Olcott writings

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Henry Steel Olcott (August 2, 1832 – February 17, 1907) was an agriculturist, American military officer, journalist, lawyer, and co-founder of the Theosophical Society. He held the title of President-Founder of the Society from 1875 till his death in 1907.

Colonel Olcott wrote numerous books, articles, and pamphlets. Among his writings, the diary series called Old Diary Leaves is especially valued as a first-person account of the early days of the Theosophical Society.

Articles

The Union Index of Theosophical Periodicals lists 66 articles under the initials HSO, 760 under the name HS Olcott, 3 articles under H. S. Olcott, and 1 under Henry S. Olcott. In his work as a journalist, he also wrote for several New York newspapers.

Books, pamphlets and articles

These are books pamphlets and articles, arranged by topic. 

NOTE: Unless otherwise stated, the publisher was Theosophical Publishing House in Adyar, Madras [now Chennai], India.
NOTE: Unless otherwise stated, the publisher was Theosophical Publishing House in Adyar, Madras [now Chennai], India.

Agriculture

Olcott contributed articles to The Working Farmer, a monthly periodical published by Charles V. Mapes and edited by Prof. J. J. Mapes of New York. He also wrote these books:

  • Sorgho and imphee, the Chinese and African sugar canes subtitled "a treatise upon their origin, varieties, and culture, their value as a forage crop, and the manufacture of sugar, syrup, alcohol, wines, beer, cider, vinegar, starch, and dye-stuffs: with a paper by Leonard Wray, Esq., of Caffraria, and a description of his patented process for crystallizing the juice of the imphee: to which are added, copious translations of valuable French pamphlets". New York: A.O. Moore, 1857. A sixth edition was printed by the same publisher in 1858, so it seems the book drew considerable interest. Digital versions are available from Hathitrust, Biodiversity Heritage Library, Internet Archive, and other sources. There have been numerous reprintings, as recently as 2000.
  • Outlines of the first course of Yale agricultural lectures . New York: C.M. Saxton, Barker, 1860. 186 pages. Available at Hathitrust and Internet Archives.
  • How to cultivate and preserve celery. Coauthored with Theophilus Roessle. New York: C.M. Saxton, Barker & Co., 1860. Available at Hathitrust.

Genealogy and history

  • The Descendants of Thomas Olcott: one of the first settlers of Hartford, Connecticut. Albany, N.Y.: J. Munsell, 1874. 124 pages. Revised and updated edition of volume previously published by Nathaniel Goodwin.
  • Old Diary Leaves. This six-volume series is derived from Olcott's handwritten diaries from 1874-1898.

Spiritualism

  • People from the Other World. Hartford, Conn: American Publishing Co., 1875. Illustrated by Alfred Kappes and T. W. Williams. Available at Blavatskyarchives website, Hathitrust and Internet Archive.
  • Posthumous Humanity: A Study of Phantoms. Written by Adolphe d'Assier (member of the Bordeaux Academy of Sciences). Translated from the French and annotated by Henry S. Olcott. London: George Redway, 1887. 360 pages. "Study of the ether, phantoms, mesmerism, mediumship and the vicissitudes of the post mortem entity, mesmeric ether, Electric Animals, Plants, The Posthumous Vampire, Seers, plus an appendix survey of Indian opinions on ... commonly held western ideas of 'spirits.'" Available at Internet Archive, Hathitrust, and IAPSOP website. Wizards Bookshelf reprinted this work as a hardback in 1981.
  • The Vampire. Adyar, Madras, India: Theosophical Publishing House, 1920. Aydar Pamphlet No. 112. It is available at the Canadian Theosophical Association

Theosophy and Theosophical Society

  • A Collection of Lectures on Theosophy and Archaic Religions. Madras: A. Theyaga Rajier, 1883. Subtitled "Delivered in India and Ceylon".
  • Occultism and Its Critics. Essay mentioned in review of Charles Sotheran's book on Calgiostro.
  • Applied Theosophy. Adyar, Madras, India: Theosophical Publishing House, 1930. Aydar Pamphlet No. 143. It is available at the Canadian Theosophical Association
  • The Count de Saint-Germain and H.P.B. - Two Messengers of the White Lodge. Adyar, Madras, India: Theosophical Publishing House, 1918. Aydar Pamphlet No. 90. It is available at the Canadian Theosophical Association

Buddhism

Hinduism

Zoroastrianism

Published lectures

During the course of his life, Colonel Olcott delivered hundreds of lectures. Some have been transcribed and printed in pamphlets and booklets. Unless otherwise stated, the publisher was Theosophical Publishing House in Adyar, Madras [now Chennai], India.

  • A Collection of Lectures on Theosophy and Ancient Religions, Delivered in India and Ceylon. Madras, 1883. Available at IAPSOP.
  • Theosophy, Religion, and Occult Science... with glossary of Eastern words. London: Redway, 1885. 384 pages. It is available at Blavatsky Study Center and Internet Archive.
  • Inaugural Address of the President-Founder of the Theosophical Society. Adyar, Madras, India: Theosophical Publishing House, 1930. Aydar Pamphlet No. 150. It is available at the Canadian Theosophical Association
  • Spiritualism and Theosophy. Adyar, Madras, India: Theosophical Publishing House, 1919. Aydar Pamphlet No. 104. It is available at the Canadian Theosophical Association
  • Eastern Magic and Western Spiritualism. Adyar, Madras, India: Theosophical Publishing House, 1933. Aydar Pamphlet No. 169. It is available at the Canadian Theosophical Association
  • The Common Foundation of All Religions. Adyar, Madras, India: Theosophical Publishing House, 1918. Aydar Pamphlet No. 95. It is available at the Canadian Theosophical Association.

Notes

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