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Massey's passage through life, as recorded in the press.
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Two lectures on 'Clairvoyance
and Mesmerism' given by Massey assisted by his first wife, Rosina Jane.
An article
and related correspondence
taken from
The Bucks Advertiser and Aylesbury News, 21 January 1853.
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Massey's Lectures - two reports from
The Scotsman for 24th
and the 27th March 1858 on Massey's lectures 'Thomas
Hood, and Wit and Humour,' and 'The
Poetry of Alfred Tennyson.' |
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Gerald Massey
1871. |
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Massey lecturing in
Jersey and Guernsey: "Sir Charles James Napier, the Conqueror of
Scinde"; "England's Old Sea Kings; how they lived, fought and died"; a
poetry reading by Massey's wife, Rosina; and in Guernsey, a further
"England's Old Sea Kings". Four reports in the British Press and
Jersey Times, November and December 1862.
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Massey
and the "MILTONIC EPITAPH"
- a debate in the press during the summer of 1868 concerning the
discovery of an unpublished poem ascribed to John Milton.
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“The
Sea Kings of England.”
A brief report of a lecture by Massey: The Scotsman,
12 December, 1868.
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Gerald Massey on
Spiritualism: a short report of a lecture given by Massey at
Ulverston during February, 1871.
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MRS. EMMA HARDINGE
BRITTEN at her Farewell Conversazione:
a report in Human Nature of a short address presented by
Massey on behalf of the Spiritualists of England in St.
George's Hall, London, July 28, 1871.
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Gerald Massey's Lectures:
an announcement in Human Nature, May, 1872, of Massey's Sunday
afternoon programme for St. George's Hall, Langham Place.
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The Langham Place Lectures, 1872: The Medium and Daybreak, published
comprehensive reports of each these
lectures, which together provide an interesting insight into Massey's
Spiritualist perspective on aspects of orthodox Christian doctrine.
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Among the Spiritualists:
a highly sceptical report published in the Globe (13 May 1872) on Massey
lecturing on spiritualism.
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Mr. Gerald Massey in the
North: report of Massey lecturing at Bishop Auckland. The
Medium and Daybreak, 1st November, 1872.
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Mr. Gerald Massey in the
North: reports of Massey lecturing at Darlington, Bishop
Auckland, and Barnard Castle. The Medium and Daybreak, 15th
November, 1872.
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Mr. Gerald Massey's
lectures: after lecturing at Barnard Castle (6 and 7 November,
1872) Massey is encouraged to leave town—he
is also branded a heretic. The Medium and Daybreak, 22nd
November, 1872
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Gerald Massey at Halifax:
the report attributes the poor turnout for Massey's three lectures during
December, 1872, to poor weather, the nearness of Christmas, and to
division among the Town's Spiritualist community. The Medium and
Daybreak, 3rd January, 1873.
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Gerald Massey's lectures
in the North and the progress of Spiritualism. Massey
lectures in Middlesbrough for the Philosophical Society
and in the Mechanics' Hall, Newcastle. The Medium and Daybreak,
31st January 1873.
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Arrival of Gerald Massey
in New York: Banner of Light, 11th Oct., 1873.
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Concerning Spiritualism:
a short article on Massey's views. Banner of Light, 1st Nov.,
1873, which follows.
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Mr. Massey in America:
Massey receives a warm welcome in Harlem (October 1873), followed by the
'cold shoulder' in Boston. The Medium and Daybreak, 19th December,
1873.
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Gerald Massey lecturing on
Charles Lamb: orchestral razzmatazz does nothing to warm this
'cold' audience — about two-thirds of whom were empty seats — who reportedly
"waited in mute astonishment" for Massey, who stole "quietly in at a side
door of the stage, and hurried to his stand, without making a bow, and
without introduction." Chicago Daily Tribune (10 Dec. 1873).
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Conviction and Conversion:
Massey lecturing on 'Why I became a Spiritualist,'
a subject which,
judging from the length of this report in the
Denver Mirror (25 Jan. 1874)
— almost 9,000 words
— appears to have
held appeal for its readers. The article doesn't say where the
lecture was given, but apparently not in Denver.
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Breakfast at Laramie:
the Denver Daily Times, Apr. 23 1874.
