Early Victorian spiritualism book purportedly channeled from the spirit of an infant who died in 1815. For reasons not described, Nathaniel’s spirit is that of a very young boy even though he died in infancy. Author Allen Putnam was from the Boston area and published numerous books and pamphlets on the subject of the spirit world and mediumship. This book opens with a description of a painting of Nathaniel by Charles L. Fenton, who was a real painter from New Hampshire. I was able to find numerous auction results for paintings attributed to Fenton, though now I’m on tenterhooks wanting to see the portrait described in this book. Its whereabouts are unknown, but Putnam alleges that the spirit guided Fenton in his work, specifying how exactly he wanted to be painted. The spirit especially wanted a little black dog to be included. 

This book has been frequently reprinted and cited in works on Victorian spiritualism though original copies are very rare. Bound in plain brown cloth with the texture of watered silk and gilt lettering on the spine. The textblock is quite good although there is some wear to the binding, including bumped corners, a short split between the front cover and spine at the top of the book, and a chip at the bottom of the spine, all shown. Sold at a lower price as is.