Amphora.
London: Burns and Oates, 1908. First Edition. Hardcover. Ocatavo. viii + 80pp. Original gilt stamped blue cloth. Marbled endpapers. Extremely scarce. A publication that was arguably also Crowley's most famous practical joke. In 1908 Crowley anonymously submitted the text of this book of devotional verse to the well-known Catholic publishers Burnes and Oates Somehow the publishers managed to overlook the dubious theology and strong lesbian undertones and published the book under the title Amphora. Crowley then published his own private edition with an obscene epilogue. Advanced copies of the Burnes and Oates edition sent out by the publishers were well received in Christian circles, and provoked some discussion as to the identity of the anonymous authoress. However it did not take long for the author's real identity to be exposed, and Burnes and Oates rapidly withdrew the edition after only a small number of copies have been sold. They subsequently gave, or perhaps sold, the remaining copies to Crowley. Crowley had a new title page printed, and reissued the book as 'Hail Mary' under his Equinox imprint. Clearly only a very small number of the original Burnes and Oates edition escaped, as it is now rare. Small contemporary bookplate of American banker, philanthropist and diplomat Richard Montgomery Tobin (1866 – 1952) front pastedown. Lower corners lightly bumped, spine ends very lightly bruised, a hint of foxing to page edges, a few pages roughly opened. Still, a lovely VG+ copy. Item #61586
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