor of Journal de magnétisme animal (entry number 411) and a prolific writer in support of animal magnetism. The book contains a history of animal magnetism and a description of the techniques of Mesmer, Puységur, Deleuze, and others. [H]

378. Schopenhauer, Arthur.

Über den Willen in der Natur. Eine Erörterung der Bestätigungen, welche die Philosophie des Verfassers, seit ihrem Auftreten, durch die empirischen Wissenschaften erhalten hat. Frankfurt: S. Schmerber, 1836, 135 pp.

Contains a chapter called “Animalischer Magnetismus und Magie” in which Schopenhauer relates animal magnetism to his doctrine of will. [H & P]

379. Wirth, Johann Ulrich.

Theorie des Somnambulismus oder des thierischen Magnetismus. Ein Versuch, die Mysterien des magnetischen Lebens, den Rapport der Somnambulen mit dem Magnétiseur, ihre Ferngesichte und Ahnungen, und ihren Verkehr mit der Geisterwelt vom Standpunkte vorurtheilsfreier Kritik aus zu erhellen und erklären für Gebildete überhaupt, und für Mediciner und Theologe insbesondere. Leipzig and Stuttgart: J. Scheible, 1836, x + 334 + (2) pp.

Wirth was a philosopher and theologian who became interested in investigating the nature of animal magnetism. He begins his treatise with an examination of the connections between magnetic phenomena and incidents described in the Bible. He then undertakes a philosophical analysis of the experience of the somnambulist. Wirth was particularly concerned with subjective elements that might affect what the somnambulist feels or perceives. In this connection, he investigated the trustworthiness of the evidence of paranormal magnetic phenomena. He states his acceptance of the reality of mental communication between magnetizer and somnambulist, attributing it to the rapport that connects them. But he also notes that he uncovered what he considered to be deliberate fraud on the part of some somnambulists, and states that magnetizers should be more careful and critical in their experiments. [H & P]

380. Bell, John.

Animal magnetism: Past Fictions—Present Science. Philadelphia: Reprint from Select Medical Library and Eclectic Journal of Medicine, 1837, 16 pp.

[H]

381. Durant, Charles Ferson.

Exposition, or a New Theory of Animal Magnetism with a Key to the Mysteries: Demonstrated by Experiments with the Most Celebrated Somnambulists in America: also, Strictures on “Col. Wm. L. Stone’s Letter to Doctor A. Brigham.” New York: Wiley & Putnam, 1837, xi + 14–225 pp.

Durant attempts to refute the claims of the American animal magnetists. He is mainly concerned with showing that there is no reason to accept the reality of somnambulistic phenomena and clairvoyance. After conducting his own experiments, he concludes that the apparent effects of animal magnetism are simply the result of suggestibility and self-delusion. [H & P]

382. Frère, ———.

Examen du magnétisme animal. Paris: Gaume Frères, 1837, 172 pp.

An attempt to understand the nature of animal magnetism in the light of spiritual phenomena such as miracles, ecstasy and possession. [H & P]

383. Husson, Henri Marie.

Opinion prononcée par M. Husson à l’Académie de médecine séance du 22 août 1837 sur le rapport de M. Dubois (d’Amiens) relatif au magnétisme animal. Paris: n.p., 1837, 11 pp.

Husson, who authored the report favorable to animal magnetism in 1831 (Rapport sur les expériences magnétiques . . . , see entry number 350), here addresses himself to a new test for the genuineness of magnetic phenomena, initiated by the physician Berna (see Expériences et considérations . . . , entry number 365). The findings of these new trials were negative, but Husson argues that the results have no bearing on the validity of the earlier favorable report. [H & P]

384. Lee, Edwin.

Observations on the Principal Medical Institutions and Practice of France, Italy and Germany; with Notices of the Universities, and Cases from Hospital Practice. To Which is Added, An Appendix, on Animal Magnetism and Homeopathy. Philadelphia: Haswell, Barrington, and Haswell, 1837, 102 pp.

[H]

385. The Philosophy of Animal Magnetism Together with the System of Manipulating Adopted to Produce Ecstasy and Somnambulism—The Effects and Rationale. By a Gentleman of Philadelphia.

Philadelphia: Merrihew and Gunn, 1837, 112 pp.

Although there is no general agreement on the matter, this book has been attributed to Edgar Allan Poe. It presents the philosophy of animal magnetism and describes how to produce magnetic somnambulism. In the view of the author, animal magnetism connects body and mind and proves the existence of the soul. [H]

386. Poyen Saint Sauveur, Charles.

A Letter to Col. Wm. L. Stone, of New York, on the Facts Related in his Letter to Dr. Brigham, and a Plain Refutation of Durant’s Exposition of Animal Magnetism, &c. by Charles Poyen. With Remarks on the Manner in which the Claims of Animal Magnetism should be Met and Discussed. By a Member of the Massachusetts Bench. Boston: Weeks, Jordan and Company, 1837, 72 pp.

Poyen, one of animal magnetism’s principal promoters in the United States, here writes with appreciation of a treatise by William Stone (Letter to Doctor A. Brigham, on Animal Magnetism . . . , entry number 389). Poyen uses the occasion to take issue with a book by Charles Durant that attempts to deny the reality of animal magnetic phenomena and attributes them to suggestibility and delusion (see Exposition, or a New Theory of Animal Magnetism . . . , entry number 381). Poyen shows that Durant’s criticisms, far from being the original insights he claims them to be, are identical to those that had been voiced as part of the controversy over animal magnetism for decades. Poyen uses material from his own classes on animal magnetism, taught at Salem, Massachusetts, to support the claim for the genuineness of the phenomena in question. [H & P]

387. Poyen Saint Sauveur, Charles.

Progress of Animal Magnetism in New England. Being a Collection of Experiments, Reports and Certificates, from the Most Respectable Sources. Preceded by a Dissertation on the Proofs of Animal Magnetism. Boston: Weeks, Jordan & Co., 1837, vi + (2) + 13–212 pp.

A work of considerable significance for the history of animal magnetism and spiritualism in the United States. Although Joseph Du Commun was the first to lecture on animal magnetism in America, Poyen may rightly be thought of as having done more than any other to make the phenomenon widely known there. Poyen learned the art of magnetizing in 1832 while a medical student in his native France. He developed a great enthusiasm for mesmerism, no doubt in part because of the relief it had given him from a troublesome illness. When he came to the United States a few years later, he wanted to make the virtues of animal magnetism widely known in that country. He set about the task energetically and methodically, giving lectures on animal magnetism the length of the northeastern seaboard. Progress of Animal Magnetism is his account of that tour. Poyen was trained in the animal-magnetic tradition of Puységur and Deleuze. Both accepted the genuineness of clairvoyant episodes in connection with somnambulism. Poyen’s account shows that such clairvoyant experiences became common occurrences in the United States. Largely because of Poyen’s lectures and writings, the sight of a magnetizer and his professional somnambulist partner travelling from town to town, giving medical readings and clairvoyant demonstrations, was a common one by 1848 when events around the Fox sisters gave rise to the spiritualist movement. That movement was able to spread so rapidly and become so strongly rooted in American culture largely because of the mental climate created by widespread familiarity with animal magnetism. [H]

388. Le révélateur. Journal de magnétisme animal publié par une société de magnétiseurs.

One vol. only; 1837.

Published in Bordeaux and edited by J. J. A. Ricard. [H]

389. Stone, William Leete.

Letter to Doctor A. Brigham, on Animal Magnetism: Being an Account of a Remarkable Interview Between the Author and Miss Loraina Brackett While in a State of Somnambulism. New York: George Dearborn & Co., 1837, 76 pp.

Stone describes a letter he had received telling about a number of patients in Providence, Rhode Island, who were being treated with animal magnetism under the care of several physicians. Among those patients was a blind woman, Miss Loraina Brackett, who exhibited remarkable clairvoyant powers. Although unable to see, she could apparently pick out specific colored flowers and cloths at will and know the contents of sealed letters—all while in the state of magnetic somnambulism. This letter relates the contents of an interview Stone conducted with the woman. [H]

390. Annals of Animal Magnetism.

Vols. 1–?; 1838–?.

One of the earliest American periodicals on animal magnetism; edited by Samuel Underhill in Cleveland, Ohio. [H]

391. Barlow, William Frederick.

Remarks on animal magnetism. London: n.p., 1838, 16 pp.

Barlow asserts that the healing effects of animal magnetism are the result of the power of imagination. He compares cures worked through animal magnetism to those produced by the use of a magic amulet on those who believe in the power of such things. [H & P]

392. Berna, Didier Jules.

Magnétisme animal. Examen et réfutation du rapport fait par M. E. F. Dubois (d’Amiens) à l’Académie royale de médecine, le 8 août 1837, sur le magnétisme animal. Paris: Just. Rouvier, 1838, 116 pp.

Berna’s reply to the unfavorable report of the commission that had observed his attempts to demonstrate the psychic phenomena connected with animal magnetism. [H & P]

393. Billot, G. P.

Recherches psychologiques sur la cause des phénomènes extraordinaires observés chez les modernes voyans improprement dits somnambules magnétiques ou Correspondance sur le magnétisme vital entre un solitaire et M. Deleuze, bibliothécaire du Muséum à Paris. 2 vols. Paris: Albanel et Martin, 1838, 342; 368 + (4) pp.

One of the first lengthy treatments of spiritist-type phenomena occurring in animal magnetic sessions. Billot describes the creation of objects from thin air during these sessions. Deleuze responds that such things have been known to happen and refers to the experiences of, among others, the surgeon Chapelain. Both Deleuze and Billot believed in communication with the spirits of deceased human beings and to a degree this anticipates the spiritualist movement that would begin some ten years later. [H & P]

394. Charpentier, J. B. A.

Analyse du magnétisme de l’homme; manière de l’administrer comme guérison naturelle; des effets et des phénomènes qui en résultent. Paris: Rousseau, 1838, 35 pp.

[H]

395. Collyer, Robert Hanham.

Lights and Shadows of American Life. Boston: n.p., 1838, 40 pp.

Collyer was an Englishman who toured the eastern United States lecturing on phrenology. In response to widespread interest, he began to include mesmerism as a lecture topic and drew large crowds. This book is the diary he kept on the tour and is interesting not only for its description of mesmerism practice, but also as a source depicting American life at the time. [H]

396. Colquhoun, John Campbell.

Hints on Animal Magnetism, Addressed to the Medical Profession in Great Britain. Edinburgh: Maclachlan & Stewart, 1838, 48 pp.

An open letter to the medical practitioners of England, asking that they seriously consider the evidence with regard to the efficacy of animal magnetism as a cure for illness. Colquhoun also criticizes some of the critics of his Isis Revelata (entry number 372), including the respected Dr. John Elliotson. [H]

397. Defer, J. B. E.

Expériences sur le magnétisme animal. Metz: F. Robert, 1838, 32 pp.

A treatise on the practice of animal magnetism within a group. [H]

398. Donné, Alfred.

Mademoiselle Pigeaire, somnambulisme et magnétisme animal. Noyon: Soulas Amoudry, 1838, 50 pp.

A compilation of three articles published in the Journal des débats. The author concludes that the feats supposedly performed by Mademoiselle Pigeaire are not genuine. (see Pigeaire, entry number 416). [H & P]

399. Du Potet de Sennevoy, Jules Denis.

An Introduction to the Study of Animal Magnetism. London: Saunders and Otley, 1838, (1) + xi + 388 pp.

On invitation from Dr. John Elliotson, Du Potet came to England to demonstrate animal magnetism and teach its techniques. Elliotson set him up to practice in the North London Hospital. After strong objections from some medical colleagues, Elliotson had to ask Du Potet to carry on with his work in Du Potet’s own apartments in Cavendish Square. During this stay in London, Du Potet wrote this book as an introduction to animal magnetism for the English speaking world. The book begins with a French dedication, but the rest is written in English. It is a very good general treatise on animal magnetism, and is particularly useful in its sketches of the history of animal magnetism. Few books of the time give such a clear impression of the atmosphere of interest and controversy that surrounded animal magnetism in those years. The tone is personal, yet not overly subjective. One of the interesting points Du Potet makes is that in his view there are three main schools of animal magnetism: the original school of Mesmer (with emphasis on the physical fluid), the school of the Chevalier de Barberin at Lyon (emphasizing the work of the “soul” in magnetizing), and the school of the Marquis de Puységur (combining the physical treatment of Mesmer with the psychical treatment of de Barberin). The book has an appendix of reports of British practitioners in favor of animal magnetism. [H]

400. Reese, David Meredith.

Humbugs of New York: Being a Remonstrance Against Popular Delusions; Whether in Science, Philosophy, or Religion. New York and Boston: J. S. Taylor (New York) and Weeks, Jordan & Co. (Boston), 1838, xii + (13)–267 + (1) pp.

[H]

401. Sabatier-Desarnauds, Bernard.

Du magnétisme animal et du somnambulisme artificiel. Montpellier: Veuve Ricard, 1838, 59 pp.

[H]

402. Sur les faits qui semblent prouver une communication des somnambules avec let êtres spirituels et sur les consequences qu’on peut tirer de ces faits. (Extrait d’une lettre de M. ***, à M. Deleuze).

Paris: J. G. Dentu, (1838?), 63 pp.

