1933. Folio, ff. [38]; title-page attractively typographically printed in red and black, with 35 large lithograph drawings (some full-page), and seven impressive circular chromolithograph(?) images heightened in gilt (30cms each) tipped in; half-title a little foxed, with further sporadic soiling and light foxing throughout, otherwise clean and bright, gutter exposed in a couple of places and a couple of leaves strengthened at gutter; original pale green cloth, upper cover and spine lettered in gilt, covers lightly sunned with some staining light scratching, with some light dampstaining to both front and rear fore-edge, extremities lightly rubbed and bumped; a very good copy. First edition of this extraordinary privately published work by the Argentinian born medium and automatist spirit painter, Constance ‘Ethel’ Le Rossignol (1873-1970), a little recognised yet important example of British visionary art and spiritualist culture.
Though a somewhat mysterious figure, Ethel moved to London with her family in 1891 and subsequently serve as a nurse in World War I. Like many others who experienced the tragedies of the war, she turned to the world of spiritualism and became a medium. Ethel had previously studied art before the war, during which time she shared a studio with three others, including the noted arts and crafts jewellery designer Sarah Martineau, alongside whom she studied draughtsmanship from professional portrait artists. Her artistic career took off, however, when in 1920 she started channelling artwork from a spirit simply known as ‘JPF’, a recently deceased friend, producing a series of vibrant paintings for which she claimed no credit, insisting instead that she were merely a conduit for JPF. Furthermore, the spirit imparted to Ethel the teachings of a group of advanced spirits, who explained the meanings of the paintings. These visionary images and ‘teachings’ were collected together for an exhibition in 1929 at the London Spiritual Alliance, which later became the College of Psychic Studies.
The present work was born out of that exhibition and was self-published in 1933, under the Chiswick Press imprint. A beautifully produced and printed work, it comprises JPF’s transmitted teachings and diary of their first two weeks of the afterlife, accompanied by 35 monochrome black and white line drawings and, of especial note, the seven tipped-in colour (chromolithograph?) plates heightened in gilt. This series of 42 vivid, almost psychedelic images, depict ‘a radiant, ecstatic realm populated by flying human sylphs, base demons and bejewelled animals’. (Pilkington, ‘Soul Searching’, Frieze Magazine, Issue 135, 1 November 2010). After the introduction, the work is divided into ‘Part I: The awakening to spiritual consciousness’ (figures 1-25), then ‘Part II: From aspirant to master’ (figures 26-42) and finally ‘Appendix I: Some notes on preparation needed to enter the circle of the Initiates and for the instruction of the Amenuensis’ (with entries dated in 1932 and 1933).
Of the 44 paintings created, 21 were donated to the College of Psychic Studies in 1968, two years before her death in 1970 at the age of 96. In 2014, The Horse Hospital Gallery in London hosted a small public exhibition of the paintings. The exhibition note described her work as: ‘Radiant, psychedelic and ecstatic, her vision of the spirit world is consistent, coherent and stunningly beautiful, depicting a luminous realm of kaleidoscopic colour, inhabited by elegant sylphs, bejewelled apes and astral tigers... Ethel's channelled paintings reveal a world of pure light, colour and energy. Incorporating aspects of Art Deco, popular playbills, Eastern mysticism, mandalas and miniatures, they radiate an ecstatic joy, and are prescient of the psychedelic art that would emerge several decades later’.
‘There is currently considerable academic interest in spirit painters and other artists who claimed to be guided by supernatural beings, with researches such as Marco Pasi have devoted several articles and conference papers to the most distinguished of them, including Georgiana Houghton (1814-1884) and Hilma af Klint (1862-1944). While Houghton and af Klimt painted in a non-figurative style, Le Rossignol is best seen as an example of the didactic art illustrating Theosophical ideas epitomized by Reginald Machell (1854-1927) in the early years of modern Theosophy. Le Rossignol's distinctive style, which includes an Oriental touch, certainly deserves further study’ (Massimo Introvigne, online review for the Centro Studi sulle Nuove Religioni on the 2015 public exhibition).
Though the copy at the British Library notes a date of 1958 and a publisher of Eyre and Spottiswoode in 1958, this appears to in fact be a ghost. The College of Psychic Studies confirm that no further issue was published. Rather, the Chiswick Press was purchased by Eyre & Spottiswoode in 1944. An inspection of the copy at the British Library reveals that it bears the Chiswick Press imprint, but has an acquisition stamp of 1958. It clearly did attract renewed attention in that year, however, as it was reviewed by the Psychic News, which whilst not entirely positivie, conceded that there is a ‘Blake-like quality about some of them’ though Blake at his ‘mystical maddest’ (Psychic News, 21 June, 1958, p. 4).