Dream Book Bibliography

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Dream Book Bibliography

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Dream Book Bibliography

A Dictionary of 1000 Dreams. The anonymous and probably most-often-reprinted dream book of all time; this edition was copyright and published by Max Stein of Chicago in 1941, but it is a facsimile of text that was first set in the late 19th or very early 20th century.

[Dr. Harter] "Dr. Harter's Dream Book.". The Dr. Harter Medicine Co., St. Louis, Mo. Circa 1889. 32 pages, paper wraps, illustrated. This pocket-sized dream book is a mix of dream interpretations, floriography, palmistry, birthstone lore, and love spells, interleaved with advertisements and testimonials for Dr. Harter's herbal-mineral based medicines, including German Vermifuge Candy, Wild Cherry Bitters, and Iron Tonic. The testimonials scattered throughout the booklet are dated, which helps us date the item itself, and they range from 1878 to 1888, so i have assigned this booklet to the year 1889. The cover art is a composite of images. A woman sits in a chair, reading a book, while above her, in the clouds, a couple is being married by a pastor. Behind, beside, and over her is a crescent Moon, a garland of flowers, and an Owl. The Moon is marked "Dr. Harter's" and "Trade Mark" and the Owl sits in the initial "D" of the words "Dream Book." Beneath the Owl, inside the letter "D" is some sort of smiling sprite or leprechaun, who tips his hat at the viewer. Below this is a landscape, titled "Tam O'Shanter's Ride," based on the poem "Tam O'Shanter," written by the Scottish poet Robert Burns in 1790. In this image, Tam O'Shanter and his horse Meg gallop over the stone bridge of Doon by the abandoned church and graveyard at Alloway, as he looks back in terror at three female witches who fly through the air in pursuit and have seized the tail of the mare. Cover 2 lists Dr. Harter's medicines, of which there are 12. Page 1 is an advertisement for Dr. Harter's Iron Tonic. Pages 2-4 contain a brief illustrated guide to "Palmistry." Page 5 is an advertisement for Dr. Harter's Little Liver Pills. Pages 6 and 7 comprise a monograph on "Dreams," illustrated with an engraving titled "Gen. XLI: 14, 15" -- in which Joseph interprets Pharaoh's troubling dream. Page 8 is an advertisement for Dr, Harter's Lung Balm. Pages 9 through 24 contain the dream book proper, with short interpretations and no lottery numbers. It is a bit old-fashioned for its era (no "railroad" or "steamship"), but is also not patterned on a British original (no "abbey" or "gibbet"), and it concludes with an advertisement for Dr. DuChoine's Nerve Pills. Page 25 gives us customs of the New Moon, a spell employing a love letter as a personal concern, and a recipe for a love potion. Pages 26-27 contain "The Language of Flowers," a short work on floriography. This is followed by the "The Language of Gem Stones," which is attributed to the Tiffany Jewelry Co., and covers the topic of birthstones on pages 27-28. An advertisement for "family medicines" follows, and page 29 also presents a grouping of "Riddles." Pages 30-32, as well as cover 3, consist of advertisements for medicines that ameliorate female irregularities, menopause, kidney disorders, and gout.

catherine yronwode
curator, historian, and docent
Your Wate and Fate

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Special thanks to my dear husband and creative partner nagasiva yronwode for illustrations, scans, and clean-ups.

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