1928 Malleus Maleficarum "The Hammer of the Witches" 1st English Edition

First English Translation by Montague Summers

Limited Numbered Edition Copy No. 854 of 1,275

Offered here is an original numbered copy of the landmark 1928 English translation of Malleus Maleficarum, translated by the enigmatic scholar and occultist Montague Summers. This example is hand-numbered No. 854 from a limited edition of 1,275 copies, printed by R. Clay & Sons Ltd., Bungay, Suffolk, on specially commissioned Dutch paper.

Bound in the publisher's original cream cloth boards with red leather spine and retaining its characteristic deckled edges throughout, this edition represents the first complete appearance of the notorious medieval witch-hunting manual in the English language.

About the Malleus Maleficarum:

First published in 1487, the Malleus Maleficarum is among the most infamous and influential books of the late medieval period. Written principally by the Dominican inquisitor Heinrich Kramer, it was conceived as a comprehensive argument for the existence of witchcraft and as a practical guide for identifying, interrogating, prosecuting, and punishing those accused of practicing it.

The work is divided into three major sections:

Part I: Theological Justification

An attempt to prove the reality of witchcraft, demonic influence, and the Devil's ability to act in the world through human agents.

Part II: Alleged Practices of Witches

Descriptions of supposed magical acts, pacts with demons, curses, transformations, enchantments, possession, and other supernatural phenomena believed possible through diabolical intervention.

Part III: Judicial Procedure

A procedural handbook for judges and inquisitors detailing methods of investigation, interrogation, evidence gathering, trial procedure, sentencing, and punishment of accused witches.

Although not an official doctrinal text of the Church, the Malleus became one of the most widely circulated demonological works of the early modern era and exerted considerable influence on later witchcraft prosecutions throughout Europe. Today it is studied primarily as a historical document illustrating medieval and early modern beliefs concerning heresy, superstition, demonology, law, and social control.

Montague Summers:

The translator of this edition, Augustus Montague Summers, remains one of the most unusual literary figures of the twentieth century.

A scholar of Gothic literature, witchcraft, vampires, folklore, and demonology, Summers cultivated an intentionally archaic and theatrical public persona, frequently appearing in flowing clerical attire and presenting himself as a Roman Catholic clergyman. His claims regarding priestly ordination have long been the subject of debate. While he studied for the Anglican ministry and was associated with ecclesiastical circles, definitive documentation of a valid Roman Catholic ordination has never been conclusively established, leading many historians to regard his clerical status as uncertain.

Unlike modern historians, Summers did not approach witchcraft merely as a cultural or historical phenomenon. He openly maintained that:

• witches existed,
• demonic possession was real,
• vampires were genuine entities,
• and many traditional supernatural beliefs deserved serious consideration.

This perspective profoundly shaped his translation and commentary. Rather than treating the Malleus Maleficarum as a relic of superstition, Summers approached it with sympathy and intellectual seriousness, making his edition a fascinating historical artefact in its own right.

His combination of scholarship, eccentricity, occult interests, and self-fashioned clerical identity has made him one of the most memorable figures in the history of supernatural studies.

Provenance:

Accompanying this volume is an original antiquarian bookseller description issued by Harrington Bros., the London rare-book firm that would later evolve into the internationally renowned Peter Harrington.

The retained bookseller sheet identifies the work as a “Limited Edition. First Edition in English” and records a contemporary asking price of £210, reflecting the book's recognized collectability within the antiquarian trade decades ago. Handwritten dealer annotations including “1st Ed” and “1st Edition in English” further demonstrate how the volume was catalogued and marketed by professional rare-book specialists.

Bibliographic Details:

• Title: Malleus Maleficarum
• Authors: Heinrich Kramer and Jacob Sprenger
• Translator: Montague Summers
• Publication Date: 1928
• Publisher: John Rodker, London
• Printer: R. Clay & Sons Ltd., Bungay, Suffolk
• Edition: First English translation
• Limitation: Copy No. 854 of 1,275 numbered copies
• Paper: Special Dutch paper produced for the edition
• Binding: Original cloth boards with red leather spine
• Page total: 278 pages

Condition: