Listers, if you are not already familiar with the Dictionnaire Infernal, please enjoy the artwork of this odd and intriguing text.

The Dictionnaire Infernal (English: Infernal Dictionary) is a book on demonology, organised in hellish hierarchies. It was written by Jacques Auguste Simon Collin de Plancy and was first published in 1818. There were several editions of the book, but perhaps the most famous is the edition of 1863, in which sixty-nine illustrations were added to the book. These illustrations are drawings which try to depict the descriptions of the appearance of several demons.

In later years, De Plancy rejected and modified his past works, thoroughly revising his Dictionnaire Infernal to put it in conformity with the canons of the Roman Catholic Church. This influence is most clearly seen in the sixth and final 1863 edition of the book, which is decorated with many engravings and seeks to affirm the existence of the demons. Collin de Plancy finished his career with a collaboration with the Abbé Migne to complete a Dictionary of the occult sciences or theological Encyclopaedia, described by some as an authentic work of Roman Catholic doctrine.1

  1. Wikipedia [↩]