An early discussion of communication with spirits in the magnetic state. The treatise is an extract from a letter to Deleuze and contains a response from him. [H & P]

403. Azais, Pierre Hyacinthe.

De la phrénologie du magnétisme et de la folie. Ouvrage dédié à la mémoire de Broussais. 2 vols. Paris: Desessart, 1839, (2) + xv + 365; (2) + 490 + (3) pp.

One of the first works to combine a knowledge of mesmerism with an interest in phrenology. [H]

404. Baudot, Louis Antoine.

Quelques mots sur le magnétisme animal, suivis d’une observation de variole congénitale. Rouen: Alleaume, 1839, 16 pp.

Brief description of the effects of animal magnetism in a particular case of illness. [H]

405. Bird, Friedrich.

Mesmerismus und Belletristik in ihren schädlichen Einflussen auf die Psychiatrie. Stuttgart: Hallberger, 1839, (3) + 96 pp.

[H]

406. Dardeps, ———.

Aperçu de quelques expériences magnétiques faites à Nimes. Bordeaux: Ramadié, 1839, 8 pp.

[H]

407. Dubreuil-Chambardel, ———.

Quelques réflexions sur le magnétisme animal, thèse. Paris: n.p., 1839, 80 pp.

This physiologically oriented thesis contains only a brief mention of animal magnetism. [H]

408. Fischer, Friedrich.

Der Somnambulismus. 3 vols. Basel: Schweighauser, 1839, (4) + 366; (4) + 272; (4) + 413 pp.

The first volume covers natural somnambulism in its various forms and discusses visions and hallucinations that sometimes occur in that state. The second volume discusses animal magnetism and somnabulism produced artificially. The third volume takes up clairvoyance and the phenomenon of possession. [H & P]

409. Frapart, ———.

Lettres sur le magnétisme et le somnambulisme, à l’occasion de Mademoiselle Pigeaire. Paris: Dentu, 1839, vi + 7–160 pp.

An account by Dr. Frapart of experiments done with Léonide Pigeaire, daughter of Dr. Jules Pigeaire (see his Puissance de l’électricité animal . . . , entry number 416), who, when in the state of magnetic somnambulism, exhibited the apparent ability to read words and perceive objects hidden from her sight. Her father wrote a letter to the Paris Academy of Medicine (which had been investigating animal magnetism) describing his daughter’s feats and suggesting that they deserved attention. The Academy’s investigatory commission invited Pigeaire and his daughter to Paris to observe and test her clairvoyance. After delays due to disagreements about the conditions for the tests, the commission observed the girl’s attempts to read cards with blindfolded eyes. The encounter was inconclusive and led to a heated controversy between supporters of the girl and supporters of the commissioners. Frapart was an advocate of animal magnetism. His description of the affair begins with this first edition of his letters and continues in supplementary letters through 1842. The printings of various editions at stages between 1839 and 1842 make up a complicated publication history. [H & P]

410. Holland, Henry.

Medical Notes and Reflexions. London: Longman, Orme, Brown, Green & Longmans, 1839, xii + 628 pp.

Probably the first mention of Holland’s theory of the brain as a double organ. [H]

411. Journal du magnétisme animal.

Vols. 1–3; 1839–1842.

This journal, edited by J. J. A. Ricard, contained some notable articles, including the “Précis historique de magnétisme animal, depuis Mesmer jusqu’à présent” in Vol. 1. [H]

412. Lafont-Gouzi, Gabriel Grégoire.

Traité du magnétisme animal considéré sous le rapport de l’hygiène, de la médecine légale et de la thérapeutique. Toulouse: Senac and The Author, 1839, 176 pp.

A book fanatically opposed to animal magnetism. The author sees it as a most dangerous technique, both to health and to morals. [H]

413. Long, H.

Essai sur le magnétisme animal, thèse présentée et soutenue par H. Long. Montpellier: n.p., 1839, 70 pp.

One of a number of contemporary doctoral theses on animal magnetism. [H]

414. Meyer, Th. J. A. G.

Natur-Analogien, oder die vornehmsten Erscheinungen des animalischen Magnetismus in ihrem Zusammenhange mit den Ergebnissen der gesammten Naturwissenschaften, mit besonderer Hinsicht auf die Standpunkte und Bedürfnisse heutiger Theologie. Hamburg and Gotha: Friedrich und Andreas Perthes, 1839, lxvi + (2) + 412 pp.

A learned attempt to explore the philosophical and theological implications of animal magnetism and somnambulism. A particularly penetrating study of rapport is included. It is an excellent treatise, written with heavy emphasis on the earlier German writers, worthy of attention for anyone interested in the German animal-magnetic tradition. [H & P]

415. [Mialle, Simon.]

Rapport confidentiel sur le magnétisme animal et sur la conduite récente de l’Académie royale de médecine adressé à la congrégations de l’Index, et traduit de l’Italien du R. P. Scobardi. Paris: Dentu and Germer Baillière, 1839, 164 pp.

This treatise, probably by Mialle, is written in an invented format and attributed to a fictitious “Scobardi.” The author promotes the cause of animal magnetism. [H]

416. Pigeaire, Jules.

Puissance de l’électricité animale, ou, du magnétisme vital et de ses rapports avec la physique, la physiologie et la médecine. Paris: Dentu and Germer Baillière, 1839, (4) + 316 pp.

Pigeaire addresses himself principally to the members of the commission appointed by the Academy of Medicine to investigate animal magnetism. He states his objections to certain conditions demanded by the commission and to statements by Dubois of Amiens rejecting clairvoyant magnetic phenomena. He asserts that such paranormal phenomena are now well established. Pigeaire also writes about the curative effects of magnetic somnambulism. [H & P]

417. Ricard, Jean Joseph Adolphe.

Cours théorique et pratique du magnétisme animal. Toulouse: The Author, 1839, 96 pp.

[H]

418. Werner, Heinrich.

Die Schutzgeister, oder merkwürdige Blicke zweier Seherinnen in die Geisterwelt, nebst der wunderbaren Heilung einer zehn Jahre stumm Gewesenen durch den Lebensmagnetismus, und einer vergleichenden Uebersicht aller bis jetzt beobachteten Erscheinungen desselben. Stuttgart: J. Cotta, 1839, xxxii + 639 pp. English: Guardian Spirits, a Case of Vision into the Spiritual World. Translated by A. E. Ford. New York: John Allen, 1847.

Werner describes the magnetic healing of two young women. While in the state of magnetic somnambulism they experienced Swedenborgian-type glimpses of the world of the spirits of deceased human beings. Werner also describes other healings through animal magnetism and discusses the nature of the phenomena of magnetic somnambulism. The English version contains only the cases of the two visionary girls. [H]

419. Wilson, John.

Trials of Animal Magnetism on the Brute Creation. London: Sherwood, Gilbert, & Piper, 1839, 48 pp.

This unusual little book, written by a Middlesex physician, describes experiments he performed with animal magnetism on animals. Wilson decided to try these experiments for a number of reasons. The most important reason was to see whether effects produced in animals could remove objections to the reality of the effects of animal magnetism based on possible collusion on the part of magnetizer and magnetized or deception on the part of the magnetized alone. Among the animals Wilson treated were cats, dogs, fish, a cock, macaws, a horse, pigs, and even elephants. He seems to have successfully placed all of them in a trance state using magnetic passes. [H]

420. Bersot, Ernest.

Du spiritualisme et de la nature. Paris: Ladrange, 1840, lx + 362 pp.

[H]

421. Despine, Antoine.

De l’emploi du magnétisme animal et des eaux minérales dans le traitement des maladies nerveuses suivi d’une observation très curieuse de névropathie. Paris and Lyon: Germer Baillière, 1840, lx + 229 + (2) + (12) + (8) pp.

Despine was a physician and benefactor of the ill. This treatise discusses the practice of animal magnetism and the use of mineral waters in the treatment of nervous disorders. A certain “Estelle” was the subject used in Despine’s investigations. [H]

422. Dods, John Bovee.

Thirty Short Sermons on Various Important Subjects, Both Doctrinal and Practical. Boston: Thomas Whittemore, 1840, xii + 348 pp.

Dods was pastor of the Universalist Society Church in Provincetown, Massachusetts, before he began his main career as a lecturer on “electrical psychology.” In these early sermons, he raises questions that he will eventually answer through his exposure to the teachings of mesmerism. [H]

423. Du Potet de Sennevoy, Jules Denis.

Le magnétisme animal opposé à la médecine, Mémoire pour servir à l’histoire du magnétisme en France et en Angleterre. Paris: A. Dentu, Germer Baillière, 1840, viii + 390 pp.

Du Potet travelled to many cities giving lectures on mesmerism. This book provides valuable information about some of those trips. [H]

424. Elliotson, John.

Human Physiology. 5 ed. London: Longman, Orme, Brown, Green, and Longmans, 1840, 1194 pp.

John Elliotson was a notable British physician who played a crucial role in introducing animal magnetism into England. His first encounter with it was at a demonstration given in London by Du Potet on one of his lecture tours. Greatly impressed, Elliotson began to experiment on his own and came to the conclusion that animal magnetism was an art that would prove to be extremely beneficial to medical practice. From the beginning he met stiff opposition from the medical establishment, eventually having to resign his post at University College Hospital. He continued to write in support of animal magnetism and in 1843 founded England’s principal mesmeric journal, the Zoist (entry number 490). This edition of Elliotson’s famous Human Physiology contains a well-balanced presentation of his views on animal magnetism. [H]

425. Gauthier, Aubin.

Introduction au magnétisme, examen de son existence depuis les Indiens jusqu’à l’époque actuelle, sa théorie, sa pratique, ses avantages, ses dangers et la nécessité de son concours avec la médecine. Paris: Dentu and Germer Baillière, 1840, 495 pp.

Aubin Gauthier was one of the more prolific and competent writers on animal magnetism in the nineteenth century. He had an historically oriented approach to the subject, and in this, his first book, he traces the precursors of animal magnetism in ancient medicine. He also presents a good summary of the theory and practice of animal magnetism in his own day. [H]

426. Guibert, Marquis de.

Résultat des opérations magnétiques de M. le Marquis de Guibert à Fontchâteau commune de Tarascon. Tarascon: Gondart, 1840, 16 pp.

[H]

427. Haldat du Lys, Charles Nicolas Alexandre de.

Recherches sur quelques phénomènes du magnétisme, le fantôme magnétique, et sur la diffraction complexe. Nancy: Grimblot, Raybois et Cie, 1840, 110 pp.

[H]

428. Kuhnholtz, Henry Marcel.

Du magnétisme et du somnambulisme artificiel. Montpellier: Castel, 1840, 37 pp.

Kuhnholtz was on the faculty of medicine at Montpellier. He was known for his methodical, balanced approach, which is exemplified in this study of animal magnetism and artificial somnambulism. [H]

429. Magikon: Archiv für Beobachtungen aus dem Gebiete der Geisterkunde und des magnetischen und magischen Lebens. Nebst andern Zugeben für Freunde des Innern.

See Blatter aus Prevorst, entry number 348. [H & P]

430. Roy, Emile.

Observation de magnétisme occulte. Metz: n.p., 1840, x + 14 pp.

[H & P]

431. Szapary, Ferencz Grof.

Ein Wort über animalischen Magnetismus, Seelenkorper und Lebensessenz; nebst Beschreibung des ideo-somnambulen Zustandes des Fräulein Therese von B—y zu Vasarhely im Jahre 1838, und einem Anhang. Leipzig: F. A. Brockhaus, 1840, ix + (2) +175 + (1).

In this first of many books on animal magnetism by Szapary, he presents a treatment of the subject that is both practical and philosophical. He states his belief that the somnambulist can provide insight into the deeper nature of the world. He then relates the case of a nineteen-year-old woman who suffered from a spontaneous somnambulistic condition and who gave pronouncements on the nature of the soul and magnetic rapport. [H & P]

432. Teste, Alphonse.

Manuel pratique de magnétisme animal. Exposition méthodique des procédés employés pour produire les phénomènes magnétiques et leur application à l’étude et au traitement des maladies. Paris: J. B. Baillière, 1840, viii + 476 pp.

A practical manual on animal magnetism written by one of the most highly respected practitioners of the day. [H]

433. Townshend, Chauncy Hare.

Facts in Mesmerism with Reasons for a Dispassionate Inquiry into It. London: Longman, Orme, Brown, Green and Longmans, 1840, xii + 575 pp.

Townshend, a clergyman of the Church of England, was one of the most articulate British writers on animal magnetism. This book went through many editions in Britain and the United States, and it proved to be very influential in making animal magnetism a legitimate subject of interest. Townshend begins the book with a straightforward recognition of the difficulties in treating a subject which produces such unusual phenomena. He then moves on to describe those phenomena using illustrations drawn from both his experiments and those of other magnetizers. Most of the book is devoted to a description of “mesmeric sleepwalking,” as he preferred to term magnetic somnambulism. Interwoven with his description are threads of semi-scientific theory about what makes such unusual phenomena possible. [H]

434. The Animal Magnetizer: or, History, Phenomena and Curative Effects of Animal Magnetism; with Instructions for Conducting the Magnetic Operation.

Philadelphia: J. Kay, Jun. & Brother, 1841, 94 pp.

[H]

435. Bouvignier, L. J. D. de.

Notice sur le magnétisme ou manière de se magnétiser soi-même. Paris: n.p., 1841, 16 pp.

