CROWLEY, Aleister [ Anthony Naylor, signed by ].

Gargoyles [ Gargoyles. Being Strangely Wrought Images of Life and Death ]; First Impressions Series of Rare Works by Aleister Crowley.

London: First Impressions, 1992. First Softcover Edition Thus. First Softcover Edition Thus. Softcover. Small format (6.75 x 3.75 inches) x + 110pp. Glossy printed wrappers .This copy SIGNED by publisher Anthony Naylor on the title page. "Gargoyles" was originally published in an edition of 363 copies in 1906. This is a facsimile reprint by "First Impressions". The book is a collection of verse by Crowley, dedicated to a romantic interest named Lola who he met just as he was about to break up with his wife Rose: "At Coulsdon, at the very moment when my conjugal cloudburst was impending, I had met one of the most exquisitely beautiful young girls, by English standards, that ever breathed and blushed. She did not appeal to me only as a man; she was the very incarnation of my dreams as a poet. Her name was Vera; but she called herself "Lola". To her I dedicated Gargoyles with a little prose poem, and the quatrain (in the spirit of Catullus) 'Kneel down, dear maiden o'mine.' It was after her that my wife called the new baby!" From the collection of Clive Harper with his discrete book-label neatly tipped in at the rear. Harper is well-known as the bibliographer of Austin Osman Spare, for updating the Aleister Crowley bibliography in the 2011 Teitan Press collection of Gerald Yorke's writings, and as someone who has lent his expertise to numerous other publications. The label can easily be removed without affecting the page, although it would be a shame not to preserve this record of the book's provenance. Just the faintest of shelf rubbing, light bump and crease to upper cover - else a tight clean near Fine copy. Item #64836

Price: $65.00