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FRAZER, J. G.
Totemism.
First edition, first impression of the author's first book, and the germ of the idea for The Golden Bough. In 1888 Frazer was asked by the editor of the Encyclopedia Britannica to contribute articles on "Taboo and Totemism". "[Seeking] the explanation of these African Mysteries led him to study their origins and to find comparisons and parallels in other and more primitive religious systems. The result of these wider studies was The Golden Bough" (PMM 374). Frazer points out in his preface to the present work that the Encyclopedia Britannica article was "only a selection" and that "I venture, however, to put forth my full collection of facts bearing on savage Totemism in the hope that it may help lighten the load of those who are working in the same field". It is recognised even today as the definitive work on the subject, and was an astounding achievement for a first publication. This copy with the bookplate of British liberal politician Aneurin Williams (1859–1924).
Octavo. Original red cloth, titles to spine and upper board gilt, light yellow endpapers. Light offsetting from carbon paper receipt to front free endpaper, light foxing to edges and occasionally to margins of contents. Cloth bright and fresh, a superb copy.
