"Instantaneous Personal Magnetism" (1926/1931)

Meridan, Connecticut, US: Ralston University Press (book), 1926/1931.
9.375" x 6" x 1.5", 400 pages, hardcover.

Instantaneous Personal Magnetism by Edmund Shaftesbury, as published in a twelfth enlarged edition, hardcover published by Ralston University Press (Meridan, Connecticut, US) in 1931. The book's initial copyright date is 1926. 

Tangential to Burroughs. One of the earliest known writings by Burroughs is "Personal Magnetism," a critique of the book written in 1929, at the age of 15. Although Burroughs is critical of the book here, it foreshadows, in a sense, his interest in scientific anomalies, niche treatments, theories, and Fortean phenomena. It additionally hints towards Burroughs' later theories of control and the "secret of fascination."

Burroughs' essay, as published in Word Virus (Grove Press, 1988)

The copy shown here was printed a few years later than the one Burroughs read, but it appears to match what he described: "an impressive red volume with magnetic rays all over the cover."

Contents: 

• Introduction by the Publisher
• I. Department of Magnetic Sources:
• "Lesson One: The Drift of Life"
• "Lesson Two: Fires of Magnetism"
• "Lesson Three: Latent Magnetic Energies"
• "Lesson Four: Human Magnetism"
• "Lesson Five: Life Is Magnetism"
• "Lesson Six: The Veneer"
• "Lesson Seven: Outlines of Magnetism"
• II. Department of Mental Magnitude:
• "Lesson Eight: The Stomach Substitute"
• "Lesson Nine: The Sexual Substitute"
• "Lesson Ten: The Greed Substitute"
• "Lesson Eleven: The Spiritual Substitute"
• "Lesson Twelve: Mental Magnitude"
• "Lesson Thirteen: Mental Magnitude Regime"
• III. Department of the Magnetic Eye:
• "Lesson Fourteen: Magnetism of the Eye"
• "Lesson Fifteen: Magnetic Details"
• "Lesson Sixteen: Oriental Secrets"
• "Lesson Seventeen: Glance Practice"
• "Lesson Eighteen: The Vital Eye"
• "Lesson Nineteen: The Powerful Eye"
• "Lesson Twenty: The Keen Eye"
• "Lesson Twenty-One: The Fire of the Eye"
• "Lesson Twenty-Two: Magnetic Eye of Youth"
• "Lesson Twenty-Three: The Tense Eye"
• IV. Department of Instantaneous Personal Magnetism:
• "Lesson Twenty-Four: Preparing the Way"
• "Lesson Twenty-Five: Immediate Progress"
• "Lesson Twenty-Six: 'Fidgets'"
• "Lesson Twenty-Seven: Physical Losses"
• "Lesson Twenty-Eight: Nervous Losses"
• "Lesson Twenty-Nine: Mental Losses"
• "Lesson Thirty: Gains without Waiting"
• V. Department of Magnetic Health:
• "Lesson Thirty-One: Foul Habits Are Repellant"
• "Lesson Thirty-Two: Wanton Losses of Vitality"
• "Lesson Thirty-Three: Artificial Magnetism"
• "Lesson Thirty-Four: The Magnetism of Health"
• "Lesson Thirty-Five: Foods that Are Magnetic"
• "Lesson Thirty-Six: Food that Destroy Magnetism"
• VI. Department of Tension Energy:
• "Lesson Thirty-Seven: Physical Tensing"
• "Lesson Thirty-Eight: Nerve Tensing"
• "Lesson Thirty-Nine: The Tense Touch"
• "Lesson Forty: The Tense Voice"
• "Lesson Forty-One: The Greatest Power in Life"
• "Lesson Forty-Two: The Greatest Engine of Vitality"
• "Lesson Forty-Three: Tense Walking"
• VII. Department of Repose and Power:
• "Lesson Forty-Four: The First Victory"
• "Lesson Forty-Five: Calmness"
• "Lesson Forty-Six: Calm Energy of Power"
• "Lesson Forty-Seven: Experiments"
• "Lesson Forty-Eight: Still Life"
• VIII. Department of the Magnetic Voice:
• "Lesson Forty-Nine: Qualities that Win"
• "Lesson Fifty: Winning and Losing"
• "Lesson Fifty-One: Rounding the Flat Voice"
• "Lesson Fifty-Two: Magnetic Modulation"
• "Lesson Fifty-Three: Modulating Movements"
• "Lesson Fifty-Four: Magnetic Colors of Voice"
• "Lesson Fifty-Five: Vocal Qualities"
• "Chapter [Lesson] Fifty-Six: Mixing Beautiful Colors"
• "Lesson Fifty-Seven: Rapid Magnetic Advancement"
• "Lesson Fifty-Eight: The Great Test"
• IX. Department of Applied Magnetism:
• "Lesson Fifty-Nine: The Two Minds"
• "Lesson Sixty: The Magnetic Mind"
• "Lesson Sixty-One: The Truth-Teller"
• "Lesson Sixty-Two: Discerning the Truth"
• "Lesson Sixty-Three: Introducing Physical Values"
• "Lesson Sixty-Four: Magnetic Values"
• "Lesson Sixty-Five: Spirit of Personal Improvement"
• "Lesson Sixty-Six: Magnetic Initiatives"
• "Lesson Sixty-Seven: Magnetic Margins"
• "Lesson Sixty-Eight: The Vanishing Illusion"
• "Lesson Sixty-Nine: Mental Determination"
• X: Department of Magnetic Healing:
• "Lesson Seventy: Methods of Healing"
• "Lesson Seventy-One: Death and Life"
• "Lesson Seventy-Two: Doctors of Magnetism"
• "Lesson Seventy-Three: The Grandest Success in Life"