[H]

436. Burdin, Charles and Dubois, Frédéric.

Histoire académique du magnétisme animal accompagnée de notes et de remarques critiques sur toutes les observations et expériences faites jusqu’à ce jour. Paris: J. B. Baillière, 1841, xlvii + (1) + 651 pp.

The most complete and competently written history of animal magnetism in France published to its time. After giving a history of animal-magnetic phenomena before Mesmer, the authors describe how Mesmer made his discovery and undertook to promote it to the world. They then include the four reports of 1784 (that of the Royal Academy of Sciences, the Royal Society of Medicine, the dissenting report of Jussieu, and the secret report edited by Bailly). In addition, they reprint the Extract of the correspondence of the Royal Society of Medicine, also from 1784. This is followed by a discussion of the discoveries of Puységur and the approach of Deleuze. The authors then discuss the writings of Bertrand and Georget and the events leading up to the second French commission. They reprint the favorable report of that commission made in 1826 and also the reports of two commissions set up in 1837 to investigate paranormal phenomena of animal magnetism. [H]

437. Charpignon, Louis Joseph Jules.

Physiologie, médecine et métaphysique du magnétisme. Orleans and Paris: Pesty (Orleans) and Germer Baillière (Paris), 1841, (4) + 366 pp.

Charpignon was a strong supporter of animal magnetism as a genuine phenomenon. Accepting the reality of a magnetic fluid communicated from magnetizer to magnetized, he believed in many of the more extraordinary psychic phenomena attributed to magnetic somnambulists. In this book he describes experiments done to verify these phenomena and discusses the laws and conditions within which animal magnetism functions. Charpignon also deals with medical uses of animal magnetism as well as the effect of the mind on the body. [H]

438. Dendy, Walter Cooper.

The Philosophy of Mystery. London: Longmans, Orme, Brown, Green and Longmans, 1841, xii + 443 pp.

A critical examination in the form of a dialogue of the question of ghosts, spectres, fantasies, mythology, and demonology. There are sections on sleep, dreams, sleepwalking, and trance. A chapter on mesmerism follows the tone of the rest of the book, seeking to bring a skeptical attitude to the extraordinary magnetic phenomena, and explaining all in terms of natural law, as opposed to supernatural intervention. A great deal of attention is devoted to detecting the presence of imagination, suggestion, and outright fraud. [H & P]

439. Gorgeret, P. M. E.

Note sur le magnétisme et sur l’homéopathie, ou réponse à tout ce qui été imprimé dans les journaux de Nantes contre le magnétisme et contre l’homéopathie. Nantes: The Author, 1841, 116 pp.

[H]

440. Morley, Charles.

Elements of Animal Magnetism, or Pneumatology. New York: Turner & Hughes, 1841, 23 pp.

[H]

441. Ordinaire, ———.

Le magnétisme et le somnambulisme du docteur Laurent; une somnambule maconnaise. Mâcon: De Jussieu, 1841, 51 pp.

[H]

442. Perusson, E.

Magnétisme animal, refus de l’Académie de médecine de constater le phénomène de la vision à travers les corps opaques. Chalón-sur-Saône: J. Duchesne, 1841, 16 pp.

[H]

443. Perusson, E.

Soirées magnétiques de Monsieur Laurent à Chalón sur Saône. Chalón-sur-Saône: J. Duchesne, 1841, 18 pp.

[H]

444. Ricard, Jean Joseph Adolphe.

Traité théorique et pratique du magnétisme animal, ou, Méthode facile pour apprendre à magnétiser. Paris: Germer Baillière, 1841, xii + 556 pp.

This well-constructed work begins with a useful summary of the history of animal magnetism up to 1840. The remainder of the book is taken up with lessons on the theory and application of animal magnetism. Ricard discusses the magnetic fluid, natural and magnetic somnambulism, and his own experiences with magnetic healing. He also has a chapter on “spiritualistic somnambulists” and another on magnetic ecstasy. The book is a successful attempt to give the reader an overall view of the nature and practice of animal magnetism. [H]

445. Sherwood, Henry Hall.

Motive Power of Organic Life, and Magnetic Phenomena of Terrestrial and Planetary Motions, with the Application of the Ever-active and All-pervading Agency of Magnetism to the Nature, Symptoms and Treatment of Chronic Diseases. New York: H. A. Chapín & Co., 1841, 196 pp.

[H]

446. Tissot, Honoré.

L’antimagnétisme animal, ou Collection de mémoires, dissertations théologiques, physico-médicales, des plus savants théologiens et médecins sur le magnétisme, la magie, les pratiques superstitieuses, etc. . . . Ouvrage utile et nécessaire spécialement aux ecclésiastiques et aux médecins. Bagnols: Alban Broche, 1841, 251 pp.

[H]

447. Transactions du magnétisme animal.

One vol. only; 1841.

Published in Paris and edited by Teste. [H]

448. Turchetti, O.

Cenni storico-critici sul magnetismo animale. Firenze: Tip. della Speranza, 1841, 93 pp.

[H]

449. Bourdin, Claude Etienne.

Mémoire sur un cas d’hystérie, traité par le magnétisme animal. Paris: Closse et Gaultier-Laguionie, 1842, 24 pp.

[H]

450. Braid, James.

Satanic Agency and Mesmerism Reviewed. Manchester: Sims and Dinham, Gait and Anderson, 1842, 12 pp.

A work of the greatest significance in the history of hypnotism, and of utmost rarity. James Braid was the founder of modern hypnotism and was himself inventor of its name. His theories were enthusiastically taken up by such men as Azam, Broca, Richet, Charcot, Liébeault, and Bernheim. Apart from Mesmer and Puységur, no single individual had such a profound influence upon the history of hypnotism and dissociative phenomena as did Braid. Born in Fifeshire, Scotland, Braid was educated at Edinburgh. He completed his training as a surgeon and, after practicing for a while in Scotland, moved to Manchester. On November 13, 1841, Braid attended a mesmeric demonstration staged by the Frenchman, Lafontaine. On that occasion Braid thought the effects were produced by trickery, but on attending a second time he noted what he believed to be a genuine phenomenon: the mesmerized individual could not open his eyes. Intrigued by this observation, Braid set out to find the explanation. He performed some experiments with friends and relatives and arrived at what he considered to be the true cause of magnetic sleep: a rapid exhaustion of the sensory and nervous systems producing a feeling of somnolency in the mind, which then “slips out of gear.” News of these experiments reached a certain Rev. H. M’Neile who preached a sermon against Braid on Sunday, April 10, 1842. This occasioned the reply from Braid which is the pamphlet Satanic Agency and Mesmerism Reviewed. The significance of this work lies in its being Braid’s first published work containing his historic theory of the cause of mesmeric phenomena and his new nomenclature for those phenomena: “hypnotic sleep,” “hypnotise,” and “neurohypnotism” (also used in his note “Neuro-hypnotism,” Medical Times and Gazette: July 9, 1842). In Satanic Agency Braid lists three common attitudes towards mesmeric phenomena and a fourth which is his own. The first is the belief that the phenomena are due to a system of collusion and delusion. The second is that they are real but the products of imagination, sympathy, and imitation. The third attitude, that of those who accept the theory of animal magnetism, is that the phenomena are caused by the influence of a magnetic medium. Braid’s own view is that they are solely attributable to a particular physiological state of the brain and spinal cord. After expounding his theory of hypnotism, Braid describes the various uses to which he has applied it: for example, extracting teeth, relief of chronic pain, removal of paralysis, and restoration of hearing and sight. This small work contains all the basic elements of the system which Braid elaborated the following year with his publication of Neurypnology or the Rationale of Nervous Sleep (1843, entry number 465). It is believed that there are only two copies of Satanic Agency and Mesmerism Reviewed extant today. Tinterow (Foundations of Hypnosis, p. 317) says that A. W. Waite and W. Preyer, in searching out Braid’s writings, could locate only one copy. That copy, bearing the library plate of Dr. Albert Moll, resides in Tinterow’s private library. A second copy, not previously known to exist, has become known to the author of this bibliography and is privately owned. This copy contains a notation apparently written in Braid’s own hand. [H]

451. Caldwell, Charles.

Facts in Mesmerism and Thoughts on Its Causes and Uses. Louisville, Kentucky: Prentice and Weissinger, 1842, xxx + 132 pp.

After an introduction describing his numerous involvements with controversial causes, Caldwell writes of his convictions about the genuineness of mesmerism and its great usefulness. After presenting a history of animal magnetism and its antecedents, Caldwell lists what he calls the three schools of mesmerism in existence at the time: the “genuine animal magnetists” who follow Mesmer and who hold that all effects are due to the magnetic fluid; the school who follow the “Chevalier Barbarin of Lyons,” believing that the effects of mesmerism are the results of faith and volition; and the school of Puységur who accepted the existence of both physical and psychological agents. Caldwell believes the last to be the most tenable of the three positions. The final section of the book is taken up with cases of mesmeric practice, both those of the author and others. [H]

452. Cogevina, Angelo and Orioli, Francesco.

Fatti relativi a mesmerismo e cure mesmeriche con una prefazione storico-critica. Corfu: Dala Tipografìa del Governo, 1842, 349 + iii pp.

Probably the earliest book in Italian describing in some detail the application of animal magnetism for curing disease. Cogevina was a physician and Orioli was an academic of some stature. The most notable case described is that of a young woman named Elisabetta who was successfully treated by animal magnetism. The book helped ignite a strong interest in animal magnetism in Italy. [H]

453. Douglas, James S.

Animal Magnetism, or Mesmerism; Being a Brief Account of the Manner of Practicing Animal Magnetism; the Phenomena of that State; Its Applications in Disease, and the Precautions to be Observed in Employing It, Made so Plain that Anyone may Practice it, Experiment upon it and Test Its Effects for Himself. Hamilton, New York: J. & D. Atwood, 1842, 54 pp.

[H]

454. Ennemoser, Joseph.

Der Magnetismus im Verhältnisse zur Natur und Religion. Stuttgart and Tübingen: J. G. Cotta, 1842, xxii + (2) + 546 pp.

In this book Ennemoser attempts to deal with animal magnetism, not as an isolated phenomenon, but as a reality intimately connected with the essence of nature itself, and therefore with the mystical and religious awareness that springs from contact with nature. In doing this he attempts to counter superstitious beliefs that had come to be associated with magnetic phenomena, and also demonstrate to scientists that animal magnetism is a natural phenomenon. To do this Ennemoser first sketches the theory of animal magnetism and describes its principle phenomena, including magnetic sleep. He then draws connections between the phenomena described in the ancient and more recent literature of religion and occult and magnetic phenomena. In this context he attempts to prove that the phenomena of animal magnetism are simply manifestations of forces of nature and subject to natural law. The book contains a section on the “psychological explanation” of magnetic phenomena that is noteworthy. [H & P]

455. Gauthier, Aubin.

Histoire du somnambulisme: chez tous les peuples sous les noms divers d’extases, songes, oracles et visions; examen des doctrines théoriques et philosophiques de l’antiquité et des temps modernes, sur ses causes, ses effets, ses abus, ses avantages, et l’utilité de son concours avec la médecine. 2 vols. Paris: Félix Malteste et Cie, 1842, (4) + 454 + (1); (4) + 440 pp.

One of the best and most important histories of animal magnetism and somnambulism ever written. The first part is an especially thorough examination of traces of magnetic practice among the ancients. Much of this part deals with dreams, divination, and prophecy. Gauthier’s study of the use of the word “somnambulism” through the ages and in contemporary times is excellent. He has a very useful discussion of Mesmer and somnambulism and the place Puységur holds in the history of that phenomenon. He also has a valuable summary of artificial somnambulism from the time of Deleuze through the investigations of the second French commission and up to the time of his writing. Although Gauthier focuses his treatment of contemporary artificial somnambulism on the French scene, his history remains of great interest for any student of animal magnetism. [H]

456. Journal of the Phreno-magnetic Society of Cincinnati.

Vol. 1 (one volume only); 1842.

Published in Cincinnati. [H]

457. The Magnet.

Vols. 1–2; 1842–1844.

Continued as: New York Magnet, One vol. only; 1844. Edited by LaRoy Sunderland. [H]

458. Les magnétiseurs sont-ils sorciers? La France est-elle hérétique? Les mêmes hommes l’ont dit.

Paris: Just. Rouvier, Leteinturier, and Huriet, 1842, 34 pp.

[H]

459. Mesmeric Magazine; or Journal of Animal Magnetism.

One vol. only; 1842.

Published in Boston and edited by R. H. Collyer. [H]

460. M’Neile, Hugh.

Satanic Agency and Mesmerism. A Sermon. (Liverpool): n.p., (1842), pp. 141–152.

M’Neile delivered this, the sermon that spurred Braid to write his first work on the subject: Satanic Agency and Mesmerism Reviewed (entry number 450), in St. Jude’s Church, Liverpool. He attributes the action of animal magnetism and mesmerism to the devil, and accuses Braid of carrying out “experiments in a corner, upon (his) own servants, or upon females hired for the purpose.” This sermon exists as an offprint from a source that cannot be traced. [H]

461. Montius, E.

Faits curieux et intéressants produits par la puissance du magnétisme animal, ou comptes-rendus des expériences remarquable opérées en Belgique. 2 ed. Brussels: n.p., 1842, 175 pp.

