Howe, Ellic (Paul) (1910-1991)
Howe, Ellic (Paul) (1910-1991)
British authority on printing history who also wrote on occult subjects. Howe was born on September 20, 1910, in London. He attended Hertford College, Oxford (1929-31). During World War II he served with the British army (1939-41) and was promoted to the Foreign Office (1941-45). After the war he became a director of printing companies (1947-62).
In addition to his comprehensive studies of the history of British printing, he wrote and edited several important books on the occult and the history of magic, including Urania's Children: The Strange World of the Astrologers (1967; U.S. title, Astrology: A Recent History Including the Untold Story of its Role in World War II, 1968) and The Magicians of the Golden Dawn (1972). The former discusses how astrology was used in psychological warfare in WWII. The latter work is a comprehensive study of the history and membership of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, the fountainhead of most contemporary ceremonial magic.
Sources:
Howe, Ellic, ed. The Alchemist of the Golden Dawn: The Letters of the Revd W. A. Ayton to F. L. Gardner and Others, 1886-1905. Wellingborough, England: Aquarian Press, 1985.
——. The Magicians of the Golden Dawn. New York: Samuel Weiser, 1972.
——. Urania's Children: The Strange World of the Astrologers. London, 1967. Reprinted as Astrology: A Recent History Including the Untold Story of its Role in World War II. New York: Walker, 1968.