Crescent City Books

Crescent City Books Books and prints spanning the last 500 years. Open since 1992. Members of the ABAA & ILAB.
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Specializing in used, out-of-print, and rare books, as well as antique maps and prints, from all over the world - a real gem for locals and visitors of all types.

Tis the season…Open daily 11-7240 Chartres Street
10/18/2025

Tis the season…
Open daily 11-7
240 Chartres Street

$OLD!!!$tud by Phil Andros The very first Rough Trade. The first American gay pornographic novel. Published in 1966.Writ...
09/03/2025

$OLD!!!

$tud by Phil Andros
The very first Rough Trade. The first American gay pornographic novel. Published in 1966.

Written by Samuel Steward, who had a PhD in English and vast teaching experience, he also became one of the leading tattooists of his day, and the official tattooist for the Hells Angels in the Bay Area. Good friends with and assisting Alfred Kinsey, he lived a proud “open renegade homosexual lifestyle, meticulously documenting his sexual conquests and escapades”.

Our third and final occult title from the early 1700s. We are delighted to share them with you. They are not reproductio...
08/18/2025

Our third and final occult title from the early 1700s. We are delighted to share them with you. They are not reproductions. This is the real deal. Full descriptions and photos. Enjoy.

1705 first edition of An Historical, Physiological and Theoretical Treatise of Spirits, Apparitions and Witchcrafts, and with Other Magical Practices by John Beaumont.

An Historical, Physiological and Theoretical Treatise of Spirits, Apparitions and Witchcrafts, and with Other Magical Practices. Containing an Account of the Genii or Familiar Spirits, both Good and Bad, that are said to attend Men in this Life; and what sensible Perceptions some Persons have of them: (particularly the Author’s own Experience for many Years) Also the Appearances of Spirits after Death, Divine Dreams, Divinations, Second Sighted Persons, etc. by John Beaumont.

Published in London by D. Browne
Early enlightenment firsthand account of spiritual visitation.

Physician John Beaumont’s (1640 - 1731) firsthand account of some extraordinary visitations having happened to me. Along with the practicing medicine, Beaumont was also keenly interested in natural history, especially geology. He was elected Fellow of the Royal Society in 1685 on account of his work with on fossils. He shared an interest in apparitions and the occult with other members of the Ssociety, including Robert Boyle and Joseph Glenville. In his Treatise of Spirits, Beaumont presents his ideas about the nature of spirits using accounts of what he considered to be related phenomenon: cases of second site, prophetic dreams, oracles, visions, witchcraft, fairies, and magical feats. He was careful to choose modern accounts with credible sources, making particular use of stories from America, including the Salem witch trials. He also demonstrated a familiarity with other occult texts. What made Beaumont’s Treatise of Spirits, exceptional from other collections of ghost stories and supernatural tales (of which they were many at that time), with his own involuntary firsthand experiences with apparitions over two decades. His experiences impacted him on a deeply personal level and prompted him to write his book. Although he was careful to note he never summoned spirits and was surprised each time they appeared to him. Despite his profession, he did not accept the diagnosis of melancholia for his affliction, instead he used a pragmatic approach, acting as an investigator into his own case and others. He believed his own experience could provide a frame of reference for others, and went as far as to fault other writers in the subject for not having personal experience with spirits, and being therefore incapable of truly understanding the subject. Although he also noted that he did not think his particular case could be used to prove the existence of spirits conclusively. As a Fellow of the Royal Society and an enthusiastic naturalist, Beaumont adopted a similar enlightenment approach for explaining his encounters with spirits as those substantiating new discoveries in the natural world. One could not rely on observations alone, a multisensory approach must be taken. He dedicates full chapters to examples of multisensory experiences, as well as site and sound. By focusing on the senses, Beaumont was able to adopt an empirical approach to understanding the supernatural. Beaumont developed the theory that spirits- regardless of the labeled demon, angel, fairy, or ghost - had nearly unlimited power to contravene the laws of nature. This was a significant divergence from the arguments of the previous centuries, when many writers describe these powers specifically to the Devil. Yet he struggled to explain his visual and auditory encounters with spirits so he used history to support his accounts. Beaumont based his treatise on the premise that the genii or spirits were an ancient phenomenon that is continued into his own day.

Contemporary blind paneled calf, rebacked with original end papers, repairs to the inner joints, custom clamshell case.

A rare book but one other copy for sale almost similar condition in the UK for $6200.

$5000

Welcome to our second occult title from the early 1700s. We are delighted to share them with you. They are not reproduct...
08/18/2025

Welcome to our second occult title from the early 1700s. We are delighted to share them with you. They are not reproductions. This is the real deal. Full descriptions and photos. Enjoy.