Montius had a mesmeric clinic in Brussels. This work describes some of the cures he obtained there through the use of animal magnetism. He worked even in the face of prosecution by law for his practices. This is the second edition of his book; no information could be obtained about the first. [H]

462. Phreno-magnetic vindicator.

Vol. 1 (one volume only??); 1842.

Published in Lexington by J. G. Forman. [H]

463. Tizzani, Vincenzo.

Sul magnetismo animale, discorso istorico-critico. Letto all’Accademia di Religione Cattolica il di 21 Luglio 1842. Rome: Salviucci, 1842, 160 pp.

[H]

464. Topham, William and Ward, W. Squire.

Account of a Case of Successful Amputation of the Thigh, During the Mesmeric State, Without the Knowledge of the Patient: Read to the Royal Medical and Chirurgical Society of London, on Tuesday, the 22nd of November, 1842. London: Baillière, 1842, 26 pp.

The original account of the operation described by Elliotson in his Numerous Cases (entry number 474). It was the first use of animal magnetism as a surgical anaesthesia in England. Topham was the magnetizer; Ward the surgeon. The painless operation was described in an address delivered to the Royal Medical and Chirurgical Society of London and then published in this form. The resulting controversy is related in Elliotson’s book. [H]

465. Braid, James.

Neurypnology or The rationale of nervous sleep considered in relation with animal magnetism. Illustrated by numerous cases of its successful application in the relief and cure of disease. London: John Churchill, 1843, (2) + xxii + 265 + (1) pp.

The first full-length treatment of the subject of hypnotism by its founder. In this book Braid expands upon Satanic Agency and Mesmerism Reviewed (entry number 450). He further elaborates his proposed new terminology with the following vocabulary: NEURYPNOLOGY: the doctrine of nervous sleep; NEURO-HYPNOTISM: nervous sleep, a peculiar condition of the nervous system produced by artificial contrivance; HYPNOTIC: the state of nervous sleep; HYPNOTISE: to induce nervous sleep; HYPNOTISM: nervous sleep; DEHYPNOTISE: to restore from the state of nervous sleep; HYPNOTIST: one who practises neuro-hypnotism. It was Braid’s intention that his terminology and theory should replace that of the animal magnetists. He meant thereby to do away with the notion of a magnetic fluid as the agent which produces mesmeric phenomena. Instead, he substituted the theory that mesmeric phenomena were of subjective origin. In Neurypnology Braid says that the specific cause is a rapid fatiguing of the sensory and nervous systems. In later writings Braid also gave due credit to the importance of suggestion in the hypnotic process. Braid had to face fierce opposition to his views from both mesmerists and medical colleagues. Yet he was eventually successful in having his notion of hypnotism the accepted theory to explain mesmeric phenomena—though he did not live to see this happen. Shortly before Braid’s death in 1860, Dr. Azam of Bordeaux published an enthusiastic account of hypnotic experiments based upon Braid’s views, with which he had become acquainted the previous year. Also in 1860, Broca reported similar successful results using Braid’s methods. From that point on, Braid’s fame spread rapidly. By the end of the century he was universally credited as the originator of the system which made possible the revolutionizing of medical and psychotherapeutic technique. [H]

466. Brown, John.

Mesmerism; Its Pretensions & Effects upon Society Considered. Boston: n.p., 1843, 8 pp.

A pamphlet containing a vigorous attack on mesmerism as practiced in the author’s vicinity by two men: Small and Sharp. [H]

467. Charpignon, Louis Joseph Jules.

Études physiques sur le magnétisme animal soumises à l’Académie des sciences. Paris and Orleans: Germer Baillière (Paris) and The Author (Orleans), 1843, 41 pp.

Charpignon compares the results of animal magnetism to those produced by electricity and mineral magnetism. [H]

468. Charpignon, Louis Joseph Jules.

Lettre au docteur Erapart sur le magnétisme. Orleans: Jacob, 1843, 8 pp.

[H]

469. Collyer, Robert H.

Psychography, or The Embodiment of Thought; with an Analysis of Phreno-magnetism, “Neurology,” and Mental Hallucination, Including Rules to Govern and Produce the Magnetic State. Philadelphia, New York, and Boston: Zieber & Co. (Philadelphia); Sun Office (New York); Redding & Co. (Boston), 1843, 44 pp.

Collyer, editor of the Mesmeric Magazine, wrote this book largely as a rebuttal to attacks against him and his belief in animal magnetism. The book contains testimonials to his work as a magnetizer and rules to follow in practicing magnetic healing. [H]

470. Colquhoun, John Campbell.

The Fallacy of Phreno-magnetism Detected and Exposed. Edinburgh: Wilson, 1843, 16 pp.

[H]

471. Debay, A.

Hypnologie: du sommeil et des songes au point de vue physiologique: somnambulism, magnétisme, extase, hallucination; exposé d’une théorie du fluide électro-sympathique. Paris: J. Masson, 1843, 187 pp.

Later editions used the title: Les mystères du sommeil et du magnétisme. [H]

472. Dickerson, K. D. D.

The Philosophy of Mesmerism, or Animal Magnetism. Being a Compilation of Facts Ascertained by Experience, and Drawn from the Writings of the Most Celebrated Magnetisers in Europe and America. Intended to Facilitate the Honest Inquirer After Truth, and Promote the Happiness of Mankind, By Diffusing the Knowledge of Nature’s Wisest Laws and Most Benevolent Institutions. Concord, New Hampshire: Morrill, Silsby, and Co., 1843.

Dickerson gives a history of the progress of animal magnetism in the United States from Poyen to LaRoy Sunderland, a man whom he greatly admired. It is one of the most interesting American historical compendiums because in his enthusiasm for animal magnetism the author goes out of his way to mention the chief workers and best-known somnambulists. [H]

473. Dods, John Bovee.

Six Lectures on the Philosophy of Mesmerism, Delivered in the Marlboro Chapel, Boston. Reported by a hearer. Boston: W. A. Hall, 1843, 68 pp.

These lectures were extremely well attended. When they were published in book form they sold out almost immediately; many more editions were then issued within a few years. In the lectures Dods expresses his belief in the power of the agent discovered by Mesmer, but rejects the term magnetism in favor of “mental electricity” or even “spiritualism.” Dods’s religious approach is perceivable in these lectures. He calls mesmerism a “power of God,” and he connects the healing works of Jesus with this power. Dods describes six degrees of mesmerism, the sixth being clairvoyance. He also mentions surgical uses for mesmerism. [H]

474. Elliotson, John.

Numerous Cases of Surgical Operations without Pain in the Mesmeric State: with Remarks upon the Opposition of Many Members of the Royal Medical and Chirurgical Society and Others to the Reception of the Inestimable Blessings of Mesmerism. London: H. Baillière, 1843, 93 + (1) pp.

An important document in the history of animal magnetism. Elliotson describes the case history of an amputation of a leg above the knee while the patient was mesmerized and experienced no pain. The magnetizer was William Topham, the surgeon was W. Squire Ward. (see entry number 464). Elliotson also writes about the negative reactions to the operation by the medical establishment. He was indignant that such a beneficial tool could be met with what he considered to be incredible obtuseness. [H]

475. [Grandvoinet, ———, pseudonym: Tedinngarov.]

Esquisse d’une théorie des phénomènes magnétiques. Paris: Dentu, 1843, 32 pp.

This treatise on the phenomena of animal magnetism was published in two forms in the same year: one under the pseudonym, the other under the author’s real name. [H]

476. Gregory, Samuel.

Mesmerism, or Animal Magnetism, and Its Uses; with Particular Directions for Employing It in Removing Pains and Curing Diseases, in Producing Insensibility to Pain in Surgical and Dental Operations; and in the Examination of Internal Diseases, with Cases of Operations, Examinations and Cures. Boston: Redding & Co., 1843, 16 pp.

Gregory writes about the use of mesmerism in the United States. After tracing its history from 1836, he states that it was now being used all over the country by physicians to cure illness of many kinds. Typical of writers on the subject at that time, Gregory writes about the use of medical clairvoyance, in which a mesmerized person can see or sense the internal organs of the body and the state of illness there. [H & P]

477. Kuhnholtz, Henri Marcel.

Analyse apologétique et critique de la brochure du docteur J. A. Tedinngarov, intitulée: Esquisse d’une théorie des phénomènes magnétiques. Paris and Montpellier: L. Castel, 1843, 15 pp.

A pamphlet on the elements essential to the action of animal magnetism. [H]

478. [Lang, William.]

Mesmerism, its History, Phenomena, and Practice, with Reports of Cases Developed in Scotland. Edinburgh: Fraser and Co., 1843, xii + 240 pp.

Lang relates the history of animal magnetism from Mesmer on and describes the methods used by some of its principal practitioners. He also tells about the first case in which animal magnetism was used as a cure in Scotland, and other cases that followed. He has a section on phreno-magnetism (animal magnetism used in conjunction with phrenology) and a most interesting chapter on the use of animal magnetism on animals. There is also a striking description of a somnambulist who develops a second, mesmeric personality with a name different from her ordinary name. [H]

479. Lee, Edwin.

Report upon the Phenomena of Clairvoyance or Lucid Somnambulism (From Personal Observation). With Additional Remarks. An Appendix to the Third Edition of “Animal Magnetism.” London: J. Churchill, 1843, 50 pp.

[H & P]

480. Mesmerism and Phreno-Mesmerism. Consisting of Modes of Mesmerising. 3 ed.

Newcastle-upon-Tyne: W. & T. Fordyce, 1843, 72 pp.

[H]

481. Mesmerism the Gift of God: in Reply to “Satanic Agency and Mesmerism,” a Sermon Said to Have Been Preached by the Rev. Hugh M’Neile: in a Letter to a Friend by a Beneficed Clergyman.

London: n.p., 1843, 16 pp.

This letter takes issue with the same sermon to which Braid replied in 1842 (Braid: Satanic Agency . . . , entry number 450). [H]

482. The Mesmerist. A Weekly Journal of Vital Magnetism.

One vol. only, 1843.

Published in London. [H]

483. Phreno-Magnet, and Mirror of Nature: a Record of Facts, Experiments and Discoveries in Phrenology, Magnetism &c.

One vol. only; 1843.

Edited by Spencer Hall and published in London, the first and only volume of this journal contained twelve numbers. Hall intended to use this periodical as a way of promoting his popularly oriented system that employed both animal magnetism and phrenology. The first number contains a letter from James Braid. [H]

484. Résimont, Charles de.

Le magnétisme animal considéré comme moyen thérapeutique; son application au traitement de deux cas remarquables de névropathie. Paris: Germer Baillière, 1843, viii + 517 + (3) pp.

[H]

485. A Return of Departed Spirits of the Highest Character of Distinction, as well as the Indiscriminate of All Nations, into the Bodies of the “Shakers,” or “United Society of Believers in the Second Advent of the Messiah.” By an Associate of Said Society.

Philadelphia: J. R. Colon, 1843, viii + 9–52 pp.

An interesting description of the spiritism of the Shakers, an American movement which to a certain extent anticipated modern spiritualism. [P]

486. Ricard, Jean Joseph Adolphe.

Arrêt de la cour suprême touchant le magnétisme animal. Paris: The Author, 1843, 72 pp.

[H]

487. Ricard, Jean Joseph Adolphe.

Lettres d’un magnétiseur. Paris: The Author, 1843, 179 pp.

[H]

488. Le somnambule. Journal de magnétisme.

One vol. only; 1843–1845.

Published at Lyon and edited by Auguste Possin. [H]

489. Sunderland, LaRoy.

Pathetism: with Practical Instructions: Demonstrating the Falsity of the Hitherto Prevalent Assumptions in Regard to What has been Called “Mesmerism” and “Neurology,” and Illustrating Those Laws which Induce Somnambulism, Second Sight, Sleep, Dreaming, Trance, and Clairvoyance, with Numerous Facts Tending to Show the Pathology of Monomania, Insanity, Witchcraft, and Various Other Mental or Nervous Phenomena. New York: P. P. Good, 1843, xvi + 247 pp.

Sunderland, a Methodist minister, attended the lectures of Charles Poyen on animal magnetism in 1837, and from that point began to incorporate that doctrine into his ideas about the effects of the mind upon the body. At the same time he developed an interest in phrenology, and combined the two into a system he labeled “phrenomagnetism.” Although Sunderland later dropped phrenomagnetism, in the first edition of the present book he includes it in his overall system called “pathetism.” Rejecting the idea of a magnetic fluid, Sunderland substitutes “pathetism” as the agent “by which one person, by manipulation, is enabled to produce emotion, feeling, passion, or any physical or mental effects, in the system of another” (p. 3). He sees the “sympathetic” relationship between the operator and patient, not animal magnetic fluid, as the central agent for producing these effects: “All the feelings therefore which one human being may be able to excite in the mind of another . . . are identical with this same agency. . . . If impressions be made upon the sensorium through the eye or ear, or through the nerves of sensation, the immediate agency which carries those impressions to the mind is pathetism” (p. 68). Sunderland had a unique view of the importance of the state of mind of those in the environment of the patient and operator: “Pathetism has to do with the sympathetic system, not of the operator and his patient merely, but the nervous sympathies and antipathies of every other person present” (p. 126). For Sunderland, pathetism embodies all the changes that can be brought about in the minds of men, and the physical correlates of those mental changes. In this way, the system of pathetism embodies knowledge of all the laws of life, health, and disease. [H & P]

490. The Zoist. A Journal of Cerebral Physiology & Mesmerism, and their Applications to Human Welfare.

Vols. 1–13; 1843–1856.

The preeminent British mesmeric journal, edited by John Elliotson and published in London. [H]

491. L’avenir médical, Journal des intérêts de tous, avant pour but la démonstration pratique du nouvel art de guérir, l’homéopathie et le magnétisme, par la fondation d’un hôpital homéopathico-magnétique pour 150 à 200 infants.

Vols. 1–2; 1844–1845.

[H]

492. Barreau, Ferdinand.

Le magnétisme humain en cour de Rome. Paris: Sagnier et Bray, 1844, 308 pp.

Written by a Catholic who tried to show that there was nothing in the doctrine of animal magnetism that was incompatible with Catholic theology. Barreau was one of a number who practiced magnetism within the Church and fought for its acceptance. [H]

493. Beecher, William H.

A Letter on Animal Magnetism. Philadelphia: Brown, Bucking and Guilbert, 1844, 7 pp.

[H]

494. Drake, Daniel.

Analytical Report of a Series of Experiments in Mesmeric Somniloquism, Performed by an Association of Gentlemen: with Speculations on the Production of Its Phenomena. Louisville, Kentucky: F. W. Prescott & Co., 1844, 56 pp.

A report on experiments done in Louisville, Kentucky, with a young woman who was easily magnetized. The experiments were designed to find out whether she had the ability, as had been claimed, to experience the sensations of any person put into communication with her while in the somnambulistic state. According to Drake, the experiments proved that this kind of “rapport” was a genuine fact. [H]

495. Gauthier, Aubin.

Le magnétisme catholique; ou, Introduction à la vraie pratique et réfutation des opinions de la médecine sur le magnétisme; ses principes, ses procédés et ses effets. Brussels and Paris: n.p., 1844, 232 pp.

Gauthier takes exception to the prevalent view of animal magnetism among physicians. He concerns himself largely with its practice in Belgium. [H]

496. Gauthier, Louis Philibert Auguste.

Recherches historiques sur l’exercice de la médecine dans les temples, chez les peuples de l’antiquité, suivies de considérations sur les rapports qui peuvent exister entre les guérisons qu’on obtenait dans les anciens temples, à l’aide des songes, et le magnétisme animal, et sur l’origine des hôpitaux. Paris: Baillière, 1844, x + 264 pp.

The author compares religious healing practices of ancient times to those of his contemporary practitioners of animal magnetism. He denies that the healers of old used animal magnetism, as some had claimed. He does, however, see certain similarities in the therapeutic effects produced. [H]

497. Johnson, Charles P.

A Treatise on Animal Magnetism. New York: Burgess & Stringer, 1844, 96 pp.

[H]

498. [Loubert, Jean Baptiste.]

Le magnétisme et le somnambulisme devant les corps savant, le cour de Rome et les théologiens. Paris: Germer Baillière, 1844, (4) + 702 pp.

Written from a Roman Catholic point of view, the work summarizes the history of animal magnetism, including opinions of various learned men on the subject and the conclusions of the French commissions for and against. Loubert takes the reader back to the Middle Ages and the writings of the ancients to trace magnetic-type healings before Mesmer. He then discusses the writings of some of the principal contemporary advocates of magnetism, such as J. J. A. Ricard and Aubin Gauthier, and points out the theological errors of these authors. Loubert does not, however, desire to reject magnetism and somnambulism as such, and he defends them against condemnation by the church. [H]

499. New York Magnet.

1844.

See The Magnet, entry number 457. [H]

500. Pyne, Thomas.

Vital Magnetism: A Remedy. London: n.p., 1844.

Information about publisher and page numbers of the first edition could not be obtained. The second edition, published by Samuel Highley, contains 94 pages. [H]

501. Revue magnétique. Journal des faits et des cures magnétiques et somnambuliques, des théories, recherches historiques, discussions scientifiques et progrès généraux du magnétisme en France et dans les pays étrangers.

Vols. 1–2; 1844–1846.

Edited by Aubin Gauthier and published in Paris. [H]

502. Ricard, Jean Joseph Adolphe.

Physiologie et hygiène du magnétiseur; régime diététique du magnétisé; Mémoires et aphorismes de Mesmer, avec des notes. Paris: Germer Baillière, 1844, xii + 216 + 228 pp.

The second part of this work was republished separately in 1846 under the title Magnétisme animal. Mémoires et aphorismes de Mesmer suivis des procédés de D’Eslon. Nouvelle édition avec des notes (Paris: Germer Baillière, (2) + 228 pp.). This part contains Mesmer’s Mémoire of 1779 (entry number 10), his Mémoire of 1799 (entry number 211), and the Aphorismes. [H]

503. Sandby, George.

Mesmerism and Its Opponents: with a Narrative of Cases. London: 1844, x + 278 pp.

This book, written by a clergyman of the Church of England, was very influential in helping to create a favorable opinion of animal magnetism in Britain. After disposing of M’Neile’s charge that mesmerism is diabolical (M’Neile: Satanic Agency and Mesmerism: A Sermon, entry number 460), Sandby describes his own personal experiences with animal magnetism and their influence on his opinion of the genuineness of the phenomena. Using cases from the mesmeric literature, he emphasizes both the benefits of and potential dangers of animal magnetic practice, emphasizing the need to counter superstitious attitudes in those who participate. Sandby also suggests techniques for the use of magnetizers. [H & P]

504. [Staite, O.]

Mesmerism, or, The New school of Arts, with Cases in Point. London: n.p., 1844, 101 pp.

A work written in verse. [H]

505. Wigan, Arthur Ladbroke.

A New View of Insanity. The Duality of the Mind Proved by the Structure, Functions, and Diseases of the Brain, and by the Phenomena of Mental Derangement, and Shown to be Essential to Moral Responsibility. London: Longman, Brown, Green and Longmans, 1844, xii + 459 pp.

Wigan attempts to explain “double consciousness” or what he calls “alternate consciousness” in terms of the two hemispheres of the brain. Drawing his examples from various fields, including the literature on somnambulism and what would later be called multiple personality, he suggests that there are two minds, corresponding to the two hemispheres, and that these minds can operate simultaneously and independently. This view he then contrasts with a theory of dual consciousness connected with the two hemispheres proposed by Henry Holland, who argued that although a kind of dual consciousness is involved, the mind itself is one. Wigan’s book was never all that well known, although it shows up in footnotes in some later writings, such as Ribot’s Les maladies de la personnality (1885, see entry number 1120). [H]

506. Amouroux, J. A.

Le magnétisme à Chateauroux. Chateauroux: Adolph Nuret, 1845, 98 + (3) pp.

Chiefly concerned about the threat to chastity inherent in the use of animal magnetism with women, the author cites the secret report to the French king in 1784. [H]

507. Archives de la société magnétique de Cambrai.

Vols. 1–2; 1845–1846.

[H]

508. Brierre de Boismont, Alexandre Jacques François.

Des hallucinations, ou histoire raisonée des apparitions, des visions, des songes, de l’extase, du magnétisme et du somnambulisme. Paris: G. Baillière, 1845, viii + 615 pp. English: Hallucinations or, The Rational History of Apparitions, Visions, Dreams, Ecstasy, Magnetism, and Somnambulism. Philadelphia: Lindsay and Blakiston, 1853.

Brierre de Boismont attempts to remove the subject of hallucination from the exclusive jurisdiction of medical pathology and place it within the domain of psychology. To do this, he examines the phenomenon historically and discusses its broad occurrence in the course of ordinary human events. After examining hallucination in connection with nervous disorder, Brierre de Boismont considers the hallucinations of dreams and nightmares and the occurrence of hallucinations in animal magnetism, somnambulism and ecstasy. There is also a section on collective hallucinations. In the latter part of the book, the causes, symptomology and treatment of hallucinations are outlined. This work enjoyed an unusual popularity and exercised a great deal of influence over subsequent thought concerning the nature of apparitions, precognition, clairvoyance, and other paranormal phenomena. [H & P]

509. Confessions of a Magnetiser, Being an Exposé of Animal Magnetism.

Boston: Gleason’s Pub. Hall, 1845, 50 pp.

Published anonymously, this pamphlet condemns animal magnetism as a source of depravity. The author, apparently a former magnetizer, describes how the mesmerizer is himself entranced when treating a young, beautiful woman, hardly able to resist the temptation to entice her to satisfy his base desires. The power he exercises over her thoughts and actions, according to the author, is such that she will go to any lengths to please him. [H]

510. Crumpe, G. S.

Letters on Animal Magnetism. Edinburgh: W. H. Lizars, 1845, 24 pp.

[H]

511. Du Potet de Sennevoy, Jules Denis.

Essai sur l’enseignement philosophique du magnétisme animal. Par le Baron Du Potet de Sennevoy. Paris: A. René et Cie, et Mensut, 1845, 356 pp.

[H & P]

512. Forbes, John.

Mesmerism True—Mesmerism False: A Critical Examination of the Facts, Claims, and Pretentions of Animal Magnetism. With an Appendix Containing a Report of Two Exhibitions by Alexis. London: Churchill, 1845, 76 pp.

Forbes was editor of the British and Foreign Medical Review and he consistently opposed the mesmerists, whom he considered to be naive dreamers. Here, as in his journal, he attacks the views of John Elliotson. This work was also published under the title Illustrations of Modern Mesmerism from Personal Investigation. [H & P]

513. Gauthier, Aubin.

Traité pratique du magnétisme et du somnambulisme: ou, résumé de tous les principes et procédés du magnétisme, avec la théorie et la définition du somnambulisme, le description du caractère et des facultés des somnambules, et les règles de leur direction. Paris: Germer Baillière, 1845, (2) + vi + 752 pp.

A thorough general treatise on the theory and practice of animal magnetism. Among other topics, Gauthier discusses the effect of magnetic treatments, the way the mental and physical condition of the magnetizer affects the outcome, the methods of magnetizing, the use of magnetized objects in treatment, the use of animal magnetism on animals, the phases of magnetic cures and the phenomena of magnetic somnambulism. As in most of Gauthier’s work, a historical orientation for all aspects of animal magnetism is apparent. [H]

514. Greenhow, Thomas Michael.

Medical Report of the Case of Miss H——— M———. London: S. Highley, 1845, 24 pp.

Account of a cure brought about through mesmerism. [H]

515. Grimes, James Stanley.

Etherology; or the Philosophy of Mesmerism and Phrenology: Including a New Philosophy of Sleep and Consciousness, with a Review of the Pretensions of Neurology and Phreno-magnetism. Boston and New York: Saxton Peirce & Co., and Saxton and Miles, 1845, xvi + (17)–350 pp.

Grimes was one of the most important American writers on animal magnetism. His work was influential in Britain and Europe as well as in the United States. This book, the product of many years experience as a lecturer and mesmerizer, presents Grimes’s rather unique views on mesmerism. Basing his work on the notion that all that happens in the world is to be explained in terms of matter, motion, and mind, Grimes maintains that if there are to be any effects of matter upon matter or mind upon mind, they must occur through a medium that connects them. This medium he calls the “etherium.” The study of the way in which the etherium conveys impressions from one mind to another and the way in which these impressions are channeled through the physical organism, he calls “etherology.” “Etheropathy” may then be said to occur whenever the etherium is forced to act in opposition to its normal mode of action. For Grimes, animal magnetism, mesmerism, pathetism, hypnotism, somnambulism, and clairvoyance are all morbid etheropathic conditions of the human constitution. From this it follows that individuals are only susceptible to being mesmerized when in a state of inner imbalance and that only through knowledge of the laws of etherology can one work with nature to benefit people needing help. Grimes combines this view of human psychology with his peculiar approach to phrenology. [H]

516. Haldat du Lys, Charles Nicolas Alexandre de.

Histoire du magnétisme dont les phénomènes sont rendus sensibles par le mouvement. Nancy: Grimblot et Veuve Raybois, 1845, 51 pp.

[H]

517. Hall, Spencer Timothy.

Mesmeric Experiences. London: H. Baillière, 1845, viii + 103 pp.

Hall was a staunch supporter of the use of animal magnetism as a cure for disease. Believing that the opponents of magnetic cures were chiefly arrogant physicians and others with a vested interest in maintaining superiority over the common people, Hall lectured extensively on the subject throughout England. In this book, Hall writes of his experience and of the value of phrenology used in conjuction with mesmerism. [H]

518. Journal du magnétisme, rédigé par une Société de magnétiseurs et médecins, sous la direction de M. le Baron Du Potet.

Vols. 1–20; 1845–1860.

Continued as: Journal du magnétisme. Sous la direction de H. Durville. Nos. 1–4, then Vols. 22–67(?)+; 1879–1925+. This journal was edited by the Baron Du Potet and, after a brief interruption, by Hector Durville. A second series began with Vol. 16. [H]

519. Laurent, P.

Système des passes magnétiques, ou ensemble des procédés de magnétisation. Nantes: Forest, (1845), 15 pp.

A useful description of the magnetic “passes” used to direct animal magnetism. [H]

520. Loisel, A.

Observation concernant une jeune fille de dix-sept ans amputée d’une jambe à Cherbourg le 2 octobre 1845, pendant le sommeil magnétique. Cherbourg: Beaufort et Lecauf, 1845, 23 pp.

