Sydney Blanshard Flower

Born in 1867, Sydney Blanshard Flower was an English-born author, editor, and publisher whose career touched several energetic movements of his era, including hypnotism, suggestive therapeutics, and New Thought. Records of his books and library catalogs show a wide-ranging output that included A Study in Hypnotism, Hypnotism Up to Date (with Herbert A. Parkyn), Will-power, Personal Magnetism, Memory-training, and Success, and The Biochemistry of Schuessler.

Flower was also closely tied to the early Chicago world of psychological and metaphysical publishing. Sources on the Chicago School of Psychology describe him as an associate of Herbert A. Parkyn who served as secretary, publicist, and business manager, while later references connect him with New Thought publishing in Chicago. That mix of organizational work and authorship helps explain why his books often feel direct, instructional, and aimed at a broad self-improvement audience.

Today, he is best remembered as a lively popularizer rather than a conventional literary figure. His books open a window onto a period when readers were deeply interested in mind power, health reform, and personal transformation, and they remain useful for anyone curious about the history of self-help and alternative psychology.