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Gerald Massey: lecturing
to a full house at Boston: 'Some of his strongest passages—for
the utterance of which a couple of centuries ago he would reverently have
been burned—were warmly applauded....' Banner Of Light, May
2, 1874.
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The Vagaries of the
Lecture Circuit: a request to have Massey lecture in Denver,
Colorado, comes unstuck. This article, from the Denver Mirror (10
May, 1874), contains a complimentary letter on Massey the lecturer (from
Thomas L. Kimball, Railway Manager at Omaha), but who 'sadly bungled'
Massey's plans is left unsaid.
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Massey departs San
Francisco: 'The conclusions to which he has come upon
religious subjects are such as would startle the class of minds
accustomed to regard them through the spectacles of their ancestors . .
. .' The Banner of Light, 28th
May, 1874.
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Gerald Massey Insane:
The Weaver-Boy Poet in a Lunatic
Asylum. An interesting article — albeit under a highly dubious headline
—
from the St. Louis Globe Democrat, Oct. 21, 1875.
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Gerald
Massey: an appreciation of Massey, interesting for its account
of the period 1873-82 and the publication of his "Book of the
Beginnings." House and Home, 26 may, 1882.
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The non-historic
nature of the Fall of Man,
and what it meant as fable:
Massey lecturing at St. George's Hall, Langham Place,
on 16th September, 1883. The Medium and
Daybreak, 21st September, 1883.
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Massey lecturing on the
'Non-Historic Nature of the Canonical Gospels': Sunday September
23rd, 1883—'when in ten
thousand churches, last Sunday, the usual sleepy afternoon service was
being duly performed, the officiating ministers thereat little knew what
was going on at St. George's Hall, Langham Place. If they had known
they might have been excused for suffering from that choking sensation in
the throat which sometimes accompanies a shock to the nervous system,
occasioned by sudden terror or unwelcome surprise.' The Medium and
Daybreak, September 28th, 1883.
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Why does God not kill the
Devil?: the final lecture in a series of four given by Massey at
St. George's Hall, Langham Place, on 30th September, 1883.
The Medium and Daybreak, October 5th, 1883.
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Recollections of Gerald
Massey: an article written by an unidentified correspondent of the
Brooklyn Eagle on the occasion of Massey's second U.S. tour in
1883. Apparently an acquaintance during his Chartist days, "Colonel"
throws some light on Massey's life during the late 1840s and provides a
good 'feel' for the radical sentiments of that age.
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Gerald Massey's Theories:
why a believer in Spiritualism rejects Christianity. The New York Times,
November 17, 1883.
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A New Philosophy:
from the New York Times, November 18, 1883. While an exercise
in sarcasm rather than in objective journalism, this piece provides an
interesting illustration of how some commentators felt about Massey's
departure from the orthodox interpretation of the scriptures.
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An Interview with the
Lecturer and Author: Massey providing readers of the Brooklyn
Eagle (Jan. 6, 1884) with his views on American literary men; the
Great Political Question of the Hour; free trade becoming a necessity;
science and the Bible; and the mysteries of the Hebrew scriptures and
ancient mythology.'
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Christianity: Another
Phase of Egyptian Mythology: "(Christian) dogmas were responsible
for much of the misery and suffering that had been measured out to
humanity." Brooklyn Eagle, 30 January 1884.
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Free Thought: Gerald
Massey's Lecture on Demons and Their Influence.—"Why Does Not God
Kill the Devil?"—How the Existence of the First Devil Came to be
Believed—The Nemesis Which Constituted the Real Hell—The Author of English
Misery—A Description of Starving London. The
Brooklyn Eagle, 2 February 1884.
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Gerald Massey in
Springfield, Mass. Full houses to hear Massey lecture on the "The
Fall of Man" and on 'The
Historical Jesus and the Mythical Christ' - Banner of Light, 15 and 22
March, 1884.
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Gerald Massey's
lecturers in the U.S.A.: short reports published in Banner of
Light (March 21, April 19 and May 3 1884) of Massey's lectures in
Springfield, Boston and in Grand Rapids, U.S.A.
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Gerald Massey in
America: Massey's "lectures were well attended by the thinking
people of Cleveland" — however, "some of the ministers, in order to
counteract the effect, have been preaching against his line of argument."
The Medium and Daybreak, May 16, 1884.