With animal magnetism as an anesthetic, Loisel carried out a number of major surgical operations at Cherbourg that were among the earliest such operations. This is an account of one of his operations. [H]

521. Loisel, A.

Recueil d’opérations chirurgicales pratiquées sur des sujets magnétisés. Cherbourg: Beaufort and Lecauf, 1845, 24 pp.

An account of surgical operations performed by Loisel using animal magnetism as an anesthetic. See entry number 520. [H]

522. Martineau, Harriet.

Letters on Mesmerism. London: E. Moxon, 1845, (1) + (v)–xii + 65 + (1) pp.

Martineau was one of the most unusual and influential women of nineteenth-century England. A powerful intellectual force in economics and social science, she first gained success through the publication of her Illustrations of Political Economy (1832–1834). In addition to writing prolifically on politics and economics, she was also a successful novelist and writer of children’s stories. In 1844 Martineau was cured of a serious illness through animal magnetism, and in this collection of letters she discharges her “duty” to make the truth about mesmerism known. She had known about mesmerism for some time, and when her illness became debilitating, a medical friend brought her to the famous mesmerist Spencer Hall (see entry number 517), who was then lecturing at Newcastle. He mesmerized Martineau and the beneficial effects were immediate. Martineau first had her maid and then another woman mesmerize her regularly. After consistent treatment of this kind, Martineau recovered. During the mesmeric treatment, she often experienced powerful distortions of sensation which she describes in some detail in the Letters. [H]

523. Newnham, William.

Human Magnetism: Its Claims to Dispassionate Inquiry: Being an Attempt to Show the Utility of Its Application for the Relief of Human Suffering. London: Churchill, 1845, vi + (1) + 432 pp.

In his Essay on Superstition (1830) Newnham was perhaps the first notable person in nineteenth-century England to speak highly of animal magnetism. In this work, published some fifteen years later, he takes up the subject at length, covering the principle issues of theory and practice. Of particular interest are sections on the extent to which imagination can explain the effects of animal magnetism and phreno-magnetism, a theory for which Newnham had little regard. [H]

524. Pellegrino, G. [pseudonym: L. Verati.]

Storia, teoria e pratica del magnetismo animale. 4 vols. Florence: n.p., 1845–1846.

A detailed study of animal magnetism, describing phenomena reported in France and Italy, and providing an account of the author’s own experiences. [H]

525. Smith, Gibson.

Lectures on Clairmativeness: or, Human Magnetism. New York: Searing & Prall, 1845, 40 pp.

[H]

526. Sunderland, LaRoy.

“Confessions of a Magnetizer” Exposed. Boston: Redding and Co., 1845, 47 pp.

Sunderland attacks the anonymous pamphlet Confessions of a Magnetizer, being an exposé of animal magnetism (entry number 509) as a slander against those who competently and honorably practice animal magnetism. Sunderland claims that the pamphlet is full of falsehoods and distortions and is misleading to the public. [H]

527. Szapary, Ferencz Grof.

Katechismus des Vital-Magnetismus zur leichteren Direction der Laien-Magnetiseurs. Zusammengetragen während seiner zehnjährigen magnetischen Laufbahn nach Aussagen von Somnambulen und vieler Autoren. Leipzig: Otto Wigand, 1845, (1) + viii + 416 pp.

In this work Szapary admits that, although his first book on animal magnetism (Ein Wort über animalischen Magnetismus, entry number 431) appeared in 1840, it was not until 1843 that he really came to understand the true nature of the phenomenon. In that year, he had among his patients a 16-year-old girl, Auguste Kachler, whose somnambulistic pronouncements on animal magnetism took him beyond a mere “poetical” understanding to a truly scientific one. From these insights, Szapary started a new school of healing magnetism, and he credits this young woman as its true founder. In the Katechismus, Szapary brings together Auguste Kachler’s pronouncements and those of other somnambulists and authors to construct a “catechism” of basic truths about healing magnetism. It is presented in this form for a very specific reason. Szapary states that the main difference between Mesmer’s teaching and that of the new school is that according to Mesmer only a few people are capable of magnetizing others, whereas the new school teaches that everyone can do it. Because he held that anyone could magnetize, Szapary undertakes to present to the lay practitioner the basic principles of magnetic practice in a simple and readable form. [H]

528. Szapary, Ferencz Grof.

Die magnetische Lehre der neuen Schule in Fragen und Antworten nach den Vorlesungen . . . von ein seiner Hörer. Regensburg: Manz, 1845, 111 pp.

Four hundred forty-nine questions and answers on animal magnetic practice. This book was intended as a companion work to entry number 527. [H]

529. Teste, Alphonse.

Le magnétisme animal expliqué, ou Leçons analytiques sur la nature essentielle du magnétisme, sur ses effets, son histoire, ses applications, les diverses manières de la pratiquer, etc. Paris: J. B. Baillière, 1845, (3) + 479 + (1) pp.

Lectures written in an easy style and ranging over the history and theory of animal magnetism. [H]

530. Wagner, A.

Facts and Fallacies of Mesmerism; Demonstrated to Its Friends and Opponents. London: Stevenson, 1845, 31 pp.

[H]

531. L’art deformer les somnambules, traité pratique de somnambulisme magnétique, à l’usage des gens du monde et des médecins qui veulent apprendre à magnétiser.

Montpellier: Pierre Grollier, 1846, 68 pp.

A practical handbook for magnetizers who work with somnambulists. It suggests what qualities those magnetizers should possess and tells how to choose and train good somnambulistic subjects. [H]

532. Braid, James.

The Power of the Mind over the Body, an Experimental Inquiry into the Nature and Cause of the Phenomena Attributed by Baron Reichenbach and Others to a “New Imponderable.” London, Edinburgh, and (Manchester): London: John Churchill; Edinburgh: Adam & Chas. Black; (Manchester: Grant and Co.), 1846, 36 pp.

A very intelligent critique of the findings of Baron von Reichenbach concerning his newly discovered “odic” force. In Braid’s mind, this was just another way of talking about the “universal magnetic fluid” of the mesmerists. Consistent with his previous writings on that subject, Braid denies that such a “new imponderable” has been proven to exist. He claims that all the phenomena adduced to establish such a proof may be accounted for in terms of the remarkable power of the human mind over the body and that it is “unphilosophical” to accept its existence unless more ordinary means of explanation fail. [H]

533. Carus, Carl Gustav.

Psyche, zur Entwicklungsgeschichte der Seele. Pforzheim: Flammer and Hoffman, 1846.

Carus, a physician and philosopher, wrote books on gynecology, comparative anatomy, physiology, and psychology. Here, he describes the nature and structure of the unconscious as a repository for all of the feelings and perceptions which we once had and of which we are no longer conscious. Carus argues that communication constantly takes place between individuals on an unconscious level and that studying such communication is crucial for understanding human psychology. His ideas on the unconscious had a strong influence on Eduard von Hartmann (entry number 924). [H]

534. Du Potet de Sennevoy, Jules Denis.

Manuel de l’étudiant magnétiseur, ou Nouvelle instruction pratique sur le magnétisme, fondée sur 30 années d’observation; suivi de la 4e éd. des expériences faites en 1820 à l’Hôtel-Dieu de Paris. Paris: Baillière, 1846, xii, 344 pp.

Written with the beginner in mind, the manual provides some basic theory and techniques for the neophyte in animal magnetism. It was published together with the fourth edition of Du Potet’s first work: Exposé des expériences of 1821 (entry number 302).

535. Elliotson, John.

The Harveian Oration, Delivered before the Royal College of Physicians, London, June 27th, 1846. With an English Version and Notes. London: H. Baillière, (8) + 70 pp.

The Latin address recounts the shoddy treatment given to medical innovators over the centuries, and calls upon the present generation of physicians not to repeat this sorry history in their treatment of animal magnetism. The unusual procedure of publishing the address in both Latin and English was meant to make Elliotson’s views more available to the public. An appendix contains a Letter to the Royal College of Physicians, London, dated March 28, 1802 by Franz Anton Mesmer (1734–1815). Mesmer commends the doctrine of animal magnetism to the Royal College of Physicians, and states that, although some persons in England had detracted him personally, his theory nonetheless remains “undamaged in England, where the discovery has not yet been proclaimed.” [H]

536. Esdaile, James.

Mesmerism in India, and Its Practical Application in Surgery and Medicine. London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, 1846, xxxi + (1) + 287 pp.

Esdaile, originally from Scotland, was a practicing surgeon in Calcutta, India. A physician of great skill, in 1847 he was appointed Surgeon to the Government of India. At the outset, he lists seventy-three painless surgical operations performed in the previous eight months while the patients were in a mesmeric trance, as well as eighteen cases of cures brought about by animal magnetic passes. The surgical operations included amputation of an arm, cataract operations, great toenails cut out by the root, and the removal of large tumors of up to eighty pounds. Esdaile reports that not one death occurred as a result of the operations. Esdaile then traces the history of mesmerism, gives a detailed description of how he induced the mesmeric trance, and describes the course of many cases from diagnosis through operation to recovery. Although this work, along with Elliotson’s Numerous Cases of Surgical Operations Without Pain (entry number 474) was briefly influential, experimentation of the kind Esdaile carried out was cut short by the discovery of an effective chemical anaesthesia the very year Mesmerism in India was published. [H]

537. Gauthier, Aubin.

Réforme médicale: compérage magnétique réprimé, questions et observations d’ordre public sur la pratique du magnétisme, du mesmérisme et du somnambulisme, considérée comme exercice de la médecine, etc. . . . Paris: Dondey-Dupré, 1846, ii + 44 pp.

[H]

538. Haldat du Lys, Charles Nicolas Alexandre de.

Deux mémoires sur le magnétisme (Recherches sur l’universalité de la force magnétique. Recherches sur l’appréciation de la force magnétique). Nancy: Grimblot et Veuve Raybois, 1846, 41 pp.

[H]

539. Jones, Henry.

Animal Magnetism Repudiated as Sorcery;—Not . . . Science . . . With an Appendix on Magnetic Phenomena by William H. Beecher, D.D. New York: J. S. Redfield, 1846, 24 pp.

[H & P]

540. Leger, Theodore.

Animal Magnetism; or Psychodunamy. New York: D. Appleton & Co., 1846, (7) + 8–402 pp.

Leger proposes a complete revision of the nomenclature of animal magnetism (apparently he had not heard of Braid and “hypnotism”) and substitutes “psychodunamy” or “power of the soul.” He renames all the appropriate operations, the verb being to “dunamise,” etc. So he dismisses “animal electricity” (Petetin, entry number 225), “mesmerism,” “pathetism” (Sunderland, entry number 489), and “etherology” (Grimes, entry number 515). In renaming the phenomenon, however, Leger did not revise the characteristics attributed to it. The book presents a very detailed and useful history of the fortunes of animal magnetism from the investigations of the favorable French commission in the 1820s to the time of its writing. It concludes with an interesting prehistory of “psychodunamy” in the medical practices of the ancients, a description of Mesmer’s discovery, and an account of “psychodunamy” in England and America. [H]

541. Loisel, A.

Insensibilité produite au moyen du sommeil magnétique. Nouvelle opération chirurgicale faite à Cherbourg. Cherbourg: n.p., 1846.

For previous surgical operations at Cherbourg, see entry number 520. [H]

542. Loisson de Guinaumont, Claude Marie Louis.

Somnologie magnétique, ou recueil de faits et opinions somnambuliques pour servir à l’histoire du magnétisme humain. Paris: Germer Baillière, Sagnier et Bray, 1846, 324 pp.

A collection of pronouncements by a somnambulist on the nature of human magnetism and other matters. [H]

543. [Loubert, Jean Baptiste.]

Défense théologique du magnétisme humain, ou le magnétisme est-il superstition, magie? Est-il condamné à Rome? Les magnétiseurs et les somnambules sont-ils en sûreté de conscience? Peuvent-ils être admis à la participation des sacrements? Paris: Poussielgue-Rusand, 1846, 330 pp.

Loubert defends himself against critics of the views he expressed in Le magnétisme et le somnambulisme devant les corps savants, le corp de Rome et les théologiens (entry number 498). Objections had been raised not only by theologians who opposed animal magnetism, but also by magnetizers who disagreed with many of his conclusions. [H & P]

544. Magnetic and Cold Water Cure.

Vol. 1; 1846.

One volume only (?), published in Boston and Rochester, New York. [H]

545. Magnétisme. Insensibilité produite au moyen du sommeil magnétique. Nouvelle opération chirurgicale faite à Cherbourg.

Cherbourg: n.p., 1846.

[H]

546. Report of the Committee Appointed by Government to Observe and Report upon Surgical Operations by Dr. J. Esdaile, upon Patients under the Influence of Alleged Mesmeric Agency.

Calcutta: Military Orphan Press, 1846, 29 pp.

When James Esdaile began using animal magnetism or mesmerism to anaesthetize patients for surgical operations, his apparent successes caused the government in India to determine just what was taking place. The report supported Esdaile’s claims and led to the establishment of a mesmeric hospital. There he used mesmerism not only for surgery, but also to alleviate pain and even treat illnesses. [H]

547. Roux, F.

Coup d’oeil sur le magnétisme animal et le somnambulisme considérés sous le rapport médical et religieux. Montpellier: Boehn, 1846, 122 + (2) pp.

[H]

548. [Tanchou, ———.]

