An Encyclopedic Outline of Masonic, Hermetic, Qabbalistic and Rosicrucian Symbolic Philosophy: Being an Interpretation of the Secret Teachings Concealed by the Rituals, Allegories, and Mysteries of All Ages. [Signed] (The Secret Teachings of All Ages)

San Francisco: H. S. Crocker Company, Incorporated , 1928. An Encyclopedic Outline of Masonic, Hermetic, Qabbalistic and Rosicrucian Symbolic Philosophy Title page dated MCMXXVIII (1928) and stated Fifth Edition. Published in same year as the stated first edition. Essentially the fifth printing or variation of the first edition, and the final printing or "edition" with the mesmerizing color illustrations by J. Augustus Knapp. Signed and inscribed by Manly Hall at limitation page: "Of the Fifth Edition of An Encyclopedic Outline of Masonic, Hermetic, Qabbalistic and Rosicrucian Symbolic Philosophy, 800 copies have been printed by the H. S. Crocker Company, Incorporated, from plans by John Henry Nash of San Francisco. This copy is Number 722. 'Sheila Bromley.' 'To Sheila & Arthur, with my very deepest regards, Manly P. Hall, July 15, 1972.'" Screen and television actress Sheila Bromley and her husband Arthur Applebaum were neighbors of Manly and interestingly shared the same driveway. Bromley was born in San Francisco, attended Hollywood High School, was a Miss California, and her first acting experience came at the Pasadena Playhouse. She worked often for the USO, continuing her service until the end of war in 1945. She is credited with seventy-five films in her career, of which seventeen were westerns. Gigantic elephant folio measuring apprx. 13" x 19" and weighing over 14 lbs. in case. Tan textured boards, vellum (leather) spine with gilt printed leather label and corner tips, moderate shelf wear, chip to spine label, rub, discoloration, little adhesive to leather corners. Fiber decorated endpapers. Top edge in bright gilt. Thick, smooth pages near fine, clean. A near illuminated volume with intricately colored and ornate chapter initials and facsimile title pages from historical masterpieces throughout. Bind fine, square; hinges intact. Preserved and protected in attractive natural wood patterned slipcase. Rare near very good printing with near fine interior and original slipcase from the first year of publication. Better known as "The Secret Teachings of All Ages," this work was first published for an estimated $150,000. It was planned by the renowned book designer John Henry Nash and was the only edition published by H. S. Crocker Co. There were a total of just twenty-two hundred printed for the first five color illustrated editions of 1928. These first five are essentially the same in size and quality with the main variation being that the first was a signed subscriber's edition of 550; and, each had a unique limitation page. In order, the five 1928 editions with print numbers are: The Subscriber's Edition (550); the King Solomon Edition (550); the Theosophical Edition (200); the Rosicrucian Edition (100); and, the Fifth Edtion (800). Following these, the sixth edition of 1936 featured black and white plates only and later printings became progressively smaller in size and of lesser quality. Hall dedicated this tome to: "... the proposition that concealed within the emblematic figures, allegories and rituals of the ancients, is a secret doctrine concerning the inner mysteries of life, which doctrine has been preserved in toto among a small band of initiated minds." Comment on this volume by biographer Louis Sahagun: "The result was a gorgeous, dreamlike book of mysterious symbols, concise essays and colorful renderings of mythical beasts rising out of the sea, and angelic beings with lions' heads presiding over somber initiation rites in torch-lit temples of ancestral civilizations that had mastered latent powers beyond the reach of modern man." - "Master of Mysteries: The Life of Manly Palmer Hall." Frontispiece color plate of Prince Ragoczy of Transylvania - Comte de St.-Germain. Includes original 1928 preface by Manly Hall. Truly rich and impressive work of informative, mysterious and archaic wisdom. Pleasingly detailed reproduced and original illustrations, prints of powerful import. Answers much to the seeker of hidden history and cloaked wisdom. Several fold-out pages. Interprets the Secret Teachings concealed within the Rituals, Allegories and Mysteries of all Ages. Dedicated to the rational soul of the world. Includes detailed 33-page index. 245 pages. Insured post.. Signed by Author. Fifth Edition . Hard Cover. Good. Illus. by Knapp, J. Augustus (Full-page Illustrations). Elephant Folio - over 15" - 23" tall. Book.