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Help Me Find A Book: Purple Cover With A Silver Lightning Flash!

zappagirl

zappagirl

Sphynx Cat Mum
Joined
Jul 31, 2020
Messages
11
First time posting here, so my apologies if this is the incorrect forum.

In the early 1990s I got a book out of a library in one of my local towns which if I recall accurately was mainly about (but not limited to) encounters with non-human entities such as fairy-type beings, gnomes, etc etc.

It included a passage about the founder of Findhorn encountering the Great God Pan on the streets of Edinburgh (which is also in The Magic of Findhorn), an incidence of a ‘gnome’ stealing a sandwich from a picnicker and some information about devas (plant spirits) but may also have included other encounter-type experiences.

The cover was solid purple with a silver graphic lightning flash (Aladdin-Sane style – not like natural lightning) with the title (three or four words) printed over the lightning flash.

The book must have been published before 1993 as I was under 18 when I got it out of the library in the early 1990s – I recall the events at the time of getting it out of the library.

I remember being distinctly unsettled by the book – but didn’t make a note of the title or author, and despite extensive searches on various book-related sites I’ve not managed to unearth the book.

The book was not The Magic of Findhorn or any other Findhorn-related title.

Can anyone please help me find out the title & author of this book? Apologies for the lack of information - any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
 
zappagirl said:
First time posting here, so my apologies if this is the incorrect forum.

In the early 1990s I got a book out of a library in one of my local towns which if I recall accurately was mainly about (but not limited to) encounters with non-human entities such as fairy-type beings, gnomes, etc etc.

It included a passage about the founder of Findhorn encountering the Great God Pan on the streets of Edinburgh (which is also in The Magic of Findhorn), an incidence of a ‘gnome’ stealing a sandwich from a picnicker and some information about devas (plant spirits) but may also have included other encounter-type experiences.

The cover was solid purple with a silver graphic lightning flash (Aladdin-Sane style – not like natural lightning) with the title (three or four words) printed over the lightning flash.

The book must have been published before 1993 as I was under 18 when I got it out of the library in the early 1990s – I recall the events at the time of getting it out of the library.

I remember being distinctly unsettled by the book – but didn’t make a note of the title or author, and despite extensive searches on various book-related sites I’ve not managed to unearth the book.

The book was not The Magic of Findhorn or any other Findhorn-related title.

Can anyone please help me find out the title & author of this book? Apologies for the lack of information - any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
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What country was this edition available in? Not that I have any clue, but books can have different covers depending on the publishing company. Since you only remember the cover, maybe even mentioning the country might twig someone's memory if they live in that country. It's a long shot, but it is the only extra piece of info I can think of, that you might be able to add.
 
zappagirl said:
The cover was solid purple with a silver graphic lightning flash (Aladdin-Sane style – not like natural lightning) with the title (three or four words) printed over the lightning flash.
Click to expand...
If your memory can clearly recall exactly (or near exactly) what the cover looked like, can I suggest that you recreate the cover using (eg) 'Paint3d' on your PC, and then use that image to do a 'reverse image search' on google and see what comes up?
 
Trevp666 said:
If your memory can clearly recall exactly (or near exactly) what the cover looked like, can I suggest that you recreate the cover using (eg) 'Paint3d' on your PC, and then use that image to do a 'reverse image search' on google and see what comes up?
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I tried a lengthy image search on Google myself, but nothing like this came up.
 
I too tried image searches with a pic I created from zappagirl's description but I could be waaaay off.
purple book 3.png
 
By cover do you mean the dust jacket, i.e the wrap that goes round the outside of the book, or a design printed on the actual hard (assuming a hard cover) of the book?
If the hard cover is decorated in this way it may or may not be reproduced on the dust jacket.
 
Hi @Trevp666 - that is almost exact - thanks so much for your efforts! The lightning flash may have had a dark purple shadowing effect which I can incorporate into my graphic replication.
The lettering itself was silver and also embossed iirc. The book was published in the United Kingdom, hardcover (the graphics were on the slipcover/dust jacket - but bear in mind this was a library book where the majority of books were hardcover 'back in those days'). It was around A5 in size - around 30mm or so thick.
Thanks everyone for your help so far. I will attempt the suggestion which Mythopoeika put forward - will see where I get.
 
The cover might not be what came with the book. We've got books in my library that are "buckram bound", ie with a cover that is put on a damaged book to restore a hardback cover, and a few of them have hand-painted designs. It sounds like based on your memories that it is likely a legit book, but that basic design reminds me of ones that I've seen that are hand painted here so concentrating on the contents might be the easiest thing to do.

Another venue of discovery is contacting the library you checked it out of, if you remember. Even if they don't have the book, they may have the record of it, or a long-term librarian may remember the distinctive cover.
 
zappagirl said:
First time posting here, so my apologies if this is the incorrect forum.

In the early 1990s I got a book out of a library in one of my local towns which if I recall accurately was mainly about (but not limited to) encounters with non-human entities such as fairy-type beings, gnomes, etc etc.

It included a passage about the founder of Findhorn encountering the Great God Pan on the streets of Edinburgh (which is also in The Magic of Findhorn), an incidence of a ‘gnome’ stealing a sandwich from a picnicker and some information about devas (plant spirits) but may also have included other encounter-type experiences.

The cover was solid purple with a silver graphic lightning flash (Aladdin-Sane style – not like natural lightning) with the title (three or four words) printed over the lightning flash.

The book must have been published before 1993 as I was under 18 when I got it out of the library in the early 1990s – I recall the events at the time of getting it out of the library.

I remember being distinctly unsettled by the book – but didn’t make a note of the title or author, and despite extensive searches on various book-related sites I’ve not managed to unearth the book.

The book was not The Magic of Findhorn or any other Findhorn-related title.

Can anyone please help me find out the title & author of this book? Apologies for the lack of information - any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...

Although I can't recall the name of it, I think I may have read the same book from my local library in the early 90s. The section about the guy meeting Pan (which was in Edinburgh Botanic Gardens- a nice place to visit even if you prefer trees and scenery to Greek deities) really intrigued me, and I was determined to visit the gardens because of that story. I eventually did, but didn't see anything unusual!
 
Your description of the contents (though not the cover) is very similar to 'Gods, Spirits, Cosmic Guardians: Encounters with Non-Human Beings' by Hilary Evans, though I don't have the book handy to check if it has the Findhorn story!

s-l400.jpg
 
taras said:
Your description of the contents (though not the cover) is very similar to 'Gods, Spirits, Cosmic Guardians: Encounters with Non-Human Beings' by Hilary Evans, though I don't have the book handy to check if it has the Findhorn story!

View attachment 62064
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Hi taras - I've ordered a copy of this book - it looks likely to be interesting reading, whether it's 'my book' or not.
 
ginoide said:
How about this? Encounters With Nature Spirits (the cover is different, though)
https://bookshop.org/p/books/encoun...e-elemental-kingdom-r-ogilvie-crombie/7179120
Click to expand...
Hi Ginoide - there are definitely some similarities but the publication date of Encounters With Nature Spirits is too recent to be the same book. But I am checking for any associated titles online and may have some success - I will keep people updated as to whether the Hilary Evans book is the one I am looking for - it's due to arrive some time next week.
 
zappagirl said:
No - sorry Trevp666 - the book was about encounters with the 'fairy realm' - I think this was one of the results of my image search though.
Click to expand...
Could it have been a 'self published' type of book, or one brought out by a very small press? Our local history society has brought out a book about local hauntings that I think they must have produced entirely themselves, because it's absolutely impossible to find either on Amazon or Google, and yet I know for a fact it came out in the last six months!
 
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