A LOT TO ANSWER FOR
How to Hypnotize and Self Hypnotize – Ralph Slater
Kev bought this 1940s booklet on the strength of its showbiz-tastic cover. But, actually, I’ve had a bit of a topsy-turvy introduction to its *sarcasm alert* most modest of authors, Russian-born American stage hypnotist Ralph Slater…
My cursory Google some time ago gave a tantalising glimpse into a publicity-whore with no shame about capitalising on World War II (“I suspect that Slater would pitch anything just to get publicity.”). Next, I was inspired to search my emails with producer David Britland for mentions; sure enough, Slater is cited by David as a stage hypnotist who took the UK by storm (see here in one of David’s fascinating blog posts).
Then, having read the booklet, and in preparation for writing this blog post, I find that he is basically the reason we have the 1952 Hypnotism Act – after notoriously making a young woman, Diane Grace Rains-Bath, hysterically cry like a baby. So: what does Ralph Slater, the man behind such an eventful scandal, have to tell us about hypnosis?!
This booklet was produced to accompany Slater’s theatre tour; inside, helpfully, is a 1948 Leeds Empire theatre programme featuring Slater as the headline act.
The first thing that strikes me about the booklet is the sexy mix of paper stock; matte, gloss, photos, and varying thicknesses – Slater clearly shares my love of decent production values.
But, inside, we get what I can only describe as several pages of gold-standard humblebragging. From sycophantic thank you’s to stage participants to, frankly, delusional preamble about the apparently globally renowned Ralph as a “gifted scientist” and helper of humankind, this booklet serves only to instil Slater’s hypnotic power and influence.
Indeed, “The TEN COMMANDMENTS of HYPNOTISM” are so important he printed them twice?! Perhaps this is just a misprint, but I like to imagine it’s purposefully and perfectly juxtaposed with the ensuing collection of ‘expert advice’ and showbizzy photos.
We learn nothing of value from Slater on hypnotism, such is the superficiality of this booklet. All we learn is the role of self-publicity and status in making oneself a hypnosis legend. There are photos galore, including of stars of the day – vacuous but impressive stuff.
Slater, it seems, changed the face of hypnotism in the UK. But this booklet doesn’t cast any real light on why he was such an influence aside from the usual machinations of showbiz.
