[CURIOSA] [MONTFAUCON DE VILLARS, NICOLAS DE] comte de gabalis, ou entretiens sur les sciences secretes Cologne: Pierre Marteau, no date [ca. 1691]. Small 8vo. (2), 3-155, (1) p., plus two bank leaves. Contemporary calf; gilt armorial device at center of front and back boards; dentelles gilt; marbled endpapers. Worn, blistered, small repair to the bottom of the front joint; ownership signature in ink on recto of front blank, scattered light foxing to text, occasional creasing to same. Ex-library with a book-plate on front paste-down, call numbers on verso of front free endpaper and title-page. OCLC 906346176. Early printing of this influential classic of occult literature (now suspected to be a satire of it); most often titled Le Comte de Gabalis or The Count of Cabala, Or Dialogs on the Secret Sciences. Its influence can be seen in the pages from figures as varied as Charles Baudelaire to the theosophist Helena Blatavasky. PROVENANCE: The Collection of Ambassador and Mrs. Alexander Weddell, Richmond, Virginia. Deaccessioned by The Virginia House Museum to benefit future preservation, acquisitions, and care of collections.