The Equinox of the Gods (being The Equinox Vol. III, No. III).
London: The O.T.O., 1937. First edition - Second Printing. Hardcover, Quarto, vi + 138pp (+ 65 single-sided quarto sheets in a printed folder contained in a pocket at the rear of the volume ). Original white buckram, heavily stamped in gilt with title and sigils on upper board and spine. Text block printed on fine "Japanese paper," with color reproductions of the obverse and reverse of the "Stele of Revealing." "The Equinox of the Gods" was Crowley's first real attempt to do justice to "The Book of the Law." A magnificent example of book production, buckram bound and printed on fine paper. It includes the text of Liber AL, essays on its history and meaning, color reproductions and translations of the "Stele of Revealing" (which thanks to a rather apt typo is misnamed the "Stele of Revelling") and - for the first time - a full size facsimile of the original manuscript of the book, contained in a printed folder housed in a specially designed "wallet" or pocket at the rear of the book. Aleister Crowley released "The Equinox of the Gods" late in 1936, after an intensive letter writing campaign aimed at drumming up subscribers. His efforts evidently paid off as he was able to order a second printing in 1937. Clearly the printers had not distributed the type, as the second printing is identical to the first, even the year on the title page is unchanged and the typographical errors uncorrected. In fact the only obvious difference is that there is a label pasted over the imprint on the title page changing the publication date and the address of the O.T.O., and an expanded errata of 17 items, adding an extra 7 to those that had been spotted at the time the first issue went to press. It was this second issue that Crowley used in his attempts to push "The Book of the Law" into the public arena, and which was therefore the focal point of the now famous ceremony, in which he presented copies of it to "representatives of all races of the world" at dawn of December 23, 1937, at Cleopatra's Needle, following a night of drunken excess. The bottom point of the front board is slightly discolored, and there is a bump and slight snag in the cloth in the middle of the fore-edge of the front board. Small scrape across edge of text block, and tiny tear in the spine of the paper folder for the manuscript sheets. Otherwise this copy is in exceptional condition: the gilt work is bright and fresh, the internals crisp and clean. A VG + copy a landmark work in the history of Thelema. Item #56057
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