The Hidden Way Across the Threshold, J. C. Street, 1887

Who wrote it: The Hidden Way Across the Threshold was written by J. C. Street, who signed himself A.B.N., Fellow of the Order S.S.S. and of the Brotherhood Z.Z.R.R.Z.Z., and was published in Boston by Lothrop, Lee and Shepard under an 1887 copyright. The full title continues, or, The Mystery Which Hath Been Hidden for Ages and from Generations.

What it's about: A dense work of nineteenth-century American occultism, the book sets out to explain the concealed forces in every person and the guidance of what Street calls the unseen hand, drawing on Rosicrucian, Pythagorean, Swedenborgian, and ancient Egyptian threads of esoteric thought. It belongs to the great Gilded Age wave of metaphysical writing and remains a sought-after title among collectors of occult and secret-society literature.

Special features: Running to roughly 598 pages, it is illustrated with full-page plates and symbolic devices set among the text, including the seal of the Order S.S.S. and its motto, all things come from within. This copy carries the bookplate of San Francisco's Metaphysical Library and Book Shop on Post Street, a small piece of West Coast occult-scene provenance.

Condition: Red cloth hardcover, no dust jacket; spine rubbed and sunned with much of the gilt lettering faded, some edge wear, binding sound, interior clean. Please review all photos carefully, and email me with any questions.

Thanks so much for visiting, ❤️ Jess