Hypnotism, Mesmerism, Auto-Suggestion, Hypnosis, Self-Hypnosis
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Thanks to my Patreon Supporters
This bibliography is still growing, while the pile of hypnotism books on the left-side pull-out
of my desk shrinks. The end is not in sight.
Compiler's Notes on the Contents of This Bibliography:
Books are listed alphabetically by author's surname, but if an author has more than one title,
the books for that author are in chronological order by publication date.
Hypnotism Bibliography Part One
Hypnotism Bibliography Part Two
Hypnotism Bibliography Part Three
Hypnotism Bibliography Part Four
For more information on hypnosis, click this link to read a brief article i wrote
about hypnotism for the Association of Independent Readers and Rootworkers in 2021:
"Hypnosis Coaching and Training" by cat yronwode
The URL you are reading it at now is TEMPORARY.
I will write several more parts to this bibliography for my Patrons on individual
pages like this, and these will open to the public after one year, thanks to your kind financial support.
I will compile all of the pages into one long page and unveil it
to the public, with a new URL, at the Yronwode.org home page.
BOOK TITLES
The King of Hypnotism
In working on this bibliography my plan has been
to create an accesible and annotated catalogue of popular 19th and 20th century books
on Hypnosis and Hypnotism, drawn from my own life-long collection, and, insofar as my enthusiasm carries me,
to document 21st century books on the topic as well. My desire to document
hypnosis in popular culture arose because in looking over the internet in 2022,
i found an excellent bibliography of academic, psychological, and clinical books on hypnotism, but
no good list of recommended popular books on the subject.
At this point, i must introduce the Elephant in the Room -- Melvin Powers. I am unable to
do him or his career justice here, and although it is my opinion that a biography of his life and career ought
to be written, i will not be the one to do so. Who he was and how he changed the popular view of
hypnosis, built an empire in mail order sales, and generously shared his business
secrets with anyone who would ask, is a tale that i can only tell by explaining his
impact upon me.
The first book i read on hypnosis was published by Melvin Powers. The second book i read on hypnosis was
both written and published by Melvin Powers. The third, fourth, and fifth books i read
on hypnosis were either published by or written and published by him. All of them were
trade paperbacks, and their covers were often garish and unappealing to me -- but the
contents were pure gold. Some of the books he published were
facsimile reprints of public domain hypnotism classics from the early 20th century, to which he had added
his characteristic "Foreward by Melvin Powers," which was always mentioned on the cover. The back covers or
final pages of most of his books contained lists of other books on hypnotism, a field in which he
was the absolute king -- but there was a streak of idiosyncrasy to his interests, for he
also released long lists of titles on horses, bridge, poker, gambling systems, Judaica, dogs, metaphysics,
calligraphy, business, tennis, astrology, jokes, mail order marketing, self-help, and cookery.
He invited people to come see him in his office or to telephone him and tell him of their
reactions to his publications. He ran a lovely calligraphic note in the back of some titles
that asked, "Did you enjoy reading this book? Why? Would you enjoy reading another similar
book?" He even wrote, "If you have an idea for a book. I would welcome discussing it with you.
If you already have one in progress, write or call me concerning possible publication," and
he included his telephone number. He paid a straight 10% royalty, and his books were low in cost,
so anyone could afford them.
If this sounds familiar to you, if it sounds a bit like my own Lucky Mojo publishing
ventures, well, there is a reason for that. Melvin Powers was a person who helped anyone --
and i was one of the people he helped. He taught me many tricks of the trade, as he taught countless
others, and he always maintained an upbeat, can-do attitude toward life. The
last conversation i had with him was in 2013. I had been buying a particular group of
titles from him for resale in my shop for years, but one book didn't arrive in my box, nor was i charged
for it, so i phoned him up and asked if it was at press or had been discontinued. "Neither," he said.
"I sold my last case out. I'm 91 years old. If I print another run, I won't be able to
sell them before I die. It's a good book. I give it to you. You print the next edition."
Melvin Powers was born in 1922. He published his first book, "Hypnotism Revealed," in April 1947, one
month before i was born. My entire childhood, adolescence, and adulthood was lived
in the warm enfoldment of Power Publishing, The Powers Institute of Hypnotism, and the Wilshire Book
Company. No one seems to have ever compiled a complete list of his output as a writer or publisher, and
by narrowing my focus to only his books on hypnotism, i am scarcely doing him justice, for he was a
fun-loving, high-energy polymath who enriched the world with his prodigious output of ideas.