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A Prophet of Ill: the
Cincinnati Call (edition 24 June, 1884). Gerald Massey interviewed
upon the labour questions of the day......Dangers from Dynamite — Men
Who Fail to Do Their Duty — A Remedy for Threatened
Anarchy in America.
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Gerald Massey in Australia:
a report of a well-attended conversazione held in Melbourne, 29 September
1884. The Medium and Daybreak, 16
January 1885 (Republished from The Harbinger of Light, 1
November, 1884).
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Gerald Massey's
Experiences in Spiritualism: a lecture delivered at West's
Academy, New South Wales, and reported in the Sydney Daily Telegraph,
26 May, 1885. (Re-published in The Medium and Daybreak, London, 24
July, 1885).
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"A Leaf from the Book
of my Life": a report in The Rationalist of Massey
lecturing on his Spiritualist beliefs in Auckland, New Zealand, in August,
1885.
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"The
Mystery of the Apostle Paul, and the nature of his Christ"
and "Logia or Sayings and
Teachings assigned to Jesus": two reports in the Bucks Advertiser and Aylesbury News of lectures
given by
Massey at St. George's Hall, Langham Place, London, on 22nd and 29th May, 1886.
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Mr. Massey's Notes on Dr.
Peebles: a response to comments made by the American Christian
Spiritualist, Dr. James Peebles; Medium and Daybreak, 10 September,
1886.
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Massey on Shakespeare and
Burns: a report in Medium and Daybreak of a lecture given
at St. George's Hall, Langham Place, London, on 10 September 1886.
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Mr. Massey's Lectures:
a short report on the concluding lecture in a series of ten given by
Massey at Saint George's Hall, Langham Place: The Medium and Daybreak,
October 8, 1886.
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Paul
the Gnostic not a Witness for Historic Christianity (22nd
October 1886) and The Sea Kings
of England (12th December 1886); lectures given by Gerald Massey, as reported in The Scotsman.
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Egyptologists and Gerald
Massey: from The Medium and Daybreak, 1 April, 1887.
This piece was later included as an addendum
to Massey's published lecture 'The Seven
Souls of Man'.
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Christianity: an
Ant-Spiritualistic System. 'Historic Christianity was
established as a non-Spiritualist
and an antispiritualistic religion.' Massey's thesis when lecturing at
St. George's Hall, Langham Place, on 'a bright, balmy summer Sunday'
(and over-long, it seems!).
The Medium and Daybreak, June 17,
1887.
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Massey's reply to
Dr. A. R. Wallace:
The Medium and Daybreak,
July 22, 1887.
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Gerald Massey proposes to
visit America: Massey's planned lecture programme for his third
visit to the U.S.A. The tour was abandoned due to Massey returning
home to be with his daughter Hesper, who was dying of tuberculosis. The
Medium and Daybreak, 3 August, 1888.
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Gerald Massey in
America: Lucifer, Vol. 3, September 1888, alleging that
"Mr. Massey's later studies and researches bring him nearer to the
Theosophists."
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"The Coming Religion":
according to Massey, "....The meek do not inherit the earth, and are not
going to. We are not forgiven because we are forgiving. Nature does not
keep her book of accounts in that way." Banner
of Light, Boston USA, December 15, 1888.
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'Make Friends With The
Great': a newspaper article (by Robin Temple, date and publisher unknown)
found pasted on the inside cover of a copy of Massey's 'My Lyrical Life'.
Among other things, the writer refers to the popularity of Massey's
songs, some examples of which are in the Miscellaneous
Section.
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'Massey
in His Last Fight — struggling against poverty to finish the
book.' A certain amount of journalistic 'spin' in this interesting and
probably final interview to be given by Massey before his death (on October 29):
Chicago Daily Tribune, June 23, 1907.
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Current Topics: an
obituary published in The Two Worlds, November 8, 1907.
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Gerald Massey — as
Egyptologist and Spiritualist: an obituary by Samuel Keyworth
published in The Two Worlds, November 8, 1907.
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Obituary: from an
unidentified Australian newspaper.
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Gerald Massey: An Appeal
- for funds to help support his widow and daughters, published in The
Two Worlds, May 8, 1908.
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The Late Gerald Massey:
a short appreciation of Massey's evolutionary writing by W. H. Simpson,
The Two Worlds, December 18, 1908. |
