The Life, Adventures and Tragedy of Harry Price

Next Thursday in London
http://forteanlondon.blogspot.com.au/2012/03/life-adventures-and-tragedy-of-harry.html

Harry Price claimed to have Joanna Southcott's famous sealed box of prophecies and opened it with much hoo ha at a staged event. All the while the genuine box was under a bed in a bungalow in Morecambe. It has only been moved once since.
A great self publicist, Price's psychical library is his lasting legacy.

Nice pipe!

I wish I could be there. So much interesting Spiritualist stuff goes on in London.

My dream would be to amass, and leave to an institution, a vast Spiritualist library.

Speaking of pipes, and dreams. . .

Jim

It's a fascinating collection. Not just books there's ephemera too. Even a piece of 'ectoplasm'. Price must have been the James Randi of his day. He came from humble beginnings but managed to get a nice living out of psychical research a field dominated by the upper classes at that time.
Must have been a good stage magician too as he was in the Magic Circle. They only admit the very best.
His name is still mud amongst Southcottians. When Price staged the box opening a group of very refined Southcottian ladies traveled to London to picket the venue. There are photos. A less likely group of pickets you'd find anywhere. They sprinkled quantities of 'The water' a most powerful Southcottian charm [the makings of which are still freely available on application to their HQ in Bedford. Google Panacea Society then click on link 'The Healing' on homepage] on all the doorsteps. Meeting still went ahead though but no doubt all the attendees were suitably blessed by 'The Water' whether they knew it or not.
The real box is sae and still sealed with the original seals they are creating a museum cum education facility where it wikk be on disply. University of Bedford is a main player. Southcottians became incredibly wealthy and a few yars ago the Charity Commissioners insisted that they did something with all the money. They own a big chunk of central Bedford. Last I knew there were only two surviving 'sealed' members the charity being administered by trustees. He story goes that sealing will recommence in [2012] but that prophecy although spooky as it was made before 1814 has yet to happen.

Well ................. those links took me on a fascinating journey! Thanks.

Good stuff 'The Water' Q. Granny [Dad's mum] was a Jowett and her mother was in service to Mistress Jane Townley at Belfield Hall so we all grew up with it. Wouldn't be without it.
Only cost you the price of postage. You get a square of blessed [by Octavia] linen to charge ordinary water. We tend to use half the square and wear other half in a locket. Change that when water square needs replacing. About once a year.
I'm not superstitious but why take chances? Where we come from it was very big. Mistress Townley's people paid for first Spiritualist church to be built it was the focus of village life for us as kids. Still there but sadly much reduced,,just a faithful elderly remnant now. Folk have too many other things to do these days.

If I wasn't so lazy and maybe as a retirement project there's mileage in researching how many spiritualist causes in England were originally Southcottian foundations. The Shakers were proto Southcottian spirtualists from around 1800 and it was to the Southcottian causes in Yorkshire and Lancashire that their missionaries came with spiritualist churches beginning to emerge starting in Dewsbury Yorks from 1850s onwards..