When he died, in 2013, i lost a mentor and a warm uncle-figure, someone who recognized my
ambitions and encouraged them. He passed away the year after i launched my own low-cost
line of trade paperback books. May his memory be as a blessing.
Powers was famous for three great innovations in hypnotism: The Hypnodisc, the Hand Hypnodisc
(also known as the Hypno-Coin), and the Sleep-O-Matic Units.
Above you see Powers with a 12-inch Hypnodisc, recognizable by
its five black spirals -- always five, no more and no less -- which is mounted on
the flat surface of a standard portable 33 1/3 rpm turntable. The lid of the
turntable has been removed and to the left is the handle of the carrying case. At bottom is
the tone arm, locked in non-playing position. To operate the device, you place the hypno-disc
on the turntable, tip it upright, turn it on, and let it run.
The Powers Hypnodisc turntable device can be seen on the cover of the 1950s reprint
of Ed Wolff's 1939 book on
hypnotism -- the edition for which Ed Mishell drew the cover illustration. The turntable
Hypnodisc was so popular by that point that the reprint of Wolff's book contained an
added half-page describing the Hypnodisc machine, without mentioning
Melvin Powers' name. Powers sold the machines with their discs, which were printed on
heavy chipboard stock, and he also sold the discs plain, to those who
wanted to save money by adapting their own old phonograph turntables for use as hypnotic aids.
Here is the most sophisticated iteration of the Hypnodisc, dated 1951 on its copyright
notice. The disc is now mounted on a small electric motor, which in turn is affixed
to a lathe-turned wooden stand, probably adapted from a haberdasher's or milliner's hat-stand.
Powers also sold a smaller, hand-held version of his spiral pattern which was covered by a layer of
lenticular plastic that caused it to appear to spin which you held it in the hand and
rotated it back and forth. Instead of a five-armed spiral, this was six-armed. It was
originally called the Hand Hypnodisc, but was eventually given the
name Hypno-Coin, to distinguish it from the 12-inch Hypnodisc. U.S. Patent No. 2,815,310 was
issued to Victor G. Anderson of Pictorial Productions, Inc., on March 1st, 1952, for a "Process of
Assembling in the Art of changeable picture display devices" and covers general lenticular lens
applications. Anderson, who patented numerous ocular devices, licenced the technology to Powers, who
introduced the Hand Hypnodisc in the mid 1950s.
By 1968 a company called Vari-Vue,
in Mount Vernon, New York, was producing the discs under Anderson's patent number and they were widely
marketed in magazines, comic books, and newspapers as Hypno-Coins. Anderson's patent expired on
December 3rd, 1972. Since then other companies have made them, but not always with the six-armed
spiral developed by Powers and Anderson. For example, an undated Hypno Coin from Acme House
Novelties uses a pattern with four whirling spirals and i have seen versions with as many as
eight spiral arms.licensed
The Powers Sleep-O-Matic Units were machines that were programmed to play
hypnotic sleep-suggestion audio-tapes and records in timed segments through the night. They
were available in several forms. You could buy a full outfit, complete with a time clock
and a pillow speaker, either in the form of a 33 1/3 rpm phonograph turntable, or as a 3 1/2 ips
tape machine. Audio materials were available to play on both types of devices, and you could also
buy the records and tapes separately for use on your own machines, with or without your own
time clock and pillow speaker. At least three different audio programs were available.
Why did Melvin Powers get into hypnotism? I have no idea. He had been selling self-help
books out of his bedroom in his parents' house in Newark, New Jersey, since he was a teenager,
and his folks assisted him in his business ventures. He moved to California in his early 20s and
began a program of writing and publishing new books, signing good writers to publish, and
publishing facsimile editions of classic books that had fallen into the public domain.
His biggest sellers were "Think and Grow Rich" by Napoleon Hill, which he introduced
to at least three generations of readers, and "Psycho-Cybernetics" by Maxwell Maltz,
which came out in 1960 and blew my mind when i read it in jail in 1967.
In earlier chapters of this bibliography i have included various books on hypnosis that were
published but not written by Powers --
and there will be more to come -- but this time, i present a few of the Melvin Powers books
which he himself wrote, and which i have treasured through the years.
For a list of the books that Powers had witten, published, or was offering for sale via mail-order
in the 1960s, see this catalogue:
Melvin Powers Book List: Titles For Sale, 1960s
BOOK TITLES
Powers, Melvin. Hypnotism Revealed: The Powers Course in Hypnotism and Self-Hypnosis.
