The author's own proof copy, one of only five known copies containing the portion of text discussing "The Himalayan Disaster" which was suppressed for publication, accompanied by related material from Lodge's library. Lodge records on the front cover of this retained copy that he presented the remaining proof copies to the Royal Geographic Society, the London Library, and the Society for Psychical Research. The eight-page suppressed section provides an account of séances held in November 1924 during which Andrew "Sandy" Irvine (1902-1924) supposedly confirmed that he and George Mallory (1886-1924) had accomplished their ascent of Everest, planted a flag at the summit, and that it was only on their descent that the weather had taken them over. Lodge's article gave details from Irvine's direct communication, including directions to where his body could be found. It was omitted from the published edition at the request of Irvine's family. While Mallory's body was discovered during an expedition intending to solve the mystery in 1999, Irvine has not yet been located. Oliver Lodge (1851-1940) was an eminent physicist who made important contributions to the study of electromagnetic waves and was president of the Society for Psychical Research from 1901 to 1904. While he was increasingly discredited by his fellow physicists owing to his advocacy of the ether theory and its application to psychic research, this came with equal recognition by believers: Conan Doyle dedicated The History of Spiritualism (1926) to Lodge as "a great leader both in physical and in psychic science". Lodge was first "convinced of the veracity of mediumship when, during a séance, he was told of a photograph of his son's regiment that the family were unaware of, and which they subsequently received in the post" (Higgie, p. 141). His son, Raymond, had been killed in Flanders in 1915, and Lodge's best-selling memoir, Raymond, Or Life and Death (1916), documents his séance-facilitated communication with his son. The memoir tapped into the widely held desire to contact the deceased: it "went through at least ten editions during the war" and "made its way to some soldiers in the war zone" (Davies, p. 86). This work expands the evidence he gave there, providing scientifically analysed accounts of séances, responses from sceptics, and what Lodge saw as clear evidence of an afterlife. This proof copy is accompanied by three further items from Lodge's library: a) a file copy of the published edition of Why I Believe in Personal Immortality in the fifth impression, with minor manuscript corrections by Lodge's secretary, Helen Alvey. Octavo. Original blue cloth, spine lettered in blue. With dust jacket. b) file copy of physicist John Henry Poynting's privately printed Sir Oliver Lodge: A Biographical Sketch, with manuscript annotations by Alvey, mostly extending the bibliography and adding publishing details. Octavo. Original white textured paper wrappers, front cover lettered in red and black. c) an offprint of Lodge's obituary from the Proceedings of the Physical Society by S. G. Soal. Small quarto, pp. [14]. Original untitled grey paper wrappers, staple bound. Provenance: from the library of noted fantasy and science fiction specialist George Locke, with his pencilled notes and prices. Owen Davies, A Supernatural War: Magic, Divination, and Faith During the First World War, 2018; Jennifer Higgie, The Other Side: A Journey into Women, Art and the Spirit World, 2023. Together 4 items. Proof copy of Why I Believe in Personal Immortality: Small octavo. Original grey paper wrappers, typescript note dated 23 April 1928 pasted to front cover. File copy of the same; an offprint of Lodge's obituary from the Proceedings of the Physical Society, vol LIII, p. 54, 1941, by S. G. Soal; and a corrected proof copy of J. H. Poynting, Sir Oliver Lodge A Biographical Sketch, Birmingham, Cornish Brothers Ltd, 1910. Minor creasing and nicks to extremities; all items in very good condi
