NONUS PORTA - THE NINTH GATE

I was inspired by the the film the Ninth Gate to reproduce the book featured...... but with a twist.
Those of you accessing this page will know that the film is based on the novel The Dumas Club by Arturo Perez-Reverte, and stars Johnny Depp as Dean Corso, who is a rare-book dealer hired by a wealthy book collector to validate a copy of The Nine Gates of the Kingdom of Shadows, a book by the 17th century author Aristide Torchia.




These 2 images are from the binder who made the props for the film, the grain in the leather shows it is a poor quality sheep skin. The binding for the book will look very similar to the one in the film but it will be bound in a fine hand tanned consecrated virgin calf and not a rough old piece of chrome tanned "hair" sheep, it will also be a true 17thC style binding which the one in the film is not. The colour will be a 17thC formula that produces a rich blue - black called "midnight black" instead of a black aniline dye. I was thinking of blind tooling goetic Sigils within the pentacle.













The book in the film consists of paragraphs of printed text that is repeated called "filler text" and doesn't actually mean anything. Even the title "DE VMBRARVM REGNI NOVEM PORTIS" doesn't translate correctly. The true title is UT REGNUM DE UMBRA NONUS PORTA, the twist being:- My version comprises of "Nine Books of the Mysterious Arts" each "gate" opening a genuine book of occult lore.
These are some of the pages I have typeset and I have "aged" the paper to look in keeping with the period.

NONUS PORTA - THE NINTH GATE

The text is printed in a 17th century type face and the first mystery is the "Clavicle" or The Greater Key of Solomon in Two Books. Each book is an important occult work that is preceded by a title page, a numbered "gate" with the Latin empowerment and the tarot style illustration signed either AT or LCF

NONUS PORTA - THE NINTH GATE

Nonus Porta will be by commission only for serious practitioners, I was considering only doing three books, and mixing the AT and LCF illustrations between the three (just like in the film) and sort of let you fight it out among yourselves 8O)













These are just examples of text and title presentation for the finished book, if you are lucky enough to pass the test a Nonus Porta can be designed and empowered around the chosen individual

NONUS PORTA - THE NINTH GATE

I may also produce a 3/400 pp blank version, but with the nine gates and illustration in their appropriate place and still age the paper to look 17thC, this can then be used as a "Magickal Journal"

The Ninth Gate is now open for those who dare to step through. Click on the link below for the REAL Ninth Gate.

email: paul@periodfinebindings.com

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