Arthur Conan Doyle's handwritten notebook on spiritualism, totaling 34 handwritten pages by Doyle, 6.5 x 8, bound in stiff moiré wrappers. For many of his later years, Doyle intensely pursued his interest in paranormal phenomena, and by the end of World War I he identified himself as a Spiritualist, believing in a spirit world and the ability to communicate with those beyond the grave. He established the specialized Psychic Bookshop in 1925, devoted entirely to the sale of spiritualistic and psychic books; he later formed a small museum in the basement, showcasing various objects relevant to ghosts and the spirit world. In this extensive manuscript, Doyle documents various experiences with spirits and séances, and pens excerpts from various contemporary and historical works on those subjects.
Doyle's notebook begins with "Experiences of Mrs. Robertson, British Columbia." In part: "Her results were got first from table messages & then from writing done while the circle was sitting. The first good test was she got the title of the Marquis of Durat as the ancestor of her friend. This proved correct. A Mrs. Willett joined her who also had writing power. Mrs. Willett got written messages for Kathleen a young friend from her fiancé Tom Barry killed in the war, getting the name correct though he was a stranger to her. Extract from Tom Barry: 'There is a beauty here beyond your wildest dream. Great many coloured mountains & rushing streams & fields of waving green, wandering away towards sunsets and sunrises.' Barry says on love:—'If you and I are meant for each other, in time we will know it. If not, then God will guide you to the one he means for you, for no half is perfect. It takes a whole.' Numerous tests followed; among others she got a message correctly which was inside a closed paper & unknown to anyone in the room. This seemed an absolutely final test...Message from Lord Kitchener: 'It was all darkness to me when I went down under the awful waters that night on the Hampshire. My soul gave up to despair. The awfulness of it all the pitching boat the towering waves. God was forgotten'...Milton came, but was very unconvincing, also an old spirit, called Gad, also unconvincing, also Gabriel, also unconvincing...Some information as to the next world: 'Nights are never dark in our immediate vicinity. They only darken till they are inky black & full of stars like yours in their far-away vastness. Near us they are a soft iridescence & it is very soothing, so soothing that they themselves rest us & so we rarely sleep. Sleep belongs to our days & we only sleep then when, after a great strain on our minds, we need oblivion. Oh! the sun rises when the children's laughter intermingles with the birds' song, for children never cry here. The waterfalls here are like yours on earth only they make sweet noises as they rush or fall or drip. The fields are much more varied in their colour for our crops are many of them unknown to you."
The notebook continues with a passage headed "Information from 'Stella Sketchley,'" with details on the famed Italian Spiritualist physical medium Eusapia Palladino, known for her claims of an ability to levitate objects and communicate with spirits. In part: "'Eusapia,' Born 1854 near Naples. Marked depression in her head from an early fall. Cool wind issues from this in trance. 1884—Chiaia investigated her. Lombroso & Flammarion in 1891 with Prof. Gigli & others Flammarion says: 'When we were taking leave the medium being still seated and bound and all of us standing round the table conversing we heard noises in the alcove and saw the round table slowly advancing. This was in a local hotel. On seeing this strange phenomenon in full light we were all stupefied with amazement. M. Bianchi & Lombroso's nephew dashed into the alcove—There was no one there, and under their very eyes the table continued to glide over the floor in the direction of the medium.' Lombroso afterwards wrote, 'I regret that I combatted with so much persistence the possibility of the facts called spiritualistic.' At Milan sittings were held in the private home of M. Finzi under control of Lombroso...They photographed the levitated tables & got prints of hands on smoked paper though no grime appeared on Eusapia's hand...On one occasion Morselli caught Eusapia freeing her left hand & reaching towards a trumpet on the table. He cried in warning but while they watched her hand the trumpet flew up into the air independently...'Spiritualistic phenomena are authentic' says Lombroso. 'I have attended 100 séances. I am perfectly convinced of the authenticity of the phenomena produced by the medium Eusapia. Nevertheless when she finds herself in a condition not favourable to the production of these phenomena she does not hesitate to resort to tricks. This is partly due to a great desire to please those who expect something from her. As to the moving of objects at a distance without contact in my opinion there is no longer any room for doubt as to their authenticity. There are a number of instantaneous photographs in existence which speak for themselves taken after every precaution has been taken by scientists present.'"
Doyle continues to chronicle various famous spiritualistic occurrences: "The novel of Edwin Drood left incomplete by Dickens was finished by the 14-yr old medium James, a mechanic and almost unable to read. He did not believe in Spiritualism, but was besought by Dickens to continue the novel under his dictation. It is interesting to note that the orthography is English & not America, and to observe the frequent passing from the past tense to the present—a special peculiarity of Dickens' style. James entered into a trance and saw Dickens fix him with his glance. He did not know what he was writing but when he awoke found the floor littered with unnumbered manuscript slips, and on every page the writing was larger than on the one that preceded it."
He goes on to transcribe several excerpts from Cesare Lombroso's "After Death—What?," recording further observations from séances with Eusapia and other commentary on mediums. Doyle then records a prescient address given by W. T. Stead at an event with clairvoyant Mrs. Foster-Turner from "February 1914, before there was a whisper of the War," in part: "To prove that spirit return is a great reality I will give some warnings and prophecies. Before this year (1914) has run its course Europe will be deluged in blood; Great Britain will be involved in the most awful war the world has ever known; Germany will be the greatest antagonist; crowned heads will disappear; the Austrian Throne & Empire will totter to their ruin; millions of lives will be sacrificed; but our beloved nation will conquer."
Doyle goes on to record several contemporary and historical instances of spirit phenomena, including excerpts from 19th-century diaries, several quotes from séances, a "case where a Scotch woman living in Mexico wrote a Romance about Ancient Egypt. Quite a considerable proportion of the names were found to be correct by an ancient Egyptian scholar," a "case for telepathy," and and the story of a woman who "went to a séance about 1885, developed her own mediumship later." In very good to fine condition, with heavy wear to the spine and covers; interior pages are clean and fine.
