Book Report: Wehman's Bros Practical Hypnosis and Mesmerism (c.1900's) -- Hypno History

 Wehman Bros Practical Hypnosis and Mesmerism, no author or copyright date listed. 

Background information: Wehman Brothers was a pulp publisher at the turn of the century located at Park Row in NY, the publishing center of the city in the 19th century, with an extensive catalog of titles on nearly every topic imaginable, including sports, letter writing, stage skills, and jokebooks. Their books were usually inexpensively printed on newsprint, sized to fit in a back pocket and sold inexpensively. This volume is printed on glossy paper and bears the "Zone Code" of "New York 3 NY" indicating it is probably from the 1940s, since our 5-digit "Zip Code" didn't come into use until the early 1963. Wehman Brothers Publishing appear to have survived from the 19th century and are still working in some capacity as an intermediary publisher. 

If you're interested in the historical evolution of hypnosis from Mesmerism to the present day, this booklet is a great place to start. Many books put out by Wehman Bros. were taken from other sources, and this book is literally taken from someone else's work--for one thing, the first page in the booklet is marked page 35. 

The author of this work was apparently working at a time early in the 20th century when hypnosis was being to displace Mesmerism, and he was clearly well experienced in both arts. (FYI: in a nutshell, hypnosis induces trance though verbal suggestion and fixed attention, and occasionally some other elements, while Mesmerism believes it induces trance through the projection of "Animal Magnetism" from the practitioner to the subject via "magnetic passes" of the hands and the "Magnetic Gaze" of the eyes. It's something like Chinese chi-gung therapy, or laying on of hands). 

The first part of the book describes the characteristics of mesmerism, including the best qualities for a mesmerist and for a mesmeric subject, how to cultivate the mesmeric aura and transmit it to a subject. In addition to describing his method, the author quotes several other experts, who I presume were well respected mesmerists of their day, for additional advice and insight. 

He closes the discussion of mesmerism by warning the practitioner that Mesmerism is slow and unspectacular, and if one is performing for an audience, it is better to employ the new science of hypnosis. 

The hypnosis portion of the book is pretty basic, and of more interest for historical purposes. The author include the methods of some of the leaders of the early 20th century, including James Braid, Albert Moll, and James Coates. 

There is a discussion of phrenohypnosis (phrenology and hypnosis, something I've never read about elsewhere!), medical mesmerism, charging water with mesmeric power, and hypnotizing animals.

Despite the small size of this book, it does contain a lot of information and attempts to earnestly present useful information and aspiring mend control enthusiast can practice.