A Fragment of the Green Alps.
NP [ USA ]: Privately published, ND [ circa 2018? ]. First Edition. Softcover. Octavo. Not paginated as such. [40pp] Pale green stapled wrappers illustrated and lettered in black. "Green Alps" was an early book of Crowley's verse that reached proof stage, but was never published due to a fire at the printers. Some of the poems that survived were later included by Crowley in his "Oracles." Crowley wrote of it: "Another book of the transition period was Green Alps. This was never published. I had paid Leonard Smithers to have it printed and he told me that the printers' works had been destroyed by fire, which may or may not have been the case. It is characteristic that I accepted the situation with a shrug of the shoulders. I had a complete set of proofs, but I had become rather ashamed of the book. I merely selected the poems which I though really worth while for inclusion in subsequent volumes. The collection was marked by a tendency to earthly passion; and its title shows that I already regarded human love as an idea to be transcended. Green Alps are pleasant pastures, but I was bound for the peaks." The only sections of the proofs that are now known to have survived, are in the Yorke Collection, in London. These comprise the page-proofs for a dedicatory poem, and the final 27 pages (pp. 81-108) of the volume. This booklet appears to be the first ever publication of those pages - and a number of the poems included therein. The booklet comprises a (new) contents page, photocopy reproductions of 11 pages of manuscript and typescript notes on "Green Alps" and the page-proofs by Gerald Yorke, and photocopied facsimiles of the 27 proof pages in the Yorke collection. This booklet was published anonymously, with the only reference to its production being "Printed in the USA" on the rear cover - which is almost certainly not true! Loosely inserted is a post-card with a humorous handwritten note from "RTC" (Richard T. Cole), presenting this copy to Clive Harper. While Cole implies that he had nothing to do with the work's publication, his prior "form" with clandestine and semi-clandestine Crowley publishing suggests that he probably did! Regardless of who produced it the printing was evidently tiny, as we know of no other copies. From the collection of Clive Harper with his discreet 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. Just a hint of shelfwear - a tight, clean near Fine copy. Item #67097
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