Man, Myth and Magic: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Supernatural (24-Vol. Set)

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Prior to Myth & Magic, The Tudor Mint were producing a series of silver and gilt-plated animals entitled Crystalflame. Interest in this collection was waning and the idea of a similar range based on mythology was put forward. The collection was taken over by Xystos who continued the collection to boast dragons, wizards and characters not only from the world of Myth & Magic (Methtintdour), but has also featured characters from Arthurian Legend and Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings”. Xystos went into administration in September 2013 so the current position of the range is uncertain.

Man, Myth & Magic: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Supernatural is an encyclopedia of the supernatural, including magic, mythology and religion. It was edited by Richard Cavendish. The art director was Brian Innes, former percussionist of surrealistic 1960s band The Temperance Seven. [1] Among the most innovative artists of this period was Jan Gossart (ca. 1478–1532), also known as Jenni Antwerpen, Jennin Gossart, Mabuse, and Johannes Malbodius. The latter two of these sobriquets indicate his town of origin, Maubeuge, today in northern France. In 1503 Gossart joined the painters' guild in Antwerp, where he trained two apprentices. His sojourn in Rome in 1508–9 in the entourage of Philip of Burgundy, illegitimate son of Duke Philip the Good, on a diplomatic mission to Pope Julius II, brought him fame. Pictured right: The Protector – The first Myth and Magic Annual Presentation Piece released in 1990 and retired in 1991. There were 8,849 produced and the model depicts Snowscale with her son. Find sources: "Man, Myth & Magic"encyclopedia– news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR ( November 2011) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message) Finally, a 24 volume hardbound set was released incorporating the articles in all 112 issues with the final volume adding a content guide with extensive bibliography and a thorough index of all the articles.But what most people don’t recall (but many will) is that Man, Myth & Magic was actually sold in drugstores and supermarkets. It was also heavily advertised on television with a commercial featuring the demonic face you see above, painted by Austin Osman Spare. Imagine that! (Actually you don’t have to imagine anything, the commercial’s embedded at the end of this post). There is a lot of interest in the early figures, as well as the club and extravaganza models, however the record high prices achieved for models in the 1990s are gone. There are a number of mould variations in the range with the same piece often being produced in slightly different formats. The earlier mould variations are generally the more sought after. R. J. Zwi Werblowsky, professor of Comparative Religion, Dean of Faculty of Humanities, Hebrew University, Jerusalem.

The goal of the mission was to convince the pope to allow Burgundian rulers to appoint church offices in the Low Countries—a privilege that had been his alone. At hand was the risky matter of balancing power between the papacy and the Burgundian authorities. For this mission, Margaret chose Philip of Burgundy, a consummate diplomat with a humanist education, military accomplishments, and a keen interest in ancient architecture—also an interest of the pontiff's. Philip and Julius found common ground and delighted in each other's pursuits. Meanwhile, Gossart was busy exploring the world of antiquity and recording it for himself and for Philip. (The surviving drawings from that trip are presented in the exhibition.) As Philip's secretary and chaplain Gerard Geldenhouwer wrote in his account of the mission: "Nothing pleased him [Philip] more when he was in Rome than those sacred monuments of antiquity that he commissioned the distinguished artist Jan Gossart of Maubeuge to depict for him."The current exhibition is the first reappraisal in more than forty-five years of the extraordinary achievements of this versatile master. Viewed in the context of his contemporary milieu, Gossart is celebrated as an artist of unsurpassed skill and remarkable originality. Technical examinations of the majority of his works have informed a reconsideration of his innovations as a painter, draftsman, and printmaker. The material has been sold to Cavendish Square Publishing, which has published ten volumes of the material reorganized into books according to subject, including Witches and Witchcraft as well as Beliefs, Rituals, and Symbols of Ancient Greece and Rome. [4] Cavendish Square revised the encyclopaedia into a five volume library bound set, in 2014. [5] Other drawings document commissions for a church window, a sculpted monument, the ceiling of a chapel, and a print. Their finished appearance—necessary because they probably were made to be shown to the patron for approval as well as to guide the craftsmen responsible for the execution of the design—no doubt accounts for their survival. The elaborate, drawn triptych on view also suggests that Gossart was more active as a painter of ambitious altarpieces on a large scale than is generally known.

The world goes Spare: A US copy of issue no. 1 and the first volume of the 24-volume set. Austin Spare’s cover art is known either as The Elemental or The Vampires are Coming.

Several drawings on view in the exhibition add to our knowledge of Gossart as a designer. Most are related to stained-glass roundels—the small, circular painted glass panels that enjoyed great popularity in the Netherlands in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Their refined execution suggests they were meant as more than just models for the glass painters. Although a few drawings on view in the exhibition show various projects for altarpieces, there are no remaining large-scale intact triptychs by Gossart. The Middelburg Altarpiece, which was so highly praised by Albrecht Dürer on his trip to the Netherlands in 1520–21, was destroyed by fire in 1568. Recent study of documentary and technical evidence for The Salamanca Triptych reveals that the wings and centerpiece were united only in the seventeenth century. It seems that Gossart undertook various commissions, including magnificent works made for the highest level of patron, as well as more modest pieces intended for private devotional practice. All share the artist's ongoing attempts to convey the meaning of religious themes—especially the Passion of Christ—through the expressiveness of his figures. He achieved this aim through a decidedly innovative sculptural approach that involved envisioning his figures in the round. As several examples in exhibition show, antique models and contemporary Italian art based on them continued to provide inspiration for Gossart's boldly innovative concepts. This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Philip of Burgundy (1464–1524), with whom Gossart had traveled to Rome, was particularly favored by the Burgundian-Habsburg court. He was appointed to the important posts of admiral of the Burgundian fleet (1502–17) and bishop of Utrecht (1517–24). Beginning about 1515 he strove to establish a humanist court at each of his two castles—first at Souburg, on the Island of Walcheren, and then at Wijk bij Duurstede, near Utrecht. As Philip's court poet and biographer Gerard Geldenhouwer wrote, he invited such illustrious artists as the Venetian Jacopo de' Barbari and Jan Gossart to Souburg to decorate his castle, calling them the "Zeuxis and Appelles of our time," a reference to the most heralded artists of antiquity. Although Gossart's primary activity was painting, documents show that he was also commissioned to design other types of works, including a triumphal chariot, choir stalls, sculpted tombs, a monumental church window, and possibly even a snowman erected at Philip of Burgundy's Brussels residence in winter 1511. None of these is known to have survived. In addition, the designs of a few extant sculptures and medals have been tentatively attributed to him; at the very least, they can be said to have been inspired by his style. By extending his activity beyond the field of painting, Gossart appears to have been among the first painters in the Netherlands to introduce an artistic practice already common in Germany and Italy.