Deluxe Edition 2023 80pp Three Hands Press. Illustrated by Rowan Cassidy with calligraphy by Delia Vico. Printed in black ink with red spot color throughout. Full black leather with design and titling foiled in gold. Fine.
 
Ltd. ed. 37/50. This book concerns the Witch’s Dagger in German folklore and sorcery. Trutmezzer traces the function of the magical blade as a hidden key of the spirit world, and contemplates its array of powers, which extend far beyond its better-known functions of cutting and division.
 
Central to the understanding of the blade’s power is the figure of the Trud, an oppressive nocturnal spirit sharing some attributes with the Witch, as well as the blade’s function as a gatekeeper between worlds.
 
In the second part of the work, the lore of the past is vivified in the present moment, as the author recounts his personal journey to find the Trutmezzer and learn its powers. In this process of acquisition and inquiry, a unique understanding of the magical blade and its governing spirit-intelligence is gained.