Temperance. A Tract for the Times.
London: O.T.O., 1939. First Edition. Softcover. Quarto (11.25 x 8.25 inches). Not paginated. [20pp] Original cream card wrappers wih red printed titling, tied with gold cord. First edition limited to 100 numbered and signed copies, this being copy number 82, SIGNED by Crowley on the limitation page. A collection of five poems each with individual dedication: including one for Deidre McAlpine (mother of Aleister Attaturk), one for Augustus John and one for Frieda Harris. The book has been famously described by Timothy d'Arch Smith as "a collection of drinking-songs dedicated to the teetotal Lady Astor. It was bound like the wine-list of a grand restaurant or transatlantic liner, its disjunct leaves caught with a knotted gold cord." Properly signed and numbered copies of the book are extremely scarce, and it has been speculated that part of the print-run might have gone astray, although it is equally possible that given it's ephemeral nature and relative anonymity some copies were simply handed in as scrap during the paper drives that were a frequent occurrence during the war that followed shortly after its publication. From the library of English bibliophile and Aleister Crowley scholar Nicholas Bishop-Culpeper, with his book-label lightly tipped in at rear (it could easily be removed without damage, although it would be a shame to do so). Covers and edges lightly darkened, and a little rubbed at the edges. Small, neat, private bookplate on inside front cover, page edges very slightly darkened - still overall a lovely, clean VG+ copy of a very scarce, signed First Edition. Item #63299
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