Location Unknown, Publisher Unknown, First Printing, April, 1947. (I have never seen it)
Location Unknown, Publisher Unknown, Second Printing, revised, November, 1947. (I have never seen it)
Location Unknown, Publisher Unknown, Third Printing, revised, June, 1948. (I have never seen it)
Los Angeles, Savage and Savage, Publishers, Fourth Printing, revised, December, 1948.
96 pages. Trade paperback, stiff index stock cover.
Powers, Melvin. Hypnotism Revealed: A Complete Practical Course in Hypnotism and Self-Hypnosis.
Los Angeles, Powers Institute of Hypnotism, 1948.
104 pages. Trade paperback, leatherette cover.
Powers, Melvin. Hypnotism Revealed: A Complete Practical Course in Hypnotism and Self-Hypnosis.
Los Angeles, Powers Institute of Hypnotism, 1967.
104 pages. Trade paperback, photographic cover, with 9 interior photo illustrations.
The difference in page count between these editions is primarily one of typesetting. I have
both the fourth printing from Savage and Savage and the presumed fifth printing from the
Powers Institute. Both of my treasured copies bear inscriptions in Melvin Powers' pre-calligraphic handwriting,
"December 29, 1948, To Uncle Sol, from his nephew, Melvin" and "To Uncle Sol, from His Boy, Melvin." Also
shown here is the cove of the 1967 edition, with one of Powers' infamous "Trilby and Svengali"
covers. The photo is a composite of a man's hand holding a small, marble-sized crystal ball, and
the hypnotized female model.
The content is divided into a Foreward and 10 lessons:
• 1. The History of Hypnotism
• 2. Facts About Hypnotism
• 3. How to Hypnotize Your Subject
• 4. How to Hypnotize Refractory Subjects
• 5. Self Hypnosis: How to Hypnotize Yourself
• 6. How to Awaken Your Subject or Yourself From Hypnosis
• 7. The Psychology of Hypnotism: Post-Hypnotic Suggestions
• 8. Psychotherapy: Break That Habit
• 9. Hypnotism and Suggestion
• 10 Excerpts from Newspapers
The writing is lively and presented with an authority unusual in such a young author -- Powers was only
25 years old in 1947, and by 1948 he had declared himself to be the "Director" of the "Powers
Institute."
In the Foreward Powers explains why hypnotism, once popular in the late 19th and early
20th centuries, has undergone a sudden, dramatic resurgence: "The successful
utilization of hypnosis in the treatment of war neuroses has aroused considerable interest in
hypnotism by the laity. Hypnotism received widespread recognition in World War II because it provided
a means of brief and effective psychiatric treatment of mental disorders caused by traumatic war
experiences." He was right: the employment of hypnotherapy to help ex-military personnel became
the foundation of modern clinical hypnotism, and with the Korean War and Vietnam War following so closely
upon the heels of the Second World War, there were tens of thousands of veterans in need of
help.
The tenth chapter of this book, consisting of newspaper accounts of Hypnotism in anesthesia and
mental health treatment, is both the most dated part of the text and also the most fascinating from
a historical perspective. It shows us the glowing possibilities that Powers saw for hypnotherapy,
self-hypnotism, and self-help by means of hypnotic auto-suggestion.
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Powers, Melvin. Mental Power through Sleep Suggestion: A New Approach to Successful Living (cover title).
Mental Power through Sleep Suggestion and Controlled Relaxation: Two Techniques of Reaching and Influencing the Subconscious (title page).
Los Angeles, Wilshire Book Company, [Second Edition], 1952 with stiff red index stock cover.
Los Angeles, Wilshire Book Company, [unknown edition], 1978, with glossy photographic cover.
110 pages. Trade paperback.
My copy of the red-covered edition of this book is noted as the second edition and is dated to 1952;
i have never seen a first edition. The later edition with the blue photographic cover is not in
my collection, but i have seen copies for sale online dated as late as 1978. I suspect the new cover
actually came into play during the mid 1950s because it features one of Powers' signature "Trilby" covers --
the zoned-out female model who appeared both on the cover and within so many of his books -- and
the image is taken from a photo-shoot that dates to 1953 and appeared in
Powers' first illustrated book, "Advanced Techniques of Hypnosis."
Both covers feature a Sleep-O-Matic Unit with time clock and pillow speaker -- a line
drawing on the second edition and a photo on the later edition. I'm sure if any
of these are found in working order, complete with their audio tapes or records,
they will fetch a pretty price at auction.
