Item #64715 The Diary of a Drug Fiend. Aleister CROWLEY.
The Diary of a Drug Fiend.
The Diary of a Drug Fiend.
The Diary of a Drug Fiend.
The Diary of a Drug Fiend.

The Diary of a Drug Fiend.

London: W. Collins, 1922. First UK Edition. Hardcover. [iv] + 368pp. Octavo. Original dark blue cloth lettered in red. Includes the scarce dust jacket. The true first edition of one of Crowley's most famous books, and a landmark work in the annals of drug literature. The novel focuses on the destructive effects of heroin and cocaine addiction, and posits the practice of magick and the discovery of one's true will as a curative. One of the characters - King Lamus - is clearly a romantic self-portrait by Crowley, and Lamus's "Abbey of Thelema" at Telepylus an idealised version of Crowley's own Abbey at Cefalu. Given its notoriety, and popularity, copies of the work are almost always encountered in "well-read" condition. This copy is not atypical, although it does include the genuinely rare and wonderfully evocative dust jacket. Corners and spine ends lightly bumped and chafed, spine edges and cloth hinges rubbed, page edges lightly thumbed with some light foxing, endpapers unevenly browned, pages slightly browned, one leaf of adverts at rear starting to detach. Still, overall a tight, unmarked near-VG copy in a near-VG example of the extremely scarce dust jacket. The dust jacket is lightly rubbed and creased overall, with a few closed tears. Its rear panel is darkened and a little discoloured, and the spine is quite badly faded to the extent that while the author's name and publisher's imprint are still clear, the title itself is almost invisible. There is significant chipping and chafing to the spine ends and corners with loss, although these defects are not immediately obvious thanks to some neat old matching paper reinforcements from the inside. Now protected by a removable mylar sleeve. Item #64715

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