Enquête sur l’authenticité des phénomènes électriques d’Angélique Cottîn. Paris: Baillière, 1846, 54 pp.

Angélique Cottin was a peasant girl in her early teens who lived in a village near Montagne in Normandy. For about ten weeks she exhibited phenomena of an apparently “electrical” nature, beginning on January 15, 1846. Objects began to move and behave unpredictably around her, and a Dr. Tanchou decided to investigate what was happening. He discovered that her body behaved as though charged with electricity—sometimes positive and sometimes negative. He states that the electrical force emanated from the left side of her body, particularly from the area of the waist and the bend of the arm. It seemed to be strongest in the evening. [H & P]

549. Bush, George.

Mesmer & Swedenborg; or, The Relation of the Developments of Mesmerism to the Doctrines and Disclosures of Swedenborg. New York: John Allen, 1847, x + (2) + (13)–288 pp.

A most unusual book relating the psychic and psychological phenomena of animal magnetism to the doctrines of the Swedish sage Emanuel Swedenborg. Although Mesmer published his first treatise on animal magnetism (1779) seven years after the death of Swedenborg, those who have followed the teachings of Swedenborg have always manifested an interest in mesmerism. Thus, the first known Swedish document on animal magnetism was published in Stockholm in 1788 by the “Exegetical and Philanthropical Society,” a group formed to promote Swedenborg’s writings (see entry number 186). Dr. Jung-Stilling (1740–1817), who wrote on both animal magnetism and spirit communication (see entry numbers 231–232), was well acquainted with the writings of Swedenborg. It is not surprising then, that Bush, who finds in the psychic phenomena of mesmerism a means for verifying the truth of the experiences of Swedenborg, would have attempted to unify the two streams in a cogent way. [H & P]

550. Delaage, Henri.

Initiation aux mystères du magnétisme. Théorie du magnétisme. Connaissance des maladies, causes et remèdes. Faits magnétiques. Vision somnambulique. Vision dans l’avenir et dans l’espace, etc. . . Rouen and Paris: A. Péron and Dentu, 1847, vi + 97 pp.

Delaage was a mystic, magnetizer, and popularizer of magnetic and spiritual subjects. A kind and modest individual, he was often consulted for spiritual advice. In his writings and life he remained a loyal Catholic and saw no contradiction between his faith and animal magnetism. This work is a general introduction to the theory and practice of animal magnetism, with advice about everything from healing to clairvoyance. [H & P]

551. Gentil, Joseph Adolphe.

Magnétisme. Explication du phénomène de seconde vue et de soustraction de pensée, dont jouissent les somnambules lucides. Du magnétisme au point de vue de la thérapeutique. Marcillet, notice biographique. Paris: Albert Frères, (1847), 32 pp.

[H & P]

552. Lafontaine, Charles.

L’art de magnétiser ou le magnétisme animal considéré sous le point de vue théorique, pratique et thérapeutique. Paris: Germer Baillière, 1847, vii, 364 pp.

The first book of one of the most celebrated magnetizers of the nineteenth century. Lafontaine was a stage magnetizer of great ability who toured Europe and England giving demonstrations of the power of mesmerism. It was his lecture and demonstration in England in 1841 that led James Braid to do the experiments which led to his doctrine of “hypnotism.” In this book Lafontaine deals with both the theory and practice of animal magnetism. It indicates that Lafontaine was not merely a stage magnetist. He had a interest in animal magnetism as an agent for curing or alleviating illnesses, and this work is a veritable mine of information about the use of animal magnetism in Lafontaine’s day. [H]

553. La Salzede, Charles de.

Lettres sur le magnétisme animal, considéré sous le point de vue physiologique et psychologique, à M. le Dr. X***. Paris: Labe, 1847, 231 pp.

[H]

554. Magnétisme, insensibilité absolute produite au moyen du sommeil magnétique. Trois nouvelles opérations chirurgicales pratiquées à Cherbourg, le 4 juin 1847, en présence de plus de 60 témoins.

Cherbourg: Beaufort et Lecauf, (1847).

[H]

555. Tonna, Charlotte Elizabeth (Browne).

Mesmerism, a Letter to Miss Martineau. Philadelphia: Martien, 1847, 16 pp.

[H]

556. Wilson, James Victor.

How to Magnetize, or Magnetism and Clairvoyance. A Practical Treatise on the Choice, Management and Capabilities of Subjects, with Instructions on the Method of Procedure. Revised ed. New York: S. R. Wells and Company, 1879, v + (1) + 11–104 pp.

A practical manual (which first appeared in 1847) of animal magnetism written in a very popular style. No information is available about the first edition except its date. [H & P]

557. Almignana, Abbé.

Magnétisme. Le Christ qualifié de magnétiseur par la synagogue et l’incrédulité modernes et le magnétisme plaidant lui-même la cause du Christ. Paris: n.p., 1848, 36 pp.

While accepting animal magnetism as a genuine phenomenon, the author, a priest, emphasizes that this does not detract from the supernatural character of the works of Christ. [H & P]

558. Cahagnet, Louis Alphonse.

Guide du magnétiseur ou procédés magnétiques d’après Mesmer, de Puységur et Deleuze, mis à la portée de tout le monde suivi des bienfaits et dangers du somnambulisme. Paris: The Author, 1848, 64 pp.

A little work briefly describing how to use “passes” or special movements of the hands to magnetize, how to employ magnetism as a healing technique, and how to gain access to the spirit world through somnambulism. [H & P]

559. Cahagnet, Louis Alphonse.

Magnétisme. Arcanes de la vie future dévoilés, ou l’existence, la forme, les occupations de l’âme après sa séparation du corps sont prouvées par plusieurs années d’expériences au moyen de huit somnambules extatiques qui ont eu quatre-vingts perceptions de trente-six personnes de diverses conditions décédées à différentes époques, leur signalement, conversations, renseignements preuves irrécusables de leur existence au monde spirituell. 3 vols. Paris: Baillière, (1848–1854).

The work of Cahagnet was important in providing a direct link between the tradition of animal magnetism and that of spiritualism. Cahagnet, a Swedenborgian, accepted the belief of the Swedish seer that human beings can communicate with the spirit world. It is not surprising then that when Cahagnet put individuals into a state of magnetic somnambulism, some of them began to speak of experiences of just that kind. Arcanes de la future is the first and most important of his works. In it he describes the visions of eight somnambulists who describe in detail their encounters with spirits of the dead. In some cases they relate information about the deceased person that seemed to be unknown to them but proved to be accurate. They also describe the nature of life beyond the grave and relay moral admonitions from those who have gone to the other side. In his work with these magnetic ecstatics, Cahagnet anticipated the spiritualist movement which was soon to sweep America and, a few years later, England, Germany and France. In France only Billot (see entry number 393) had carried out similar investigations with magnetic somnambulists before Cahagnet. Volume two of this work was translated into English and published under the title The Celestial Telegraph (London: George Peirce, 1850). [H & P]

560. Corfe, George.

Mesmerism Tried by the Touch-stone of Truth: Being a Reply to Dr. Ashburner’s Remarks on Phrenology, Mesmerism, and Clairvoyance. London: Hatchard & Son, 1848, xiv + (15)–44 pp.

[H & P]

561. Crowe, Catherine.

The Night Side of Nature: or, Ghosts and Ghost Seers. 2 vols. London: Newby, 1848, viii + 422; 384 pp.

A very influential work that presents a sober description of various supernormal phenomena including presentiments, trance, doppelgangers, apparitions, haunted houses, spectral lights and poltergeists. Crowe’s work stirred interest in the supernormal among serious-minded individuals and helped prepare the way for what would later be called psychical research. [P]

562. Gentil, Joseph Adolphe.

Initiation aux mystères secrets de la théorie et de la pratique du magnétisme rendue simple et facile quant à la pratique etc., suivie d’expériences inédites faites à Monte Cristo chez Alexandre Dumas, de la biographie de J. B. Marcillet, de la visite faite au somnambule Alexis par le général Cavaignac. Paris: Robert, 1848, 100 pp.

[H]

563. Laurent, P.

Introduction au magnétisme animal par P. Laurent, suivie des principaux aphorismes du Dr Mesmer dictés par lui à l’assemblée de ses élèves, et dans lesquels on trouve ses principes, sa théorie et les moyens de magnétiser. Paris: Lange-Lévy, 1848, 23 pp.

[H]

564. Newman, John B.

Fascination, or The philosophy of Charming, Illustrating the Principles of Life in Connection with Spirit and Matter. New York: Fowler and Wells, 1848, x + (11)–176 pp.

A curious and interesting treatment of the subject of fascination, a term which the author prefers to “animal magnetism” or other alternate names. Newman traces fascination back to Adam and insists that Mesmer did not discover anything new. He points out that fascination is commonly observed in the animal kingdom and has been employed as a healing procedure among human beings from time immemorial. No earlier publication information is available. [H]

565. Pasley, T. H.

The Philosophy which Shows the Physiology of Mesmerism, and Explains the Phenomenon of Clairvoyance. London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, 1848, vii + 104 pp.

The author attempts to provide an elaborate explanation of the nature of animal magnetism and its effects through a “Philosophy of Mechanical Nature.” His explanations are similar to those of Mesmer himself, emphasizing matter and motion as the essential elements of all magnetic action. Like Mesmer, he explains clairvoyant perception as due to the all-pervading presence of a universal fluid that the magnetized person can perceive because of the special state of the magnetized nervous system. [H & P]

566. Ricard, Jean Joseph Adolphe.

Esquisse de l’histoire du magnétisme humain depuis Mesmer jusqu’en 1848. Bordeaux: Institut magnétologique, 1848, 35 pp.

[H]

567. Ricard, Jean Joseph Adolphe.

Vade mecum du magnétiseur. Bordeaux: Institut magnétologique, 1848, 179 pp.

[H]

568. Teste, Alphonse.

Les confessions d’un magnétiseur: suivies d’une consultation médico-magnétique sur des cheveux de Mm. Lafarge. 2 vols. Paris: Garnier frères, 1848.

[H]

569. Angelhuber, J. F.

Die prophetische Kraft des magnetische Schlafes, oder wunderbare Enthüllungen des Zukunft durch Somnambulen psychologische dargestellt und durch zahlreiche Beispiele bestätigt. Nebst Fingerzeigen, die zum Hochschlaf geeigneten Personen in den Zustand der clairvoyance zu versetzen. Weimar: Bernhard Friedrich Voigt, 1849, (4) + 264 pp.

Working within the magnetic tradition as elaborated by the principal German magnetists, Angelhuber describes how such things as prophecy, dowsing, physical rapport, and clairvoyance work. [H & P]

570. Baumann, A. M. F.

Curative Results of Medical Somnambulism, Consisting of Several Authenticated Cases, Including the Somnambule’s Own Case and Cure. London: Hippolyte Baillère, 1849, 43 pp.

[H]

571. Blakeman, Rufus.

A Philosophical Essay on Credulity and Superstition; and also on Animal Fascination, or Charming. New York and New Haven: D. Appleton (New York) and S. Babcock (New Haven), 1849, 206 pp.

A little known treatise which discusses everything from mesmerism and quackery to ghosts and witchcraft. [H & P]

572. Bristol Mesmeric Institute.

Report of the First Public Meeting; the Rt. Hon. Earl Ducie, President, in the Chair. London: n.p., 1849, 12 pp.

[H]

573. Buchanan’s Journal of Man.

Vols. 1–6; 1849–1856. Vols. 1–3; 1887–1890 (new series).

Edited by Joseph Rodes Buchanan. [P]

574. Duncan, George W.

A Synopsis of Mesmerism; or, Animal Magnetism, Pathetism, Electrical Psychology; or the Philosophy of Impressions. Philadelphia: n.p., 1849, 15 pp.

[H]

575. Haddock, Joseph W.

Somnolism and Psycheism, Otherwise Vital Magnetism, or Mesmerism: Considered Physiologically and Philosophically. With an Appendix Containing Notes of Mesmeric and Psychical Experience. London: Hodson, 1849, 73 pp.

Two lectures given by Haddock, a physician of Bolton, England, on the subject of mesmerism. In the appendix he describes some remarkable experiments done with his chief somnambulistic subject, Emma. Haddock enlarged the work for a second edition published in 1851 which enjoyed great popularity in England and the United States. The book is important both for its influence in popularizing mesmerism and also for its account of Emma’s paranormal experiences. [H & P]

576. Lee, Edwin.

Animal Magnetism and the Associated Phenomena, Somnambulism, Clairvoyance, etc. London: J. Churchill, 1849, vi + (3)–55 pp. [H & P]

577. Le magnétiseur spiritualiste, Journal rédigé par les membres de la société des magnétiseurs spiritualistes de Paris.

Vols. 1–3; 1849–1851.

Published in Paris and edited by Louis Alphonse Cahagnet (1805–1885), this periodical was intended as a forum for short articles on animal magnetism, ecstatic somnambulism, magnetic healing and related subjects. [H & P]

578. Maitland, Samuel Roffey.

Illustrations and Enquiries Relating to Mesmerism. Part I. London: William Stephenson, 1849, vi + 80 pp.