1720 An Historical Essay Concerning Witchcraft by Frances Hutchinson.

An Historical Essay Concerning Witchcraft. With Observations Upon Matters of Fact; Tending to Clear the Texts of the Sacred Scriptures, and Confute the Vulgar Errors About That Point. And Also Two Sermons: One in Proof of the Christian Religion; the Other Concerning Good and Evil Angels.
Francis Hutchinson (1600 - 1739)
1720 Second edition with considerable additions.
Printed in London for R. Knaplock and D. Midwinter

Hutchinson’s interest in the history of witchcraft was piqued during his tenure as a minister and perpetual curate of Saint James Parish in Bury St. Edmunds, which had been the location of a number of famous trials, including that of Jane Wenham in 1712 which Hutchinson witnessed firsthand. In the present work, first published in 1718, Hutchinson carefully examined witch-hunting and the witchcraft prosecutions in East Anglia and other parts of England, as well as Salem, Boston, and Andover in New England, and applied a consciously rational approach to the phenomenon. The treatise is full of valuable historical details with many particulars collected by personal inquiry from survivors. In A History of Witchcraft in England from 1558 to 1718, written in 1911, Wallace Notestein pronounced the book epoch-making. However, it took another 37 years before the hunting and ex*****on of witches in Great Britain was finally abolished with the passage of the Witchcraft Act of 1735.

With the usually missing half title intact. Wood cut headpiece and initial. Rebacked original full paneled calf. Original end papers intact.

Recent custom clamshell case.
$2000

If you have a love of old books and occult titles, you’ve come to the right place. We have come across three such books ...
08/18/2025

If you have a love of old books and occult titles, you’ve come to the right place. We have come across three such books from the early 1700s and are delighted to share them with you. They are not reproductions. This is the real deal. Full descriptions and photos. Enjoy.

1721 Second edition of Miscellanies Upon the Following Subjects by John Aubrey.

Bound with Henry Bourne’s Antiuitates Vulgares (1725) as the first title. Which also includes topics on the occult, such as the correct form for exercising a haunted house and histories of various holidays and their pagan or otherwise origins, folklore, and superstitions around these holiday events.
The second edition of this scarce occult essay collection by the English antiquary, natural philosopher, and writer, John Aubrey. This work was the only one published by Aubrey during his lifetime, the extremely rare first edition being published in 1696. The twenty one different chapters center around the theme of hermetick philosophy. Therefore, each section discusses supernatural phenomenon and the occult.

Miscellanies Upon the Following Subjects
I. Day-Fatality
II. Local-Fatality
III. Ostenta
IV. Omens
V. Dreams,
VI. Apparitions
VII. Voices
VIII. Iimpulses
IX. Knocking
X. Blows Invisible
XI. Prophecies
XII. Marvels
XIII. Magick
XIV. Transportation in the Air
XV. Visions in a Beril, or Glass
XVI. Converse with Angels and Spirits
XVII. Corps-Candles in Wales
XVIII. Oracles
XIX. Ecstasy
XX. Glances of Love and Envy
XXI. Second-Sighted Persons
XXII. The Discovery of Two Murders by an Apparition

This enlarged second edition contains the life of the author. A scarce title, bound with a complimentary text that covers grounds not covered with Aubrey‘s work.
Recent custom clamshell case.

$950

A signed first edition Anne Rice? An actual intact SCUM MANIFESTO? First DAW paperback editions of Phillip K. Dick?Yes y...
11/19/2024

A signed first edition Anne Rice? An actual intact SCUM MANIFESTO? First DAW paperback editions of Phillip K. Dick?
Yes yes yes and so much more! We’ve purchased some very interesting libraries recently. Come see what we’ve collected and see if it belongs in yours!
240 Chartres Street
11-7 daily

Here. And nowhere else.
05/04/2024

Here. And nowhere else.

What an absolutely stunning day! The weather is perfect for a stroll through the Quarter. The calliope is playing, the s...
12/15/2023

What an absolutely stunning day! The weather is perfect for a stroll through the Quarter. The calliope is playing, the streets aren’t too packed, and there are plenty of lovely little shops to dip into to search for the perfect gift. Bars to have a drink in. Restaurants to have an appetizer and relax.
Don’t forget to stop in and see us and our treasures!
240 Chartres Street
11-7

Who asks if you REALLY need more books? Drop that kind of negative energy from your life. You deserve better.
12/08/2023

Who asks if you REALLY need more books? Drop that kind of negative energy from your life. You deserve better.

The rain always makes me want to read. Come find your next adventure, solace, or love affair. Maybe all three. Open 11-7...
12/01/2023

The rain always makes me want to read. Come find your next adventure, solace, or love affair. Maybe all three.
Open 11-7
240 Chartres Street

This gorgeous 1889 elephant folio sized edition of Coleridge’s The Rime of the Ancient Mariner illustrated by Gustave Do...
09/12/2023

This gorgeous 1889 elephant folio sized edition of Coleridge’s The Rime of the Ancient Mariner illustrated by Gustave Dorè is stunning and just arrived in our store.
Come in and see what new found treasures we’ve got for you.
240 Chartres Street in the French Quarter
11-7 daily

**SOLD** Black Women of the Old West**SOLD** Inspirational Beds, Bedrooms & Boudoirs**SOLD** Coney Island… What excites ...
09/02/2023

**SOLD** Black Women of the Old West
**SOLD** Inspirational Beds, Bedrooms & Boudoirs
**SOLD** Coney Island…
What excites you?
240 Chartres Street
11-7

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New Orleans, LA
70130

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