Austin Osman Spare

Austin Osman Spare (1886-1956) is one of the most intriguing, influential and innovative figures in twentieth century occultism. We have acquired a limited edition folio of his ‘automatic drawings’, one of a thousand copies printed in 1972 by Catalpa Press. As implied by the name, ‘automatic drawing’ is a technique often compared to channeling used by spiritualists and surrealists to contact the spirit world or one’s own subconscious through the use of unedited sketches. Sometimes formed out of a single unbroken line, Spare’s illustrations include human beast hybrids like satyrs as well as self-portraits.