‘Billy’ Hope is probably the best-known Psychic (Spirit) Photographer ever. People travelled from across the world to sit with him and Mrs Buxton, otherwise known as the ‘Crewe Circle’. Yet there has never been a book about him.
There are snippets in several books on his work but never a book analysing the accusations of fraud matched by the investigations into those claims, and proofs of genuine work from those who had tested him, under strict ‘fool-proof’ protocols, over the 25+ years of capturing images of those in ‘spirit’. So – Here it is!
Although accused of fraud several times, no case against him was proved. In 1922 Harry Price attempted to prove Hope was fraudulently placing images on the photographic plates, and the mud has stuck, so that many today still believe it to be so. Now, 100 years later, is the time to set it straight.
Working from journals and books of the time, important verbatim reports have been brought together in this book, together with many photographs and images from those reports.
Scientists, professional photographers, journalists, churchmen, lawyers and sceptical researchers all made an effort to test him for themselves. Highly esteemed by many people of standing, they worked frequently at the British College for Psychic Science, in London over a period of 10 years, and travelled throughout the British Isles, from Glasgow to Eastbourne, from Belfast to Norwich, never charging a fee for their work in almost 20 years
Cuprins
Foreword by Lionel Owen; Introduction; 1.Hope of Crewe – A Brief history; 2. People you will meet along the Way; 3. Quotations from Four Observers; 4. The Work Begins – 1908-09; 5. Archdeacon Thomas Colley; 6. An Abundance of Psychographs; 7. 1910. An Easter Message; 8. William Walker, W.T. Stead & the Spirit of the Archdeacon; 9. A Lace Coat, A ‘Second Thomas’ & Alfred Kitson’s Experiences; 10. 1914. The Circle’s Fame Spreads; 11. More Successful Visitors and Visits; 12. A Professional Photographer tests William Hope; 13. A New Venue and Unusual Results; 14. 1921. ‘Spirit Photography Exposed’; 15. Visitors from Overseas; 16. 1922. A Testing Puzzle; 17. Meanwhile – The Work goes on; 18. Remarkable Evidence – Delayed Identification; 19. A Family Affair; 20. 1924. Dr. Geley Returns to keep Appointment; 21. Successful Sittings and Diversification; 22. 1932. The Final Challenge; 23. His Work is done; 24. Tributes and Observations.
Appendices
1. Time-line for William Hope, from Census and B.M.D. Records.
2. Paget ‘Colour’ Process described by William Walker. (Light, 1915)
3. ’Psychic Photography: The Methods of the Unseen Operators.’ ( Rev. C. Tweedale, Light 1918)
4. Concerning the Price-Hope Case ( Rev. C. Drayton Thomas S.P.R. Journal 1923-4)
5. ’Supernormal Photography’ (an extract from Psychic Science, 1925)
6. Experiments with the Crewe Circle (Chief Const.Frederick J. Crawley, Light, 1928)
7. ’Vindication of William Hope’ (Rev. C.L. Tweedale pamphlet entire, 1933)
8. F.W.Warrick’s Response to the Barlow-Rose ‘Exposure’ (F.W. Warrick & Mrs Deane 1933)
9 ’Spirit Photography from The Other Side’ (A trance address, by Miss Violet Burrows, Light 1921)
10. William Crooke explains how Spirit Photographs are Produced. (Direct voice communication, Mrs Perriman, Light 1932)
11. ’An ‘Other Side’ view of Psychic Photography’ (from W.T. Stead, [automatic writing] pub. Light, 1933)
Despre autor
Ann originally trained in Pharmacy before taking a degree in Education at the University of Wales and teaching for a number of years in Secondary and Primary Schools in East Yorkshire, England. After the death of her husband (1990) she became interested in Communication from the Spirit Realms and later qualified in the therapeutic healing arts of Aromatherapy, Swiss Reflex treatment and Touch for Health. She became involved in research into Psychical Physical Phenomena on meeting her second husband, Tom, in1993 and sat with several current Physical mediums throughout the next 20 years. Following their move to Spain in 2000 her attention turned to publishing in order to get Tom’s account of his mother’s mediumship in to print and since then she has published over 40 books, some of them reprints of books on Physical Mediumship and among the latest, the updated version of Katie Halliwell’s books on Stewart Alexander’s circle, through their Publishing House ‘Saturday Night Press Publications’. (www.snppbooks.com) Through her connection with Prof. David Fontana she was introduced to ITC in 2004 and began collating the ITC Journal for Anabela Cardoso in 2006, until her return to the UK in 2017. Because of difficulties with her name she has chosen to use a pen-name of Ann E. Harrison.