An image of a restored illustration from Eugène Modeste Edmond Le Poitevin ‘Les Diables de Lithographies.’
 
You might think that I’ve finally gone crazy after reading the title of this post, but you’d be wrong. I’ve been slightly crazy for quite a while—mostly due to the occupational hazards of my “job” here at Dangerous Minds which occasionally expose my eyes to such things as illustrations depicting disembodied flying vaginas. But I’m okay with that, especially since we can all write off this experience as “educational” due to the historical relevance of the vintage illustrations in this post.

In 1832, French painter and Lithographer Eugène Modeste Edmond Le Poitevin published Les Diables de Lithographies—a collection of 80 illustrations on twelve different lithograph plates. A short time later that same year Le Poitevin would put out fourteen more lithograph plates containing 115 additional illustrations for Les Diables de Lithographies. The images are as diabolical as they come and would bring Le Poitevin his greatest success as an artist. His illustrations of Satan showing off his huge penis, or perhaps carting it around in a wheel barrel was quite the departure for the artist who was known for his paintings comprised primarily of landscapes, marine life, sailors, and fishermen.

At the time of Les Diableries de Lithographies’ publication, the city of Paris was in upheaval. In June of 1832, an event referred to as the “June Rebellion” (aka the “Paris Uprising” which writer Victor Hugo in part based his 1862 novel Les Misérables on) was initiated by rebels opposing the liberal-minded monarchy of Louis Philippe I. Philippe I came to power in 1830 after Charles X was forced to abdicate his position as King. French Republicans were pissed. But that was nothing compared to other dire issues in Paris such as the horrific eruption of cholera that killed over eighteen thousand residents of the city (primarily poor people, of course) and another hundred thousand who resided outside the city. Word on the street was that the government was poisoning the water wells.

Despite the all the dead bodies and rumors of poison water, Le Poitevin’s Les Diables de Lithographies was incredibly popular which led to a demand for more from his adoring fans. The artist would respond with several other fiendish publications such as Les diableries érotiques, Petits sujets des diableries, Bizarreries diaboliques, and Encore des Diableries. I’ve included images from both Les Diables de Lithographies and Les diableries érotiques by Le Poitevin below which are without question, very NSFW.
 

 

 
More after the jump…

 
A few lessons in French maybe required if you want to seriously study the Dictionnaire Infernal (Infernal Dictionary)—an A-Z on demonology and the occult—though Google translate may offer an easier option to access the histories of such demonic figures as the Azazel, Bael or Zabulon. Written and compiled by French occultist, demonologist and author Jacques Auguste Simon Collin de Plancy, the Dictionnaire Infernal was first published in 1818 to considerable success, and was reprinted several times before its most incarnation in 1863 in an edition that contained 69 illustrations by artist Louis Le Breton.

Breton’s illustrations became the main source for nearly all future representations of demons, monsters and fantastical beasts. De Plancy filled his dictionary with detailed histories of the hierarchy of demons—-from lowly pot boilers (Ukobach) to the Seven Princes of Hell, the Demon Regent Asmodeus, Astaroth and Lucifer. He also included historical figures associated with the occult or free thought—from various kings and queens to Napoleon and Nostradamus and even the renowned author Sir Walter Scott. A title page from the 1826 edition described the book thus:

Infernal Dictionary, or, a Universal Library on the beings, characters, books, deeds, and causes which pertain to the manifestations and magic of trafficking with Hell; divinations, occult sciences, grimoires, marvels, errors, prejudices, traditions, folktales, the various superstitions, and generally all manner of marvellous, surprising, mysterious, and supernatural beliefs.

Though originally a free thinker—he had been greatly influenced by Voltaire in his youth—De Plancy eventually became a Roman Catholic and parts of the Infernal Dictionary show his vacillation from skeptic to devout believer. Unsurprisingly therefore, later editions were edited to fit in with Catholic theology. However, the Infernal Dictionary is still a highly important compendium of demonology and the occult—in particular the 1863 edition with its fabulous illustrations by Le Breton.

An edition of the Infernal Dictionnaire has been scanned by the Internet Archive and can be viewed here.
 

One of the Seven Princes of Hell: The demon Bael with his three heads.
 

The demon Buer—President of Hell.
 

The Beast Behemoth.
 
More of Le Breton’s demons and pages from the ‘Dictionnaire Infernal,’ after the jump…

 
“You go into this thing and you build your own world.”

Captured from Watchman Broadcasting’s net stream in July 2011. Dorothy Spaulding and guests unintentionally entertain with their views on digital entertainment.

“Isn’t there a… uh… guitar that’s called ‘something Hero’?”

“That’s a new thing that they’re coming out with and the kids are really addicted to it.”

The best part starts at 2:50 when she asks him about how the “occultists” tried to intimidate him with over 100 dead ravens after he was on her show the last time.

 
(via BuzzFeed)