Looking at the meaning of the individual kanji doesn't help much--Jisho says each means: old or ancient; earth or ground; figured cloth or beautiful or thin twilled silk fabric; and talk--and although I was able to find an entry on [奇譚]{きたん}, I still can't fully piece together what this phrase means.
As far as reading goes, I get the feeling it's something along the lines of [古え]{いにしえ}の[地綺譚]{ちきたん}, but I'm not certain.
With regard to the origin of this phrase, I have no idea. I'm less interested in this than the other two, so if you can't answer this that's fine. It's more or less a general curiosity.
Note: I am looking at this book, which is where I found the phrase.