1882 Rare Book - Lancashire Legends, Superstitions, Witches by Harland Wilkinson

Authors: John Harland, F.S.A. and T. T. Wilkinson, F.R.A.S.
Title: Lancashire Legends: Traditions, Pageants, Sports, &c., with an Appendix containing a Rare Tract on the Lancashire Witches.
Publisher: Manchester: John Heywood, Deansgate and Ridgefield; London: Simpkin, Marshall & Co., 1882.
Language: Text in English.
Size: 7.5 x 5 inches.
Pages: xxxv-283 pages + publisher's catalogue.
Binding: Attractiva end near fine publisher’s original brown pictorial cloth, beautifully decorated in gilt and black with a rural sunset scene, crows perched on a branch, and the title in ornate gilt lettering. The spine features a gilt depiction of a stone cross, “THE FOLDY’S CROSS BURY L N.”, and an elaborate floral border. The rear board bears a blind-stamped botanical motif (hinges fine - as shown) under a protective removable mylar cover. A striking Victorian binding in excellent condition!
Content: Very good content (bright, tight and clean, rare light toning - as shown, elegant 20th-century bookplate of Gordon Leland on the front pastedown - as shown). 
Illustrations: Includes a frontispiece portrait of John Harland with facsimile signature and an engraved vignette title-page illustration of The Foldy’s Cross, Bury. Complete.

Estimate: (USD 225– 250).

The book: A fascinating and beautifully produced 1882 edition of Lancashire Legends—a cornerstone in the study of English regional folklore, witchcraft, and vernacular tradition. Written by the noted antiquarian John Harland and his collaborator T. T. Wilkinson, this work gathers centuries of oral tradition, myth, and superstition from the historic county of Lancashire.

The first section, Legends and Traditions, explores tales such as The Burnley Cross and the Demon Pigs, Dilworth Written Stone, and The Clegg Hall Tragedy, blending local myth with antiquarian commentary. Subsequent chapters turn to Pageants, Sports, and Popular Customs—documenting morris dances, May-Day rituals, mummers’ plays, and rural sports that once animated the Lancashire countryside.

The Appendix, perhaps the most intriguing part, reprints a Rare Tract on the Lancashire Witches, an early 17th-century narrative that recounts the superstitions, trials, and folklore surrounding the notorious Pendle witches. This appendix, titled The Famous History of the Lancashire Witches, provides valuable insight into the era’s fascination with witchcraft and local legend.

The authors: John Harland (1806 – 1868) was an English antiquary, journalist, and folklorist celebrated for preserving Northern England’s oral traditions. As editor of the Manchester Guardian, Harland combined a journalist’s precision with an antiquarian’s love of local lore. His works, notably Lancashire Ballads and Lancashire Folk-Lore, remain vital to English regional studies.

Thomas Turner Wilkinson (1809 – 1888), F.R.A.S., contributed ethnographic and topographical research that complemented Harland’s literary work. A member of several learned societies, Wilkinson brought scientific method and historical perspective to the study of folklore.