Lot 1326

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Description:

ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE
(1859 - 1930) English author and spiritualist remembered for his creation of the immortal Sherlock Holmes and his friend Dr. Watson. Typed Ms., 11pp, 4to., with numerous autograph additions and corrections in dark ink, titled "The Religion of Conan Doyle", and in the form of an interview, [n.p., n.d.]. Spiritualism became Conan Doyle's religion - and driving force - from World War I, on. In this remarkable manuscript, he discusses his personal experience with spirits of Henry Ford, Oscar Wilde and Einstein; of course, such Spiritualist concepts as the soul, reincarnation, telepathy, even the (notoriously fraudulent) Cottingley Fairies come up too. In small part: "I: [the interviewer] Do you believe in reincarnation like Henry Ford? Doyle: I believe the soul is born and reborn many times. I am not sure that it dons the human form after it has discarded that garment, but my thoughts incline that way... I: Do you consider Ford a great man? Doyle: He is a great personality. I: Why? Doyle: Because he is uncorrupted by his millions. No man can tell if he is incorruptible until such wealth is thrust upon him... I: Did you have any personal contact with the spiritual world? Doyle: When Geley, the French savant and spiritualist, died I was sitting with a medium in England. Suddenly I heard a whispered word, 'Geley.' I asked, in French, 'When you had your accident were the moulds you carried broken?' The answer was 'Oui, Oui, ils etaient casses.' Though the medium did not know a word of French, the spirit communicated through him in that language... This is only one example out of hundreds where I have spoken with those who have changed their vibration, and whom we call 'dead'...". The interviewer asks about a posthumous book of Oscar Wilde's psychic utterances, Oscar Wilde from Purgatory by Hester Travers-Smith. Doyle responds: "I knew Oscar Wilde when he was living. In that book I recognize poetic and epigrammatic passages which are as characteristic of Wilde as anything that bears his imprint... I: Einstein told me modern mathematicians include in their calculations an infinite number of dimensions. Doyle: Einstein merely expressed what every Spiritualist knows...". Covered too are Conan Doyle's thoughts on fairies, marriage, death, the Buddha, Moses, Christ, Mohammed and heaven. A fascinating, heavily marked manuscript with over 125 words in Conan Doyle's hand. From the Henry E. Luhrs Collection. Some handling marks, else very good.

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May 14, 2009 10:00 AM EDT
Stamford, CT, US

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