A small treatise sympathetic to mesmerism written by a British clergyman. Maitland gathers together some of the more striking accounts of mesmeric phenomena in an effort to arouse the curiosity of the reader. He treats, among other things, clairvoyance and mesmerism at a distance. Part 2 never appeared. [H & P]

579. Mayo, Herbert.

Letter on the Truths Contained in Popular Superstitions, with an Account of Mesmerism. Frankfurt: J. D. Sauerlaender, 1849, iv + 5–152 pp.

Mayo was Professor of Comparative Anatomy at the Royal College of Surgeons in London. The whole first part is about various “superstitions” in which Mayo finds both truth and delusion. These include the divining rod, ghosts, and vampirism. This section is followed by a discussion of trance in its various forms. He investigates both natural trances, such as coma, and artificially induced trance, particularly that brought about by animal magnetism. Mayo accepts the reality of many of the “higher phenomena” of magnetic somnambulism and gives a detailed description of the various kinds or stages of clairvoyance. He also mentions a patient who manifested “quintuple consciousness,” apparently a case of multiple personality. [H & P]

580. Mongruel, Louis Pierre.

Prodiges et merveilles de l’esprit humain sous l’influence magnétique. Paris: n.p., 1849, 92 pp.

The author writes about magnetic somnambulism and the oracular states that it can produce. His wife (see Madame Mongruel, entry number 809) was such a somnambulist and was known in Paris as the “modern sibyl.” In this work Mongruel cites certain information acquired somnambulistically that shows, he believes, that she had psychic access to secret meetings. [H & P]

581. Olivier, Joseph.

Traité de magnétisme, suivi des paroles d’un somnambule, et d’un recueil de traitements magnétiques. Toulouse: Jouglat, 1849, 521 pp.

[H]

582. Pretreaux, J. D.

Electricité naturelle, ou Mesmérisme mis en pratique à l’usage des familles. Cambrai: A. Girard, 1849, 24 pp.

[H]

583. Reichenbach, Karl Ludwig von.

Physikalish-physiologische Untersuchungen über die Dynamide des Magnetismus, der Electrizität, der Wärme, des Lichtes, der Krystallisation, des Chemismus in ihren Beziehungen zur Lebenskraft. 2 vols. 2 ed. Braunschweig: Friedrich Vieweg and Sohn, 1849, xiv + (4) + 218; vi + 240 pp. English: Psycho-physiological Researches on the Dynamides or Imponderables, Magnetism, Electricity, Heat, Light, Crystallization, and Chemical Attraction, in Their Relation to the Vital Force. Translated by William Gregory. London: Taylor, Walton and Maberly, 1850.

Reichenbach was a German natural philosopher and industrialist, famous as the discoverer of creosote and paraffin. He liked scientific experimentation and in the 1840s questioned human perception of magnetic emanations. He came to believe that every substance in the universe gives off emanations which can be perceived by some individuals. Reichenbach called these emanations “od” and the people who can perceive them “sensitives.” He believed that he had conclusively established that these individuals could see an “odyllic light” of definite color proceeding from the human fingertips, from the poles of magnets, from crystals, and from other substances. Reichenbach was certain that, in his experiments, he had removed all possibility that suggestion or ordinary perception were involved in these experiences. Sensitives, according to Reichenbach, used a faculty possessed by a great part of the population (perhaps half), and he considered the perception of “od” emanations to be a purely natural phenomenon with no supernatural implications. He tried to forcefully set himself apart from the proponents of animal magnetism, stating that his concern was simply to investigate a general physical force, and that he had no interest in the therapeutic practices of the mesmerizers. Nonetheless, it is difficult to distinguish Reichenbach’s odic force from Mesmer’s magnetic fluid. The similarity is reflected in general writings on human magnetism from 1850 on that often treat the two phenomena as identical. In Physikalish-physiologische Untersuchungen, Reichenbach’s most popular work on the subject, the author presents an overview of his notion of “od” (or “odyle,” as Gregory translated it) and a description of the experiments he conducted to establish its existence. There were two English translations: the one referenced above, and another translated by John Ashburner and published in 1851. Reichenbach’s writings were numerous, but most of them were never translated into English. Information on the first German edition of this work is unavailable. [H]

584. Rice, Nathan Lewis

Phrenology Examined, and Shown to be Inconsistent with the Principles of Physiology, Mental and Moral Science, and the Doctrines of Christianity: also an Examination of the Claims of Mesmerism. New York and Cincinnati: R. Carter & Brothers (New York) and J. D. Thorpe, (Cincinatti), 1849, viii + 9–318 pp.

[H]

585. [Rodgers, W. H.]

Facts in Magnetism, Mesmerism, Somnambulism, Fascination, Hypnotism, Sycodonamy, Etherology, Pathetism, &c., Explained and Illustrated. Auburn, Derby: The Author, 1849, 96 pp.

[H]

586. Scoresby, W.

Zoistic Magnetism: Being the Substance of Two Lectures, Descriptive of Original Views and Investigations Respecting This Mysterious Agency; Delivered, by Request, at Torquay, on the 24th of April and 1st of May, 1849. London and Torquay: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans (London) and Cockren (Torquay), 1849, 144 pp.

Against the accusation that a supernatural, diabolical agency is involved in phenomena of animal magnetism (zoistic magnetism), Scoresby attempts to show that the phenomena are explicable in terms of the known laws of magnetism and electricity. Scoresby makes his point from experiments he himself had conducted, beginning in 1845. He distinguishes five degrees or stages of zoistic magnetism: 1) an initial effect that involves dimming of sight or warming of the forehead; 2) a closing of the eyes and inability to reopen them; 3) sleep-walking or somnambulism, with an awareness only of the magnetizer; 4) sleep-walking with the perception of sensations induced by the magnetizer, and often insensibility to pain; and 5) a sleep of insensibility, where no personal impressions affect the subject and there is total immunity to severe pain. In this fifth stage ecstatic experiences may occur. [H]

587. Ashburner, John.

Facts and observations on the mesmeric and magnetic fluids. N.p.: n.p., 1850, 16 pp.

[H]

588. Barth, George H.

The Mesmerist’s Manual of Phenomena and Practice; with Directions for Applying Mesmerism to the Cure of Diseases, and the Methods of Producing Mesmeric Phenomena. Intended for Domestic Use and the Instruction of Beginners. London: H. Baillière, 1850, viii + 192 pp.

Claiming no original contribution to animal magnetism, Barth sets out to make plain how mesmerism may be practiced by those who are interested. He concentrates on descriptions of the various states and stages, and depicts the expected phenomena. He also points out certain problems that can occur in the application of animal magnetism. This little manual was very popular in its day. [H]

589. Beesel, M.

Darstellung und Enthüllung des Somnambulismus, mit besonderer Bezugnahme auf den Somnambulen, Stahlschmiedegesellen Carl Wilhelm Kohn. 2 vols in 1. Danzig: L. G. Homann, 1850, iv + 54 + (2); (2) + 56 + (2) pp.

[H]

590. Benoit, Jacques Toussaint and Biat, Chrétien.

Communication universelle et instantanée de la pensée à quelque distance que ce soit, à l’aide d’un appareil portatif appelé Boussole Pasilalinique Sympathique. Paris: Bureau de l’Institute Polytechnique, 1850, 80 pp.

A unique treatise containing a design for communication at a distance through telepathic communication between snails. The plan called for a simple code to be transmitted from one place to another by the stimulation of a snail on the transmitting end. This code could then be perceived on the receiving end by observing the sympathetic reaction of a paired snail. The result was supposed to be a kind of “snail telegraph.” [P]

591. Braid, James.

Observations on Trance: or, Human Hybernation. London: Churchill, 1850, 72 pp.

Here Braid deals with three cases of men who were buried alive and survived the ordeal. Drawing an analogy with the state of hibernation in animals he suggests this may be possible because the men were able to place themselves in a trance so deep that the ordinary signs of life in the body were hardly detectable. Braid also notes that the cataleptic state need not necessarily be accompanied by a loss of consciousness in human beings and suggests ways to treat pathological catalepsy. [H]

592. Bristol Mesmeric Institute.

Report of the Annual Meeting, May 1850; James Adam Gordon, Esq., Vice-President, in the Chair. London: n.p., 1850, 11 pp.

[H]

593. Cahagnet, Louis Alphonse.

Sanctuaire du spiritualisme. Étude de l’âme humaine, ses rapports avec l’univers, d’après le somnambulisme et l’extase. Paris: Germer Baillière, 1850, (6) + 585 pp.

Cahagnet’s second major work, in the form of twelve “conferences”, is an investigation of human nature as disclosed in the visions of ecstatics. The ecstatics discussed include those whose visions were drug induced. [H & P]

594. Delaage, Henri.

Le monde occulte, ou mystères du magnétisme et tableau de somnambulisme. Paris: E. Dentu, 1850, 198 pp.

[H & P]

595. Dewey, Dellon Marcus.

History of the Strange Sounds or Rappings, Heard in Rochester and Western New York, and Usually Called the Mysterious Noises! Which are Supposed by Many to be Communications from the Spirit World, Together with all the Explanation that Can as yet Be Given of the Matter. Rochester: The Author, 1850, (1) + ii + (13)–79 pp.

In 1848, the home of John D. Fox (situated in Hydesville, near Rochester, New York) was disturbed by knockings and other sounds that were believed to be produced by the spirit of a deceased man. Two of Fox’s daughters, Kate (1841–1892) and Margaret (1838–1893) who seemed to be the focus of these sounds, discovered that the knocks seemed to respond to their questions. At the suggestion of their mother, they devised a simple code that would allow the knocks to spell out messages. Soon the Fox home was full of neighbors and other curious people trying to discover the source of the sounds. Eventually the daughters left home, but the knocks followed them. Kate and Margaret began to put on demonstrations in living rooms and meeting rooms for those interested in witnessing their communications with the spirit world. They began a tour that quickly brought national and then world attention to the phenomena. This was the beginning of the Spiritualist movement that over the next five years spread to countries all over the world. History of the Strange Sounds is probably the earliest published book on the events that took place at the Fox home. It is an important source of information about the first days and weeks in which knockings were observed. The book contains many signed testimonials from those who witnessed the early events, includes a diagram of the interior of the Fox home, and is exceedingly rare. [P]

596. Dods, John Bovee.

The Philosophy of Electrical Psychology: In a Course of Twelve Lectures. New York: Fowler & Wells Co., (1850), 252 pp.

At the invitation of Senators Sam Houston and Daniel Webster, Dods delivered these lectures on his doctrine of electrical psychology to the United States Congress. He begins by indicating that for many years he had believed that electricity is the connecting link between mind and matter, which have a reciprocal action upon each other. This is the basis for his electrical psychology. By making use of electrical psychology he had been able to cure people of a great variety of diseases. Although the same “fluid” is involved in mesmerism and electrical psychology, electrical psychology is not the same as mesmerism, which is a doctrine of sympathy. Electrical psychology is a doctrine of impressions. While rapport is central to mesmerism and causes the mesmerized person to have his or her senses tied up with those of the magnetizer, in electrical psychology the subject’s senses remain entirely independent of the operator. [H]

597. Gromier, Emile.

Du magnétisme; qu’est-ce que le magnétisme ou étude historique et critique des principaux phénomènes qui le constituent, suivie de l’explication rationnelle qu’il convient d’en donner. Lyon and Paris: Savy, 1850, 56 pp.

A discussion of the nature of animal magnetism, drawn from an examination of some of its principal practitioners. [H]

598. A Key to the Science of Electrical Psychology. All its Secrets Explained, with Full and Comprehensive Instructions in the Mode of Operation and its Application to Disease, with Some Useful and Highly Interesting Experiments. Every Person an Operator. By a Professor of the Science.

N.p.: n.p., 1850, 12 pp.

Intended to provide information about “electrical psychology,” a kind of mesmeric healing technique, the pamphlet was designed to supplement the knowledge of those who had taken the practical courses in the subject. The author suggests that the subject to be operated on might place a coin on the palm of his or her hand and concentrate on it for a half hour or so, thus setting up a “galvanic current”—a practice that recalls Braid’s hypnotic technique of fixing the gaze on a shiny object. [H]

599. Léquine, F.

Mesmérisme à l’aide d’un bassin et d’un ventilateur inventé par F. Léquine. Paris: The Author, 1850, 4 pp.

An ill-fated attempt to revive the baquet, the apparatus used by Mesmer to store and distribute animal magnetic fluid. [H]

600. Mongruel, Louis Pierre.

Appel de l’Union-protectrice à tous les partisans et amis du magnétisme. Protestation en faveur de la libre manifestation des croyances et de la libre application de la science de Mesmer. Rapport collectif et officiel de la commission pour servir à la défense du somnambulisme. 2 éd. Paris: M. Mongruel, 1850, 24 pp.

Information on the first edition, dated July 25, 1850, is incomplete. This second edition is dated August 1, 1850. [H]

601. Mongruel, Louis Pierre.

Petit traité sur le magnétisme animal, contenant 1. un précis historique sur la matière; 2. une dissertation succincte sur les influences occultes qui dominent l’homme; 3. une courte appréciation de l’avenir du magnétisme; 4. une notice sur la sibylle moderne et sur ses facultés somnambuliques; 5. des preuves positives d’une lucidité prodigieuse et incontestable; 6. des conseils à ceux qui veulent la consulter avec fruit, etc. Paris: The Author, 1850, 15 pp.

Mongruel’s wife (see Madame Mongruel, entry number 809) was a well-known oracular somnambulist of Paris. In this collect