A collection of six Autograph Letters Signed, by Aleister Crowley to author and publisher Holbrook Jackson. The letters relate to Crowley's publishing activities and court case with the publishers Constable & Co., and tangentially to "The Paris Working" and his house at Boleskine (one being written on letterhead he used at Boleskine).
NP, ( 1908 - 1934 ). The recipient, George Holbrook Jackson (1874 – 1948) was an English bibliophile, journalist, writer and publisher. In the pre-First World War period, in particular, he and Crowley moved in the same avante-garde and literary circles, as this correspondence attests. The collection comprises: (a) An ALS, dated 24.4.08 from his 21 Warwick Rd S.W. (London) address, written on the recto only of single sheet of 10.5 x 8 inch paper. "I am enclosing you 3 short stories . . . .the first and last might suit you. Further, herewith my Ox in a Teacup novel, which would make a good serial. If you dared. I think you would dare; for the 'daring' is not of the Shaw-Havelock Ellis type, but of the Elinor Glyn-Hall Caine type. . . ." (b) An ALS, undated but headed "Die [symbol - Solis] (Sunday) and probably ca. 1908, from his 21 Warwick Rd S.W. (London) address, written on the recto only of single sheet of 10.5 x 8 inch paper. "I read your estimable book on Shaw with a good deal of attention; but cannot admit that Shaw is such an ass as you make out! It seems to me that you praise him for all his pedantries and childishness, while you ignore his real virtues. Which are many. I should certainly like to meet him' and if he never smiles, like Henry I, may be convinced. . . ." (c) An ALS, undated but circa 1913 from 49 Rue Vavin (Paris) address, written on both sides of single sheet of 4.5 x 3.5 inch card, embossed with the coat of arms and motto of the MacGregor clan ("'S Rioghal Mo Dhream" - "Royal is my race"): that is the letterhead that Crowley had made for use from his house at Boleskine. Crowley writes: "I am sorry your health is bad, but would not the anarchist community of the Quartier Montparnasse be more restful than the terrible dullness of English ... Here everything is free, from Thought to Experimental Eugenics. ... I have just done a kind of fairy play about Death, and am exhausted & dissatisfied." Interestingly Crowley ends the letter with "Neuburg of the Green Garland is with me for a week or so - you remember him?" The "week" turned into six, and became the setting for the famous ritual sex magic working that became known as "The Paris working." (d) An ALS, headed "July 7" (1932) from Albemarle Court, Mayfair (London) written on both sides of single sheet of 3.75 x 5.5 inch card, printed with the address and telephone number of Albemarle Court at the top. An enigmatic missive, in which Crowley complains of falling amongst thieves after returning to London from Berlin, and asks for a meeting with Jackson. It was a difficult time for Crowley, as he quickly fell out with the people with whom he was staying (thus the mover to Albemarle Court), argued with Yorke on a variety of issues, visited his wife, Maria de Mirarmar, at Colney Hatch asylum, etc. Signed with his "phallic A" signature. (e) An ALS, undated but circa 1933 from his 40 Cambridge Terrace W.2. (London) address, written on both sides of single sheet of 10 x 8 inch paper. Crowley is seeking to involve Jackson in some sort of business deal, flattering him and suggesting that he is a far better judge of people than Crowley himself, writing: "I am never 'in my plate' unless archangels are involved." Signed with a very large, flourishing signature, with his "phallic A." (f) An ALS, headed "July 15" (1934) his 21 Upper Montagu St (London), written on all four sides of single sheet of 10 x 6.5 inch paper folded in two to give four "pages." Crowley is basically writing to Jackson asking him to help him find the funds necessary to guarantee the legal costs of Constable so that he can proceed with an appeal against their victory in the case that he had brought against them regarding alleged libels that appeared in Nina Hamnett's "Laughing Torso" which they had published. . ". . . Constable & Co ask for security for costs in my appeal, which I am advised, and they are convinced, that I am certain to win. Their only hope has been to wear me down financially and the real object of the trumped-up charge against me for 'receiving' is to hamper me from finding funds for this. They have been fairly lucky so far; for I cannot sell my stuff to newspapers and publishers while the case is still undecided. . . . It is really a matter of life and death, and not for me alone. Do try to find a way to carry me over. . . ." Some letters have light creases from having been folded into envelopes, but overall all are in VG+ condition. Item #63345
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