Kissing - 1883

1883. [England]: William Simpson, 1883.

8vo, 49 pp. containing pasted and tipped in manuscript and printed sheets including 10 pp. autograph MS signed by Simpson; 2 pp. ALS from George Grove to Simpson; 2 pp. ALS from Alfred "Hajj" Browne to Simpson; 2 pp. ALS from Father A. Richardson to Simpson; various manuscript transcriptions by Simpson of others' work; and extracts from printed books and periodicals. Original red buckram, Simpson's Tibetan device in gilt on upper cover, title "Kissing" in gilt on backstrip. Simpson's bookplate on front pastedown. Cloth lightly sunned and slightly bubbled, contents with scattered foxing and offsetting unsurprising for the number and variety of unconventional papers bound. Very good overall.

§ A fascinating compilation of manuscript and printed texts on the symbolic and mystical significance of kissing, assembled by the Victorian war artist William Simpson with contributions from several learned friends. Simpson appears to have been considering publishing a scholarly work on the subject but there is no evidence the manuscript ever appeared in print. The numerous entries have been carefully bound with a fine original gouache title page dated 1883.

William Simpson (1823-1899) was a pioneer war artist who traveled extensively for the Illustrated London News. Born to working class parents in Glasgow in 1823, his adventures took him around the world several times and made him an eye witness to many of the major events of the 19th century including the Crimean War, the Franco-Prussian War, and the Abyssinia Expedition. "As an observer and reporter for over forty years, he had contacts and friends all over the world; he mixed with people of every rank and learned many European and oriental languages and dialects needed on his innumerable travels." (DNB)

Simpson is fascinated by the origins of kissing, and by the likelihood that contemporary customs contain echoes of the religious rites of ancient peoples. The heart of the collection is a ten-page, minutely-lettered manuscript, "the result of notes made while wandering in various regions of the world, and also from wanderings in some not much frequented regions of the world of books." The essay touches on customs of Ancient Greece, Abyssinia, Peru, and India, on Biblical and Talmudic scriptures, Tantric Mantras, the Vedas, Islamic traditions, and etymological evidence in Latin, Greek, Sanskrit, and Hebrew. His intent is to trace the connections between the breath of life, the creative power (of God), the word (the Logos), and the kiss. ("God breathed into man's nostrils the breathe of life, and he became a living soul. Here is the first kiss recorded.") "The practice of kissing I take to be that of a custom which has descended from the past when it was an act of adoration from its being a form of breathing. As an act of love or close friendship it has now lost its connection with the old symbolism although this is the case there yet remains rites and customs which are vestiges of the old relationship and which receive their explanation by the theory suggested in this paper."

Bound in with Simpson's manuscript are many manuscript notes and transcriptions from others sources made in the course of his research, as are extracts from printed articles and books pertaining to the subject. Most interesting are the several manuscript contributions from friends and correspondents, including one from Sir George Grove, the first director of the Royal School of Music and the author of Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians.

The whole eccentric document forms a fascinating unpublished source text for research into Victorian sexuality, British Orientalism, and perennial philosophy, greatly deserving of further attention.