The Sin-Eater's Hallowe'en

To
get any sort of information out of me you have to suffer the ignominy
of ME. Which means you get the process with the product. I can't help
it. This is why I can never get anything done!

While I was on my
Halloween kick (I'm not off it yet!) I requested a copy of this book The Sin-Eater's Hallowe'en by Francis Nielson from MELCat despite the
bad reviews it received as a foolhardy polemic. Which was politics, at
the time (1924), just as it is now and in time immemorial. Clee-shay
(That's phonetics, not some haughty word to guess at)! So I requested it
to scan for posterity's sake because I feel like that's my job since
universities and institutions are corrupt and tyrannical.

As
soon as I received the book I noticed the two ex-libris bookplates and
knew there was a reason for my request. Things will pursue you when you
pursue them. Just don't do it with people. Run away as fast you can and
you might be saved from them and yourself. But I digress.

Best
regards to Daniel L. Quirk, Jr. for his donation to the University of
Michigan Library. I'm not sure who he is but I'm certain that will
present itself with a little research.

For our purposes here the
bookplates will speak for themselves. As will the introduction to the
play and the topic of SIN-EATING. That is, "a man who for trifling
payment was believed to take upon himself, by means of food and drink,
the sins of a deceased person." The history, according to Nielson goes
on for 3 pages and is your duty to discern and devour.

I would
promise to post the book in its entirety but I will likely give up on
the project after scanning it since editing it to my satisfaction is the
time-eater and my greatest sins are sloth and procrastination.

The trade label from Brentano's Books of New York is a bonus.

I would have purchased the book myself but the only copy which had a
dust jacket (the only acceptable copies for a legitimate collector) was
$225. Nyet! I add a photo of that as well for the consolation prize of
having some wits about me. Especially since it's basically a generic
cover featuring the title page in a faded color.

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A Dudley Randall Poem in Milestone 2

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The Nankin Township Historical Society

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