Chapters include:
• 1. The Problem of Tension
• 2. The Way to Happiness and Maturity
• 3. Life's Fulfillment Through Controlled Relaxation
• 4. The Subconscious Mind in Action
• 5. The Power of Suggestion
• 6. Mental-Therapy Through Sleep Suggestion
• 7. Memory Development While You Sleep
• 8. The Secret of Achieving Success and Happiness
• 9. The Sleep-O-Matic Units, the Instruments for Releasing Subconscious Power
It could be argued that "Mental Power" (compare the title with his name, Melvin Powers!) is not
a book about hypnotism at all -- but it is, even though Powers himself tagged it as a book
on "Self-Help." By carefully avoiding any mention of self-hypnosis,
and recasting his program as "Sleep Suggestion and Controlled Relaxation," Powers touched an
entirely new demographic -- the person who does not want to give over self-control to an operator,
mesmerist, or Svengali, but who does want a shortcut to improvement in memorization, self-confidence,
success, and poise.
In this book Powers acknowledges and builds upon the 19th century work of the French
psychologist Emile Coue (1857 - 1926), whose "Coue Method" of auto-suggestion
consisted of self-hypnosis through a series of coordinated vocal, gestural, and postural exercises to
center the self within the body, and to pay attention to the body with the intention
of improving comfort, reducing pain, and increasing energy. As a form of psychotherapeutic
self-improvement, the Coue Method took the world by storm, and although it was later mocked
for its simplicity, it still has many practitioners (myself included)) and is a valuable
technique for developing self-awareness and self-confidence, as well as providing an
excellent form of management in cases of chronic pain.
The fact that Powers brought Coue into
the modern era amazed me, for i knew Coue's techniques through my mother's and great-aunt's
demonstrations of how the work was done -- and here came Melvin Powers with phonograph
recordings and tape recordings: Coue for modern times!
I will admit that i never bought one of Melvin Powers' Sleep-O-Matic Units -- they were a bit too
pricey for a young girl like me. Instead, i kind of imagined what they would be like, with their
automatic timers and pillow-speakers and softly droning voices and hypnotic rain on the roof.
And i fell asleep mumbling my Coue Method mantras, and did very well.
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Powers, Melvin. Advanced Techniques of Hypnosis.
Los Angeles, Melvin Powers, 1953.
Los Angeles, Wilshire Book Co., many other editions, including 1965 and 1971.
128 pages. Paperback, illustrated with photos.
Publisher's blurb: "This new hypnotic book is dedicated to those who aspire to a fuller
understanding of hypnotic procedures. A careful reading of the book will not only be
rewarding because of the wealth of information contained in it, but will also assure the
reader maximum efficiency in the exciting and fascinating practice of advanced hypnosis."
Chapters include:
• 1. What Every Hypnotist Should Know
• 2. The Psychological Approach and Technique
• 3. You Can Hypnotize Anyone
• 4. Advanced Methods of Hypnotism
• 5. Eight Original Techniques for Inducing "Deep Hypnosis"
• 6. New Procedures for Acquiring Self-Hypnosis
• 7. "Waking Hypnosis"
• 8. Secrets of the Stage Hypnotist
• 9. How "Instantaneous Hypnosis" is Accomplished
• 10. Hypnotic Techniques in Psychotherapy
• 11. Hypnotism Does Help
This may be my least-favourite of Powers' books. The idea is to teach professionals a
few more techniques, but there are better (and thicker) books by other authors
that provide multiple methods of induction and scripts or patter to use when hypnotizing someone.
The "Triple Trilby with Pocket-Watch and Hypnodisc" cover has got to be considered a classic, however, and
inside there are seven more murky pages of black and white photos of our professional model alone and with her
clean-cut Svengali. At least one of these photos was used as the basis for two
other book covers -- namely the later edition of "Mental Power" by Melvin Powers and
the first Wilshire Book Company edition of "Hypnotism Made Practical" by J. Louis Orton.
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Powers, Melvin. Self-Hypnosis: Its Theory, Technique, and Application.
Los Angeles, Wilshire Book Company, 1956; also a "Second Edition, undated.
145 pages. Trade paperback.
This book is highly influenced by the clinical psychology of its time. In my opinion, Powers was
not at his best when he was quoting eminent scientists, psychiatrists, and psychologists. For one
thing, the understanding of psychology, once so influenced by talk therapy and the Freudian,
Jungian, Adlerian, and Rogerian perspectives, has moved on into a purer understanding of neuroscience,
leaving old premises about the subconscious in the dust. The interesting thing is that despite
the current neurological, hormonal, genetic, and epigenetic theories on what constitutes the mind,
the brain, and consciousness, the same old techniques of hypnosis still work.
The contents include:
• 1. Suggestion and Its Application
• 2. The Conscious Mind
• 3. The Subconscious Mind
• 4. Subconscious Motivation
• 5. Schools of Psychotherapy
• 6. Self-Help Through Self-Analysis
• 7. What is Hypnosis?
• 8. Self-Hypnosis and Its Application
• 9. The Techniques of Achieving Self-Hypnosis
• 10. If You Have Attempted to Achieve Self-Hypnosis But Failed
Written stiffly and formally, the theme of "Theory, Technique, and Application"
is too academic to be helpful to a person
who is simply interested in self-hypnosis, and more than half of the chapters deal
with psychoanalytic theories and concepts like "Subconscious Motivation,"
which grow out of the adversarial Freudian-style approach to clinical patients.
The content ranges too widely over the subject to come to any
conclusions about how to benefit by the practice of self-hypnosis.
From Emile Coue to the power of prayer, and
from non-directive therapy to psychodrama, it is more or less a catalogue of theories of the
mind that were in play during the first half of the 20th century.
Powers displays his erudition
here, but self-hypnosis, his ostensible topic, is lost under the accumulated weight of so many
competing theoreticians and practitioners.
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Powers, Melvin. A Practical Guide to Self-Hypnosis.
Los Angeles, Wilshire Book Company, 1961 and several subsequent editions.
129 pages, plus 12 pages of ads. Trade paperback.
Powers Melvyn [sic] Self-Hypnosis: A Practical Guide to Self-Hypnosis
Varius pirate editions, from a variety of fly-by-night publishers.
This book is Melvin Powers as i first encountered him, bubbling over with eccentricity, ready
to engage the reader on any interest-level, and filled with practical answers to frequently-asked
questions. I love this book on self-hypnosis and i learned a lot from it. I recommend it highly to anyone
who has an interest in self-hypnosis as a sub-topic of hypnototism.
The contents include:
• 1. What You Should Know About Self-Hypnosis
• 2. What About the Dangers of Hypnosis?
• 3. Is Hypnosis the Answer?
• 4. How Does Self-Hypnosis Work?
• 5. How to Arouse Yourself From the Self-Hypnotic State
• 6. How to Attain Self-Hypnosis
• 7. Deepening the Self-Hypnotic State
• 8. What You Should Know About Becoming an Excellent Subject
• 9. Techniques for Reaching the Somnambulistic State
• 10. A New Approach to Self-Hypnosis When All Else Fails
• 11. Psychological Aids and Their Function
• 12. The Nature of Hypnosis
• 13. Practical Applications for Self-Hypnosis
Also interesting, it is at this point, in 1961, that Powers unveiled a complete mail-order shop
devoted to hypnotism. The twelve pages of ads in the back of the book
present a wonderful array of products:
• The Powers Hypnotic Eyes
• The Hypnotic Crystal Ball and Chain
• The Hand Hypnodisc
• The Powers Hypnotic Crystal Ball
• The [original] Powers Hypnodisc
• Three one-hour cassette tapes and 33 1/3 rpm records
(including the ASMR fore-runner "Hypnotic Rain" as well as the self-improvement-oriented
"Mental Power")
• A book catalogue of more than 300 titles on everything from palmistry to LSD,
from vegetarian cookery to sex without guilt, and from how to win at chess to
how to train horses for the movies.
To fully explore the Melvin Powers book shop, see
•
Melvin Powers Book List: Titles For Sale, 1960s.
The first edition of "A Practical Guide to Self-Hypnosis" has a colourful, charming,
modernistic cover made by photographing a
spinning collage of deckle-edged Classic Laid paper samples, with a brown ink semi-portrait of Melvin
Powers in the center. I love this cover! It is so arty! In 1961 i too was collaging paper samples
to make one-of-a-kind art posters. I too had discovered the magic of Osmiroid pens and Pelikan
brown ink. Ah, those were the days.
The second edition of "A Practical Guide to Self-Hypnosis" has a cover that is sparse, spare,
uninviting and, alas, printed in a
shade of cold yellow on white that invariably fades into illegibility upon exposure to sunlight.
Bah.
"A Practical Guide to Self-Hypnosis" also exists in a bizarre zombioid form that came into
being after Powers' death. Sold as "Self-Hypnosis: A Practical Guide to Self-Hypnosis"
it stupidly conflates the titles of two of his books, but only contains the contents of the latter.
It is a pirate edition, with the name Melvin spelled incorrectly -- as "Melvyn" --
and is for sale online in both print-on-demand and digital formats from a variety of
fly-by-night publishers. The cover is a photo of a hand holding a pocket watch.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Thanks to nagasiva yronwode for above-and-beyond scanning and organizational help.
